PRESS RELEASE
CHICAGO - Thomas McMenamin and George Kobayashi from Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. spoke at an Executive Breakfast Event in Chicago hosted by Governor Rauner to welcome a high-level Keidanren Delegation to Illinois. Other keynote speakers included: State of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Committee on U.S. Affairs Chair and Keidanren Counsellor Kunio Ishihara, the Consul-General of Japan in Chicago Naoki Ito, and Intersect Illinois President Andria Winters. The event which was by invitation only and included key Chicago business leaders, was focused on strong partnerships with Japan companies interested in growing Illinois' economy.
In his remarks, George Kobayashi said that "Masuda Funai has assisted more Japanese companies entering Illinois than any other law firm so we are very aware and support the important relationships between Illinois and Japan."
The relationship between the State of Illinois and Japan dates back more than 140 years. Illinois ranks 4th among the 50 U.S. states in imports from and 4th in export to Japan. The Executive Breakfast focused on continuing the positive impact of this relationship and exploring additional opportunities to strengthen economic development ties.
Keidanren is a comprehensive economic organization with a membership comprised of 1,340 representative companies of Japan, 109 nationwide industrial associations and 47 regional economic organizations. Intersect Illinois, a private non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to increasing Illinois' competitiveness for job creation and investment, has been a junction connecting people, business and goods necessary for global and national economic growth.
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