TOKYO -- A hint here, then a positive inference at another stop, and then a little encouragement.
Such was the slim, though substantive, response received by Maryland's Gov. William Donald Schaefer yesterday as he began a weeklong trip through Japan, accompanied by a vast contingent of business, political and port officials from the state.
"I'm smart enough to know this will pay off and I know I won't see the results," said the governor, whose term ends in January.
Four companies with existing investments in Maryland greeted Mr. Schaefer warmly at their headquarters, his age and willingness to delegate the detailed sales pitch to others playing well with the Japanese audience, his lame duck status seemingly less important to them than the symbolism of a farewell visit and his expression of gratitude for a business relationship.
But as is typically the case here, Mr. Schaefer's visit was not conclusive by itself. Instead, it provided merely another step in the almost endless work needed to cultivate deeper ties with Japanese firms.
The intense Maryland foray conincides with the attention generated by the Japan tour of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the associated message that the state is an interesting place to live as well as invest. There is no guarantee that the message will be successful and it is costly -- about $225,000. But it comes at a pivotal time.
After several years of retrenchment, Japan is coming out of a recession with a strong yen and a massive trade surplus, prompting major companies, as well as the Japanese government, to believe an acceleration of imports is crucial and a shift of manufacturing abroad inevitable.
All told, that will likely mean business opportunities worth several billion dollars. Competition, however, is intense. Four other gover
nors -- from Oregon, Nebraska, Kansas and Washington state -- have paid recent visits.
Additionally, dozens of states maintain sophisticated operations here with annual budgets beginning at $300,000, and typically many times that. A notably successful state, such as Indiana, not only attracts direct investment in plants and headquarters, but also plays a role in planning Japanese government import promotions geared to its strengths. Maryland has among the quietist, and most austere, operations in the country. The two-person contingent occupies rent-free space in a decommissioned police station in Yokohama, a critical commute away from the vital business center of Tokyo. The budget, at $200,000 a year, is said by the heads of other state offices to be low, given Japan's high costs.
The current office opened two years ago, after an earlier, far more costly effort was shut down during an austerity drive, in part, the governor said, "because we didn't know what we were doing."
The limited effectiveness of Maryland's earlier attempts is indicated by statistics used by Japan's Export Trade Organization showing that the state attracted only a small fraction of Japanese companies compared to its neighbors.
No new companies were on yesterday's schedule, despite efforts to line up several. Instead, the emphasis was on manufacturers with facilities in Maryland. "If we can get an expansion, it's as valuable as getting a new company," Mr. Schaefer said.
The calls began at 8 a.m., a normal time for business to begin on the U.S. East Coast, but as much as two or three hours before meetings typically begin in Tokyo, and ended at 9:30 p.m., after the state held a reception for several hundred business people.
At Kao Corp., owner of a German subsidiary producing hair care products, Goldwell Cosmetics Inc., in Linthicum, the state contingent pushed the diversity of Maryland's population and the competency of its medical research as a good base for building a business.
"We like to think people are the same, but they are different and there are more types in the United States," said Sumiaki Sasaki, executive vice president, giving at least an indication of agreement.
Pushing further, Mark L. Wasserman, secretary of the Department of Economic and Employment Development, asked if there was a possibility of relocating another Kao subsidiary, the Andrew Jergens Co., now based in Cincinnati, to Maryland. He was told that depending on the success of Goldwell, it may be considered.
At a closed meeting with a major shipping company, Mr. Schaefer said there was some hope business could be picked up from Norfolk, Va., and Terumo Corp., a medical supply company in Elkton.
"You just don't walk in and ask for a contract," Mr. Schaefer said at the end of the day, "you build."