The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) has led a delegation of nearly 80 Brazilian companies to Japan since Monday to accompany the state visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) has led a delegation of nearly 80 Brazilian companies to Japan since Monday to accompany the state visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The group is participating in official agendas and the Brazil-Japan Economic Forum, scheduled for next Wednesday in Tokyo, with the presence of Lula and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The mission's main objective is to strengthen trade relations. CNI and Kendaren, the largest organization representing Japanese industry, will present a joint statement calling on the heads of state to negotiate a Mercosur-Japan agreement that would strengthen the complementarity of their economies and expand trade flows.

"We have a 130-year relationship with Japan, and in these uncertain times, it's essential that we open up more avenues to reach out to our partners. The agreement would bring many benefits to both countries," said Ricardo Alban, president of the CNI.

The Brazil-Japan Forum panels preceding the heads of state's speeches will focus on decarbonization, energy, and opportunities for cooperation between countries on the sustainable development agenda.

In the CNI's view, despite its long history and ongoing nature, the bilateral relationship needs to gain momentum. Brazil's share of Japanese imports has remained stable over the past decade, with an increase of 0.1 percentage points between 2015 and 2024.

The industrial sectors with good opportunities for doing business with Japan are food (41.6%), chemicals (24.8%), and metallurgy (8.7%). However, almost half of these products (47.9%) are subject to import tariffs for accessing the Japanese market.