Guest Speaker Series II November 5, 2010: Mr. Naoyuki Hasegawa, Chief Executive Director, JETRO San Francisco 長谷川直之JETROサンフランシスコセンター所長

Mr. Naoyuki Hasegawa is the Chief Executive Director of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) San Francisco. Prior to joining JETRO in 2009, he was Councilor of Cabinet Office in Japanese government, in charge of drafting the legal framework of Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC) and leading it to approval by the Diet.

Mr. Hasegawa has a long career in export control in governmental director positions, such as Policy, Licensing, Enforcement, and International Nuclear Affairs, in Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and was the core board member of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. Mr. Hasegawa has also had contact with U.S. in various aspects, including having visited and tasted all 50 US states. He once was the player of U.S.-Japan bilateral insurance dialogue and led to the settlement of the case when he was the first Director of Insurance Examination Office in Financial Services Agency (FSA) in 1998. He was a Property and Casualty insurance broker and worked in New York for three years from 2001, in charge of covering political risks and commercial risks in the western hemisphere, as Chief Representative of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). He earned LL.B from Tokyo University and was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University under Professor Daniel Okimoto.

日本貿易振興機構 (Japan External Trade Organization: JETRO)
独立行政法人日本貿易振興機構（にほんぼうえきしんこうきこう、Japan External Trade Organization; JETRO（ジェトロ））は、東京都港区赤坂一丁目に本部を構える経済産業省所管の独立行政法人。設置法は独立行政法人日本貿易振興機構法。2003年（平成15年）10月1日設立。
Japan External Trade Organization (日本貿易振興機構：JETRO) is an independent government agency established by Japan Export Trade Research Organization as a nonprofit corporation in Osaka in February 1951, and reorganized as the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1958 (later Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI) to consolidate Japan's efforts in export promotion.
JETRO’s main office is located in the Ark Mori Building in Akasaka, Tokyo. Initially, JETRO's activities focused mainly on promoting exports to other countries. As exporters established themselves in world markets and the balance of trade turned from deficit to surplus, however, JETRO's role shifted to encompass more varied activities. These have included the furnishing of mutual understanding with trading partners, import promotion, liaison between small businesses in Japan and their overseas counterparts, and data dissemination. Import promotion services have included publications, promotion of trade fairs, seminars, and trade missions.
JETRO also provides information and support to foreign companies looking for successful entry and expansion in the Japanese market. JETRO provides a wide-range of services, such as timely market intelligence, extensive business development support, and relevant business events, designed to encourage new business between foreign companies and Japan. JETRO also provides current information on the laws and regulations surrounding new business operation in Japan to assist companies in expanding their business to Japan.
JETRO also runs a test of proficiency in business Japanese, known as the BJT (Business Japanese Test).