FRANCE
www.sms-bridges.com

BY SYNERGY MEDIA SPECIALISTS

From Japan to France, Ajinomoto Foods
Europe is umami’s unwavering advocate

F

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE WEBSITE

French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida exchange
greetings at the Hiroshima G7 summit.

Japan and France: An
exceptional partnership built
over a century of close ties

W

ith 165 years of robust
bilateral ties between
them, France and Japan
have enjoyed a very strong
and progressive connection
for centuries. This relationship is one founded on andfostered through sharedvalues, strategic partnerships and vibrant culturalexchange.
The two nations holdeach other in deep regard
and look to one another asimportant partners and key
stakeholders in their regions, as well as in the international community.
“Japan-France bilateralties have steadily deepened,” H.E. Makita Shimokawa, ambassador of Japan to France, noted. After
assuming his post in December 2022, the ambassador has witnessed thissteady deepening of theamiable affiliation over thecourse of just seven months.
“JapanandFrance
began 2023 with Prime
Minister (Fumio) Kishida’s visit to France, andthe opening of the Consular Office of Japan inNoumea. Our close partnership has advanced onvarious fronts,” Shimokawa
pointed out.
Relations between thenations have grown surely
and steadily in recent years,
as evidenced by their close
dealings and reciprocities.

As members of the Groupof Seven industrialized
nations and the Group of20, Japan and France haveworked side by side to address major global issues,
continuously collaboratingon achieving peace and security on both a regional
and a global level, securing international financial
stability, mitigating climate change, and eking out
paths toward sustainable
development.

two countries signed a jointstatement on nuclear energy cooperation, and havebeen carrying out joint exercises on a regular basis,
especially in the Indo-Pacific region. And we also
cannot forget France’s valuable assistance in the evacuation of Japanese citizens
from Sudan,” he said.
Japan’s role as current
host of the G7 will only
serve to propel the partnership to new heights.

ood is essential to survival; flavorful food,however, is essential totruly living.
Ajinomoto has beenrealizing its “Eat Well,LiveWell”
philosophy throughout its business for over a century. Founded in 1909, theiconic Japanese brand delivers umami-rich goodness to millions of households the world over —and Europe has most definitely joined the flavor
revolution.
The company’s European and African arm
is flourishing in flavorful ways, so much sothat this presence comprises three dynamic affiliate ventures. Moreover, the regional office is headquarteredin France, a country
largely considered to be
the world’s gastronomiccenter.

We are always following
French food culture to learn
about the local preferencesand requirements, sothat we may also suggest
new tastes to increase
the joy of cooking andeating together, throughour ‘deliciousness
technologies’ solutions.”
MASAMI KASHIWAKURA
Executive Officer & Vice President,
General Manager, Europe & Africa Division
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
AJINOMOTO CO., INC.

President, General Manager, Europe & Africa Division, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.,
explained the operation asfollows.
“We’re part of the global Ajinomoto group stationed in France, withthree affiliate companies: Ajinomoto Europe,a corporate hub and re-Ajinomoto has been realizing
its ‘Eat Well, Live Well’philosophy throughout its
business for over a century.
Masami Kashiwakura,
Executive Officer & Vice

gional headquarters thatmanages the operation-Feral-Torachu: Trusted legal partners in France and JapanAs the economic ties
between the European
Union and Japan arestrong and resilient, withtrade in goods and ser-more businesses need assistance in navigating
the rules and regulations,which means rising demand for legal services.

JAPANESE EMBASSY

Makita Shimokawa, Ambassador of Japan to FranceShimokawa also notedsome recently achieved
milestones by France andJapan.
“May 2023 was marked
by the seventh JapanFrance Foreign and Defense
Ministers’ Meeting, andthe Japan-France bilateralsummit meeting during theG7 Hiroshima summit. The“In 2023, Japan has assumed the G7 presidency
and also serves as a nonpermanent member of theU.N. Security Council. I am
convinced that Japan andFrance will continue to dynamically reinforce our ‘exceptional partnership’ inthe future.” ®
www.fr.emb-japan.go.jp

vices recovering to prepandemic levels and bothparties implementing theGroup of Seven industrialized nations’ digitaltrade principles, including open digital markets
and the free flow of data,

In 2016, two leading independent business law
firms established an innovative and unique alliance to facilitate legal services between Japan andFrance, and more generally, Europe.

