TOKYO, Japan — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrapped up a trip to East Asia with a pledge to strengthen cooperation with Japanese leaders, get advice on hurricane response and increase trade missions to other parts of the world.
Abbott, who visited Taiwan, South Korea and Tokyo during his week-long tour, touted Texas as a business haven, particularly for the semiconductor industry, which is vital to artificial intelligence and space exploration.
The president, accompanied by Secretary of State Jane Nelson and economic development leaders from around Texas, met with foreign officials, including Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol.
“There’s an old saying that 90 percent of the work is getting out there,” Abbott said. “The same is true in international relations and business. You have to get to the country, the company’s offices, the locations. They want to tell their story.”
Governor Abbott’s visit was not without controversy. His seven-day trip came as Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Houston area, leaving millions of residents without power for days. After the hurricane struck Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, the governor did not return to Texas, instead handing command over to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
On Friday, Abbott Dallas Morning News He said Patrick has “done a great job” in his absence.
“If I had been in Texas this entire time, the state’s response would have been exactly the same,” Abbott said.
Asked about issues in the Houston area, Governor Abbott said efforts are needed to prevent chronic power outages following the storm.
“The failures we saw resulted in a lack of power supply to residents across Texas, and this must be fixed,” Abbott said. news“No Texan should ever go without power, especially for such an extended period of time.”
Mr Abbott called his East Asia tour the greatest economic development mission he has ever undertaken.
“The highest-ranking government officials from these countries want to meet with Texas leaders, which shows how important Texas is on the world stage,” Abbott said. “And when you look at the economic connections we’re able to make with these business leaders, it shows that business leaders across America understand that Texas is the place to be.”
But while at least one leading Democrat praised Abbott’s outreach to the East, others warned he should focus on some of the controversial laws that could hurt Texas’ ability to attract businesses and workers, such as the state’s strict anti-abortion law, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“We have women who have had to flee their states to protect their lives and their future families,” said Lisa Turner, state director for the Lone Star Project, a Democratic research group. “It’s hard to accept. It must be very difficult to make the decision to move to a state like Texas instead of a state without bans where they can actually get medical care when they need it.”
Turner said underfunding of public education, gun violence and maternal mortality are also issues that could deter highly skilled workers and their families from taking jobs at companies relocating to Texas.
Secretary of State Nelson opposed this.
“I don’t see any merit in it,” Nelson said. “I’m not saying the issues you raise aren’t important, but business people want to have a conversation. What they want to hear is what the taxes are going to be, what the regulatory environment is going to be.”
Abbott said he and the delegation accomplished their goal of connecting with future investors and maintaining relationships with those already in the state.
“I don’t think people fully understand the fact that if Texas were a country, it would be the seventh or eighth largest economy in the world,” Nelson said. “It’s huge to have leaders of the largest economies in these countries tell us why Texas is so successful.”
Over green tea on Friday, Abbott discussed strengthening ties with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, then signed a memorandum of understanding with Aichi Governor Hideaki Ohmura, encouraging Aichi and Texas to cooperate on issues related to the economy, energy, biotechnology and health care.
During his meeting with Governor Koike, Governor Abbott seemed intrigued as she explained the Tokyo Resilience Project, a plan aimed at protecting the city from natural disasters such as storms, floods, earthquakes, fires and volcanic eruptions, as well as the resulting disruptions to power and communications services.
“We are looking at a number of solutions, some of which are listed here,” Abbott told Koike. “After you discuss these solutions with our team, you may want to reach out to your team to learn more about how this might be done.”
The governor explained how recent hurricanes have caused flooding in the Houston area for at least the third time this year.
“Texas is divided on the east side, and in Houston that’s where the heavy rains are,” he told her, “and on the west side, there’s drought. I’m looking for a solution that can solve both sides, and I’m intrigued by what you just said.”
The highlight of Abbott’s visit to Japan was a reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel said the United States is Japan’s largest foreign investor and Japan is the United States’ largest foreign investor.
“There’s no better example of leadership than Texas, and no state has been able to demonstrate and take full advantage of it better than Texas,” Emanuel added.
“I don’t know if this is true for other people in Japan, but for the American people, this is a symbol of bipartisanship,” joked Emanuel, a prominent Democrat who served as a congressman, chief of staff to former President Barack Obama and mayor of Chicago, to loud applause.
Abbott then verbally conveyed “huge thanks from Texas” to Emanuel.
Abbott was scheduled to return to Texas on Saturday.
The trip to East Asia was paid for and sponsored by the Texas Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit whose mission it says is “marketing and promoting Texas,” and which worked in conjunction with Mr. Abbott’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism.
