Kansai Canada Business Association

Kansai Canada Business Association

History of the KCBA

On October 17th, 2008, the KCBA hosted and organized its first event, the Kansai Canada Celebration, that featured the unveiling of a full sized 2.6 meter high Inukshuk created and designed by Inuvialuit master sculptor Bill Nasogaluak. The Inukshuk is now on permanent display at Watanabe-bashi station on the concourse level.

The event commemorated the opening of the new Keihan Nakanoshima Train line. 10,000 m2 of Canadian Western Red Cedar imported from the Province of British Columbia that uses state of the art fire resistant technology adorn the walls of all of the new stations.

At the ceremony, Osaka City Mayor Kunio Hirmatsu and KCBA Chair Carlos Ramirez paid tribute to the Inukshuk and to Kansai Canada Relations. After the unveiling ceremony, guests retreated to an elegant reception at the Righa Royal Hotel that included keynote speeches from Canadian Ambassador to Japan Jonathan T. Fried and Osaka Prefecture Vice Governor Yasuyuki Ogawa.

After the tremendous success of this event, the interim executive committee decided to make the activities of the Association permanent. On February 25th, 2009, the KCBA officially launched itself with approval of an official constitution by unanimous vote at its first Annual General Meeting with over 45 people in attendance.

The principal mandate of the Association is the promotion of Kansai Canada commercial relations. In addition, in order for these relations to flourish, the KCBA sees as its social responsibility, to assist and support the whole of the Kansai businesses community so as to ensure stable economic growth and prosperity in the region. The Association fulfills this mandate through the following activities:

  1. Providing business seminars, lectures and speeches on topics of interest
  2. Acting as a forum of information exchange for its members
  3. Organizing social events for business networking
  4. Offering information to members about Kansai key market players and economic conditions as well as advice on market entry
  5. Regular contact with regional business organizations and governments to lobby and liaise on behalf of the membership