KY HR43

Recognizes the economic partnership between Japan and Kentucky dating back to 1985, when Governor Martha Layne Collins' trade missions led to Toyota selecting Scott County for its first wholly owned U.S. manufacturing plant

More than 200 Japanese-owned facilities currently operate in Kentucky, employing over 45,000 Kentuckians, making Japan the Commonwealth's largest foreign investor

Kentucky exports over $1 billion annually to Japan (aircraft engines, bourbon, beef, thoroughbred horses, pharmaceuticals) and imports more than $5 billion in Japanese products

Seven Kentucky cities maintain sister city relationships with Japanese cities, and multiple universities and Japanese Saturday Schools support cultural and educational exchanges

Encourages House members to join the Kentucky Japan Caucus to advance economic and trade relations, with a copy to be presented to the Consul-General of Japan