Institute of Directors (IoD) headquarters, 116 Pall Mall, London. It was a great pleasure for David Stringer-Lamarre, MD of FortisCL, to meet the delegation and discuss improving the bilateral trade ties between Japan and the UK in promoting business, and building Osaka City as a financial hub, focusing on innovation, investments developing initiatives to apply and implement innovative ideas and encouraging significant participation from a wide range of UK businesses.

The Osaka delegation included Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, Mr Yoshimura Hirofumi; Vice Governor, Mr Yamaguchi Nobuhiko; Director General Department of Policy and Planning, Mr Kawabata Takashi; Director, Yamada Yumiyo; Senior Executive Director of Global Financial City Osaka, Mr Sakamoto Tetsuya and Manager of Osaka World Expo Promotion Bureau, Mr Mizoguchi Satoshi and accompanied by Minister Kawakami Kyoichiro, Economy and Counsellor Attaché (Commercial) Aoki Hiroki and Second Secretary Yuta Ofuji from the Embassy of Japan in the UK.

The IoD team included IoD Director, Jon Geldart, IoD Japan Group Chair Dr Indranil Nath, IoD International Trade Group Chair Andrew Lambert, IoD Japan Group Vice Chair Rie Hamaguichi and David Stringer-Lamarre.

Image, front row, right to left: Vice-Chair IoD Japan Group, Rie Hamguichi; Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, Mr Yoshimura Hirofumi and David Stringer-Lamarre.