Bryant to lead trade delegation to Japan, South Korea

JACKSON — Gov. Phil Bryant will lead a trade delegation to Japan and Korea in September.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Bryant announced the trade mission during a speech at a meeting of the Mississippi Automotive Manufacturers Association in Oxford.

Bryant says he hopes several Mississippi business executives can go on the trip.

Bryant says the plan includes meeting Toyota officials in Japan as a courtesy to reaffirm Mississippi’s thanks for the company’s investment in a 2,000-employee plant in northeast Mississippi and that of its suppliers, which separately employ 1,400 people.

Bryant says Mississippi can’t ignore opportunities and developing potentially profitable relationships.

Bryant also says he will discuss tourism development with Japanese officials, especially Japanese cultural attachment to Elvis Presley, whose Tupelo birthplace is a tourist magnet.