Tennessee Governor Bill HaslamNASHVILLE - Gov. Bill Haslam makes his first official trip to Japan next with a delegation of business leaders and economic officials from across Tennessee.
Haslam and others will be in Japan for the Southeast US-Japan Association's 35th annual meeting.
"Tennessee has had a successful and growing relationship with Japanese companies for nearly three decades," the governor said, noting . "I look forward to honoring and reinforcing the meaningful, lasting relationships between our state and Japan."
There are 133 Japanese companies operating in Tennessee with more than $14 billion in capital investment, state officials say. That makes Japan the state's top direct foreign investor with 33,000 Tennesseans employed by companies such as Nissan, Bridgestone and Denso.
For more details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.