LANSING – With eight additional Japanese companies announcing plans to make investments in Michigan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday her just-completed trade mission to that country helped tip the balance to make the economic development moves possible.

And other than providing location assistance, she said the string of investments worth $30 million and 150 jobs were not lured by the offers of tax incentives.

The governor participated in several events related to automotive and life sciences during the five-day trip, including an industrial seminar at the attended the World Expo in Nagoya, which drew delegations from 19 other states.

“There’s no doubt that our effort caused these decisions to be made,” Granholm said. “The trip was the punctuation for their decisions. The fact that the governor of Michigan went to reach out is a huge, symbolic outreach.”

The investment commitments, she added, are “validation that we’re on the right track. We believe the seeds were sown for future investment.”

The state did lose the largest recent Japanese investment to its Northern neighbor. Toyota, which is closing in on General Motors as the world’s largest automotive company, decided to put its new North American assembly plant in Ontario, in part because of lower health care costs.

But Granholm said the contacts the state made and the strengths it offers “are real opportunities for Toyota to give us a fresh look. The door is ajar and I hope they come in. They (Toyota) indicated they are open to investing in Michigan.”

Lawrence Reed, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said more fundamental changes are needed to get Michigan back as a preferred investment option for most companies, saying the state is in bad shape despite prior gubernatorial missions and development schemes.

“If you don’t get the fundamentals right, all the road trips, ribbon-cuttings, happy talk and sushi dinners in the world will produce little,” he said. “Until our leaders muster the courage to really tackle our high taxes, poor labor climate, substandard schools, and other core issues, trips to Tokyo are not much more than window-dressing junkets.”

Granholm, whose administration is in the midst of negotiations with Republican legislators on changes in the state’s business taxes, said the state’s tax structure was not raised by Japanese business executives as a potential negative factor. But she said the trade group raised it as a selling point on how the state is addressing ways to make the state more attractive.

“We must diversify; we can’t be passive,” Granholm said. “Our goal is to make Michigan the hub of international investment, whether it is life sciences or advanced automotive technology. Our message was if you want to sell in the United States, you need to be in Michigan.”

The governor said she also promoted Michigan’s well-trained workforce and its advantages as a regional center for automotive business along with Ontario and nearby states.

The governor said the personal relationships begun with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, along with her personal presence which she said helped dispel some concerns arising from resentment in the state in the 1980s as Japanese carmakers were making significant inroads in the U.S. domestic auto market.

The administration had previously announced investments by DENSO and Tokai Rika. The new investment by Japanese firms include:

Hitachi Automotive, expanding its presence in Farmington Hills;

Sekisui Chemical, expanding its operations in Coldwater;

Nippon Antenna, undertaking a site search for a new research and development facility in Michigan;

Nippon Piston Ring, ready to hire new workers at its new NPR Manufacturing plant in Grand Haven;

Advanced Special Tools in Battle Creek, creating a new subsidiary called Advanced Plastics Molding in Battle Creek;

Nakagawa Special Steel, opening its first sales office in Novi;

Taiko Device Technologies, opening its first North American office in Southfield; A&D Inc., establishing A&D Technology Inc. as its wholly owned subsidiary in Ann Arbor to commence development of its measurement, control and simulation systems business in the North American region.

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