Japan Trade Events

◆37th NOA Conference (May 2023, exact date TBD) ◆

Commercial Service Japan announces the 37th New Orleans Association (NOA) Conference – a one-on-one business matchmaking event between U.S. firms/suppliers and Japan’s major electric power utilities – to be held in May 2023 (09:30 – 18:00 Japan Standard Time).

This opportunity will provide representatives of U.S. suppliers of non-fuel materials and equipment and their Japanese agents to hold individual meetings with procurement managers from Japan’s 12 major electric power companies which generate 80 percent of the nation’s electricity (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Tokyo, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa Electric Power Companies, Japan Atomic Power Company and J-POWER).

Do not miss this important event!

• Date: May 2023, exact date TBD
• Time: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. JST (approximately)
• Platform: To be announced

About the NOA Conference:

The first NOA Conference took place in Tokyo, Japan in July 1995.  This followed a successful procurement seminar held in New Orleans in September 1994 jointly organized by Japanese electric utilities and the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy.  Representatives from 12 Japanese electric power companies and U.S. suppliers both participated in the seminars.

To maintain the enthusiasm shared by the U.S. and Japanese attendees at that first 1994 seminar, the New Orleans Association (NOA) formed, and the U.S. Department of Commerce has since taken a lead in holding regular NOA conferences and events.  They are usually annual, with half or full-day events in Japan, hosted by Commercial Service Japan, and consisting of keynote speeches, name card exchanges, a networking lunch or reception, and one-on-one business matchmaking meetings.

The NOA Conference was suspended in 2011 and 2012 in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and reconvened in 2013.  In 2020, the 35th NOA Conference was also suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic concern in Japan, and in 2021 and 2022 we reconvened the events in virtual format. 

In 2023, we will continue to organize the upcoming the 37th NOA event, the format of which is still being finalized, with a continued focus on business matchmaking sessions.

Participation Fees: To be decided

Conference costs (to cover expenses for the event venue, IT connections and other miscellaneous charges) are shared by participating U.S. firms, and the U.S. Embassy will collect these participation fees directly.  The twelve attending Japanese electric power companies may also contribute additional operational funding.  Emerson Automation Solutions (Emerson Japan) will be appointed and continue to serve as the U.S. Secretariat of the NOA Conference. 

Important Notes:

· We expect most, if not all, of the participating power companies to provide their general procurement needs as they approach the Conference.  We will provide those requirements along with the U.S. participants who are interested in signing up for this year’s NOA.

· Some screening is necessary to set up the individual matchmaking meetings.  For the utilities to understand the products and services being offered, U.S. firms are asked to fill out their application forms (37th NOA Conference Meeting Application). Additionally, U.S. firms may submit their product/technology brochures (preferably 2-3 slides in PowerPoint/PDF format) which are helpful for us to arrange possible meetings with Japanese utilities.

· We anticipate approximately 20 U.S. firms will participate in all or most of the 10 meeting sessions with the Japanese utilities.  We will work with the utilities, take every U.S. firm’s requests into careful consideration, and make every effort to fulfill the requests when arranging individual meetings.  However, all meeting requests may not materialize, and we ask for your kind understanding.

For further queries and registration, please contact:

Takahiko Suzuki, Senior Commercial Specialist
Commercial Service Japan, U.S. Embassy Tokyo
Email: Takahiko.Suzuki@trade.gov

CS JAPAN CONTACT

Unit Chief: Ross Belliveau, Commercial Officer (Ross.Belliveau@trade.gov)
Commercial Specialist: Takahiko Suzuki (Takahiko.Suzuki@trade.gov)