Support for American Companies

Karin Zaugg Black serves as the International Business Protocol Liaison for the Port of Seattle and advises on protocol matters related to international delegations of business leaders, dignitaries, and government officials in order to facilitate positive business relationships. She supports the Port's various lines of business, including Airport, Seaport (in collaboration with the Northwest Seaport Alliance), Cruise, Fishing, and Economic Development & Tourism.

Ms. Zaugg Black currently serves on the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington board as past chair, as co-chair of the City of Seattle’s International Advisory Affairs Board, and as co-chair of Greater Seattle Partners’ Marketing Council. She served as president of the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association from 1998 to 2015 and continues to serve on the board as past president.

Julie Monahan is the International Trade Specialist for the Information and Communications Technology industry at the Washington State Department of Commerce. Ms. Monahan works on the Commerce Small Business Export Assistance program and assists small businesses across the technology sector including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, haptic technology, and virtual reality and augmented reality.

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Julie works with technology companies to facilitate connections to new opportunities in international markets, primarily through foreign trade missions and international trade shows in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Julie has led two Washington State Tech Missions to Japan and has participated in the Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup since 2018. 

Yotetsu Hayashi is the Chief Executive Director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) San Francisco office, Japan’s government agency that promotes trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. His prime mission is to support Japanese Startups who are interested in expanding business opportunities in the United States. 

He joined JETRO in October 2022 after his professional work experience in the private sector, in the Japanese government, and in the world of diplomacy. He graduated from Waseda University School of Law in 1989 and completed his LL.M. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1994.

Junko Kobayashi has been serving as the Executive Director of the Hyogo Business & Cultural Center since April 2020, a role assigned by the Hyogo Prefectural Government. When she worked in the prefectural government office, she was mainly in charge of international affairs and work for the Hyogo International Association, including involvement with the Hyogo Washington Sister-State 50th & 55th Anniversaries.

Until now, Mr. Inada had been working in Kobe City's local government for over 25 years and had mainly been involved in the work of public enterprises. At KTIO, he supports businesses in Kobe looking to expand into North America and encourages the advancement of North American start-up companies in Kobe City through collaborations with private companies via interactive market research and various coordination work, all in cooperation with Kobe City Government and related organizations.

Kyoko Yoshida serves as Project Director for Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ (USA) Innovation Department in San Jose. Kyoko has been with Kawasaki Heavy Industries for over 10 years working in marketing and corporate strategy, new business development, and the design of corporate regulations and systems.

Her current area of focus is on management trends and opportunities related to advanced robotics and major lifestyle changes, e.g. the future of work and surgery.

Kenjiro Fujio is the director of Digital Healthcare section in R&D Center Americas, Inc. (RDCA). RDCA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sysmex Corporation, focused on realizing preventive medicine and bringing new clinical applications from the US to the rest of the world via the Sysmex organization.

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He leads growth initiatives related to digital health and digital therapeutics. In that capacity, he is particularly eager to meet with early-stage companies developing innovative new digital diagnostic and therapeutic solutions.

Before joining Sysmex, he held a position at Omron Healthcare, where he led the global development of the remote patient monitoring system business. He received his bachelor's degree in Environment and Information studies from Keio University and is now pursuing Master of Business Administration from Indiana University, Kelley business school.