Vessel: Securing the industrial sector at
the most fundamental level since 1916

Q

uality is in the details,
and every product isonly as good as its smallest parts.
With over a century inthe toolmaking industry,
having been established in1916, Osaka-based VesselGroup makes it their business to ensure quality ata fundamental level. Thecompany
manufactures
top-notch screwdrivers,
driving bits, industrial
tools and electrostatic discharge-related items tosecure any product at its
most basic components:
its screws and bolts.
From securing smallscale consumer goods toenabling the success oflarge-scale building projects, Vessel has a range of
unique handheld, electri-We will further develop
sales channels, suchas building hardware,mechanical engineering,
electronic equipment,
automobile maintenanceand e-commerce, as
well as strengthen
relationships with retailcompanies.”
STEPHANIE K. TOKUOKA
Representative
Vessel-Europe
VESSEL-EUROPEcal, pneumatic, industrial,and gasoline engine tools
to get the job done — andto get it done well.
With a growing demandin the European market,Vessel-Europe has been
headquartered in Mau-repas, France, on the borders of Paris, since 2010.
Leveraging its long-established expertise in theindustry, Vessel-Europe
supplies European retailers with top-quality products that are often unavail-al needs of the Europe
and Africa Division; Ajinomoto Foods Europe,
which manages and operates two major businesses — one a food solutions
and ingredients business, the other a consumer goods business supplying Japanese frozen foods
and other products, likegyoza (dumplings), yakitori and ramen — to B2B( business-to -business)
and B2C (business-toconsumer) markets; andAjinomoto Frozen Foods
France, wholly owned
by Ajinomoto Foods Europe, where we manufacture said Japanese frozen
foods and other products,

like traditional French so suggest new tastes tomacarons,” Kashiwaku- increase the joy of cookra said.
ing and eating together,“We also have three through our ‘deliciousfactories in Nesle, Le ness technologies’ soluNeubourg and Castel- tions.”
sarrasin.”“We will continue toKashiwakura is quick fully leverage our techto credit the rising pop- nology and know-how
ularity of Japanese food to meet our consumers’
products in France — and preferences and desires.
the desire for the uma- On top of that, we plan tomi taste sensation that extend our contributions
Ajinomoto’s amino ac- beyond the food industry
ids infuse into dishes — to the green and healthto the washoku boom care sectors, moving forworldwide. He describes ward.” ®
the company’s position www.ajinomoto-europe.com
as “unique in themarket,” owing
to the competitive advantage
theyprovide:
They are experts at creating“ del iciou snesstechnologies”
for food solutions and ingredients, as well asmakers of readyto-cook Japanesefood products.
“We are always
following French food
AJINOMOTO CO., INC.
culture to learn
about the local Ajinomoto’s chicken and vegetablepreferences and gyoza is a ready-to-cook meal ofrequirements, so frozen Japanese dumplings with richthat we may al- taste and flavor.

able from local suppliers.
“Our European retailers and regional distributors, like Foussier andEQIP, are very, very happy.
Of course, we respect thatthey care about their local
suppliers, which is why
we try to supply themwith original Vessel products that they can’t getin France,” Stephanie K.
Tokuoka, Vessel-Europe’s
representative, shared.
To keep up with theincrease in demand andgrowth, as well as theever-evolving times, Vessel has invested heavily inrobotics technology, forwhich it has developed anarray of fastening bits.
The company has likewise ventured into anewer, more eco-friendly

VESSEL-EUROPEVessel professional tools:
Since 1916, Vessel has
worked to ensure quality at afundamental level.

phase of technology, allwhile strengthening each
aspect of its operations.
“Wewillfurtherdevelop sales channels,
such as building hardware, mechanical engineering, electronic equipment, automobile main-Toranomon Chuo Law
Firm (Torachu), basedin Tokyo and foundedover 30 years ago, is a cutting-edge Japanese firmwith a broad range oflegal services, focusing
primarily on business law,finance law, intellectual
property, corporate crisis
management, complianceand litigation. Torachu isrecognized as one of thebest business law firms inJapan.
The French firm Feral,
based in Paris and founded almost 35 years ago,
is a leading firm highly
specialized in technologies and digital law, intellectual property and complex and international
litigation. Feral has beenranked for more than 20

tenance and e-commerce,
as well as strengthen
relationships with retailcompanies. All this helps
create new jobs, new marketing and new businesslines; it makes businessmore fruitful,” Tokuoka
explained.
Moreover, Vessel continues to invest in its people, maximizing individual talent and focusing internally to build itsteam.
“The objective is todevelop future executives; so, we maximize theindividual skills of eachemployee and their ability to achieve success. We
motivate our team and foster a spirit of unity — solidarity for success is thefoundation of Vessel. It’squite a tough job, but it’sreally pleasurable work.” ®
www.vessel-europe.com

years as one of the toptier law firms in Franceby Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Feral
was recognized as Law

companies and groups
doing business in Europe, and French businesses with legal needs
in Japan, especially inFeral and Torachu have built astrong relationship over the years
by assisting Japanese companies
and groups doing business in
Europe, and French businesses withlegal needs in Japan.
Firm of the Year 2023 intechnologies in France by
the prestigious Best Lawyers guide.
Feral and Torachu
have built a strong relationship over the years
by assisting Japanesebusiness law, technologies and intellectualproperty. Their goal isto serve their clients as“trusted legal partners”
and to fight for justice. ®
www.feral.law
www.torachu.com