Tongan products such as vanilla and Japanese taro have been successfully promoted in the Japanese market, facilitated by the Pacific Islands Centre (PIC) in Tokyo.
Squash has been Tonga’s only export to Japan, which boomed since it started in the 1980s, only to decline after a peak in the 1990s.
Pacific Islands products, including Tongan products have been showcased at the Pacific Islands Centre in Tokyo. The PIC, which relocated to the Meiji University in 2009, promotes trade, investment and tourism between Japan and the Forum Island Countries.
Takehiro Kurosaki PIC Deputy Director told Pacific journalists in October that Tongan produce and products such as the Japanese taro and vanilla from Vava’u have been successful in securing Japanese markets. He said this was partly due to some of the Polynesian private sector people being very aggressive when connecting with Japanese businesses.
Tonga is one of the successful countries since Pousima Afeaki started growing and exporting Japanese taro. “Vanilla is also popular here,” he said.
Takehiro said guaranteeing that Pacific products meet Japan's high quality standards is vital.
In Tonga’s case it has meant that people are studying in Japan, some for their doctorate degrees in universities, so they know what the Japanese characteristics in business are, he said.
One of the biggest events to showcase Pacific products is the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) and this year Tongan vanilla ice cream was sold out during the FESTA festival that was held in conjunction with PALM 7.
He said another success for Tonga is that grower and exporter Minoru Nishi has started negotiations on exporting breadfruit to Japan, Australia and New Zealand. While each Pacific Island country has one or two successes, like Vanuatu with its tamanu oil.
“Although our centre is a small operation with three staff it caters as an important focal point of contact for Japanese businesses and Pacific businesses to connect and network. However, some Pacific businesses need to step up their game and become more proactive and respond timely to Japanese business enquiries, which have not always been the case.”
He said when the centre explains to Japanese people what they are about most Japanese people are quite eager to make the connection or they visit the Pacific and meet private companies.
“The centre’s advice is free and every day we talk to Japanese investment companies that are interested and most recently there have been solar energy companies,” he said.
At the same time, this year has been an important year for tourism in regards to Japan and the Pacific, because more Japanese people are learning more about the islands from visits by the Emperor to Palau and by the Crown Prince and Princess of Japan to the Coronation in Tonga this year.
However there are challenges especially with the younger Japanese generation not attracted to visiting foreign countries due to their busy life.
University students said they are willing to go to foreign countries but they do not have the time due to school or during their break they go job hunting nor do not have enough money, he said.
The centre aims to make a guide book of Pacific Forum countries and to help promotion of tourism, as one of the initiatives they are looking at assisting in tourism