Trade
Japanese Diplomat Visits Port Manatee
Ken Okaniwa last week visited Port Manatee to discuss the possibility of expanding commercial ties between the port and Japan.
From left to right: Carlos Buqueras, executive director of Port Manatee; Ken Okaniwa, consul general of Japan in Miami; Vanessa Baugh, chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority; and Gary Tibbetts, special assistant to Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key
Image: Courtesy Virginia Zimmermann
Ken Okaniwa—a Japanese diplomat since 1984, who has served since 2015 as consul general of Japan in Miami—last week visited Port Manatee to discuss the possibility of expanding commercial ties between the port and Japan. Japan is already the No. 2 source of imports coming into Florida; more than $6.5 billion in Japanese goods enter the Sunshine State. Nearly 200 Japanese companies combine to account for about 24,200 Florida jobs.
