Days before he set out on the mission, Toyota announced in O Bannon s office that the Japanese automaker would be expanding its truck plant still under construction in Gibson County, meaning 1,000 more jobs than originally planned. O Bannon said that shows how a partnership is supposed to work for the benefit of everyone involved. Currently 160 Japanese corporations have facilities in Indiana, employing 31,000 Hoosiers. Indiana has a strong and successful presence in each of the three countries visited, O Bannon explained. The trip, he said, was to strengthen existing ties and forge new relationships in the Pacific Rim.
Japan is Indiana's number one foreign investor.
Several Hoosier companies have made major investments in China. During the Japan leg of his trade mission, the Governor gave the keynote address to the Japan-U.S. Midwest Association in Tokyo.