President Lula is making his fourth visit to Japan as Brazil’s president. Accompanying him are First Lady Madam Janja Lula da Silva, and a contingent of about 100 Brazilian business leaders and government officials.

Augmenting the camaraderie that animates Japanese-Brazilian relations are longstanding human-to-human bonds. About 2.7 million Japanese descendants live in Brazil, and Japan is home to the fifth largest expatriate Brazilian community, with more than 210,000 Brazilian residents. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and President Lula will build on that camaraderie in negotiating progress in their nations’ bilateral relationship. So, too, will the business leaders in President Lula’s contingent be cultivating common ground with Japanese counterparts.

“The effort and contribution of Japanese descendants over the years have engendered in Brazilian society a sense of trust and affinity toward Japan. That favorable impression has imparted a big advantage to Japanese companies in doing business there,” asserts Yasunaga Tatsuo, the chair of the Japan-Brazil Economic Committee and the board chair at the trading house Mitsui & Co. “Meanwhile, we hope that impression will encourage Brazilians to work for Japan as it struggles with a shrinking and aging population.”

Yasunaga adds that Brazil is especially appealing as a partner for Japan on account of its leadership in renewable energy and decarbonization. Here are four examples of especially interesting projects where Japanese and Brazilian partners are blazing green frontiers together in aviation, aluminum, chemical products, and fertilizer.