Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto led the Philippine delegation to Japan in handholding top Japanese investors, successfully securing future expansion plans that will create more quality jobs for Filipinos and drive stronger economic growth.
The Philippine delegation met with senior executives of top Japanese companies, namely Sojitz, Mitsui & Co, Koshidaka Holdings Co., Ltd., and Marubeni Corporation.
Sojitz is involved in a wide range of global businesses, including manufacturing, selling, importing, and exporting various products.
In the Philippines, Sojitz maintains a strong and diversified presence spanning Cebu, Palawan, and Metro Manila operating commodities trading to several investment projects in agriculture, food, telecommunication, infrastructure, property development, automotive, and mining.
During the meeting, Sojitz conveyed its interest to enhance the Philippines’ competitiveness through the promotion of innovation and knowledge-based industries, support infrastructure and energy transition, and foster human capital development and technology transfer.
Meanwhile, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is a global trading and investment company with a presence in more than 60 countries and a diverse business portfolio covering a wide range of industries. It is engaged in product sales, worldwide logistics, investment and financing, as well as the development of major international infrastructure projects.
Mitsui has established a broad and growing footprint in the Philippines with investments in automotive, infrastructure, BPO, ICT, mineral resources, and power generation.
During the meeting, Mitsui expressed its eagerness to engage in a wide range of businesses in the Philippines, including renewable energy, liquefied natural gas receiving terminal, next-generation energy solutions, and large-scale infrastructure, such as ports, terminals, logistics hubs, and transport systems.
On the other hand, Koshidaka Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese holding company specializing in the entertainment and leisure sectors. It is the largest karaoke chain in the world.
In February 2025, Koshidaka’s Board approved the establishment of a 100%-owned Philippine subsidiary that will spearhead the group’s ASEAN expansion, leveraging the Philippines’ deep cultural affinity for karaoke, its strong youth demographic, and its growing middle-class leisure spend.
The initial rollout targets Metro Manila, with the first Karaoke Manekineko outlet scheduled to open by 2026, and an ambitious expansion plan of up to 100 outlets nationwide over the long term.
Lastly, Marubeni Corporation is Japan’s largest trading company with a diverse portfolio covering consumer products; food and agriculture; materials; energy and infrastructure solutions; transportation and industrial machinery; and financial business.
For more than 100 years in the Philippines, Marubeni has been an integral part of the country’s development, driving infrastructure through Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects, joint ventures, and sector-wide investments.
Marubeni expressed eagerness for potential expansions of existing projects in the Philippines, such as in online consumer finance, residential development, electric power retail business, and water supply, among others. It specifically expressed commitment to helping develop renewable energy in the Philippines to bring affordable power to Filipinos.
The Philippine team was composed of Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan; Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque; and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon S. Garin.
The meetings were arranged by the DTI field office in Tokyo.
The Philippine delegation was in Osaka, Japan, to convene the Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation and engage with Japan’s top investors through the Philippine Economic Briefing.
The main objective of these high-level engagements is to secure greater financing support for the Philippines’ big-ticket infrastructure projects and to attract more Japanese investments, including the expansion of existing Japanese businesses and the entry of new investors into the country.
