Mark Jaffe with Kiyoto Tsuji, the State Minister of the Environment/Cabinet Office, Japan
Greater NY Chamber Meets with Japan’s State Minister of the Environment
New York, NY — The Greater NY Chamber met with Kiyoto Tsuji, the State Minister of the Environment (a Cabinet Office of Japan) and a high level delegation organized by the Consulate General of Japan in NY.
The dinner (at Ramerino Italian Prime Restaurant) was attended by Chamber leadership, including Helana Natt, Executive Director; Mark Jaffe, President and CEO; Brad Sussman, Chamber Legal Counsel, Greg Kirsopp, Chamber Board Member and Amit Shah Co-Chair of the Chamber International Trade Committee - Also in attendance were Frank Garcia from the Hispanic Buying Group and Carley Hill, founder of Cahill Tech and a board member of the New York League of Conservation.
In addition to the State Minister of the Environment, the Japanese delegation also included Kenichiro Fukunaga, Secretary to the state minister; Sadamitsu Sakoguchi, Deputy Director, International Strategy Division, Global Environment Bureau; Mihoko Nagai, Deputy Director, International Strategy Division, Global Environment Bureau; Yukina Abe, Researcher, Global Environment Bureau and Toru Ihara, Consul of the Economic Division of the Consulate General of Japan in NY.
Although the dinner’s focus was to spotlight a collaboration on materials recycling for automobiles and the recovery of rare earth elements from waste streams. participants also discussed other strategies to strengthen economic development between our two countries. Japan is planning on investing 5.5 billion dollars into our country and we pledged to work more closely with the Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of NY and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan; a coalition of 516 Chambers in Japan.
“This was a forward-looking exchange focused on practical solutions,” said Mark Jaffe. “Whether it’s discussing End of Life Vehicle (ELV) regulations, rare earth minerals recovery of helpful Small Business initiatives, the Chamber is always eager to partner on projects that will give our members competitive advantages.” Executive Director Helana Natt underscored the Chamber’s role as a convener. “Our mission is to connect world-class expertise with real-world implementation. Engaging directly with Japan’s Ministry of the Environment helps align policy, technology, and investment so companies can scale sustainable solutions faster.”
Key takeaways from the evening included:
Strong mutual interest in policies that create market pull for recycled content in vehicles, complementing design-for-circularity and high-performance recycling infrastructure.
Momentum behind pilot projects that recover and refabricate rare earth magnets from end-of-life motors and electronics, paired with clear qualification pathways for OEM use.
The importance of traceability, certification, and cross-border collaboration to ensure quality, unlock finance, and accelerate commercialization.
Carley Hill of the NY League of Conservation Voters highlighted the opportunity for innovation-led partnerships. “New York’s tech and manufacturing ecosystems are ready to collaborate on magnet recovery, advanced materials, and digital traceability—practical steps that cut waste and build resilient supply chains.”
The Chamber and its partners will now explore pilot initiatives and create an environmental task force to work with industry and policy stakeholders to advance recycled-content adoption in autos and to demonstrate scalable rare earth recovery solutions. We will also work to add The Japanese Chamber to the Multicultural Business Coalition that represents over 50 different organizations that represent small business enterprises from different regions of the world
The Greater NY Chamber has a long history of promoting global trade and helping its members export products to dozens of countries and attract investment into the USA. We are glad to formalize relations with Japan and look forward to acknowledging this relationship at our Sept 17th Expo and Conference to be held at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.