The 22nd Japan-Canada Joint Economic Committee was held in Vancouver on December 4, 2008.
This dialogue has been held once a year since 1977 to exchange views on such issues as economic relations between Japan and Canada and the international economic issues in which the two countries have common interest.
The dialogue was chaired on the Japanese side by Mr. Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, and was attended by those officials concerned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and chaired on the Canadian side by Mr. Louis Lévesque, Deputy Minister of Trade Designate, and attended by those officials concerned from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.
The Committee reviewed the 15 priority areas of Japan-Canada cooperation as revised in October, 2008, and also discussed the possibility of cooperation in such fields as advanced materials and clean energy, taking into account the discussions at the Japan-Canada Trade and Investment Dialogue. They also discussed the modality of cooperation between Japan and Canada for the current international financial problems.