Gil Asakawa
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Edgar Johansson, director of Asia relations for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, is leading a mission to Japan to find markets for Colorado beef and high-tech products.

Fan of Far East leads trade mission to Japan

By Gil Asakawa, Special to the Rocky Mountain News

Edgar Johansson will be hard to miss next week when he visits Japan. A tall, lanky American with a goatee and a shiny shaved head, he'll tower over the Japanese businesspeople he'll be meeting.

Johansson oversees Asian affairs for Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and he's leading a trade mission to Japan Monday through Friday.

"We help Colorado companies export their products to Asia," he said.

"Japan is the second-largest export market for Colorado, by far, worth about $750 million," he said. Canada is No. 1, with over $1 billion.

The top products being exported from Colorado to Japan include high-tech and computer products, oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, and fresh and frozen beef.

Johansson will be accompanied by staff from several Colorado companies, and he's already done the advance work of setting up meetings with potential distributors and partners.

"This is a fast-lane trade mission, a let's-get-the-nuts-and-bolts type of trip," he said.

Seven companies will be represented, with Johansson representing several firms himself. John Wright, president of the Denver-based Asian Chamber of Commerce, will accompany him. Wright has visited China and Korea, but this is his first time to Japan.

"I'll be representing Colorado's Japanese and Japanese American community, and will meet with businesses in Japan that are interested in coming to Colorado," he said.

Johansson has represented 75 Colorado companies on 10 trade missions in 11 Asian markets.

Johansson, 39, has been with the trade office since March 2000. But trade with Asia isn't the only thing on his job description.

Johansson is also the governor's space liaison, a position that was created for him.

He serves as "a portal for the industry to have a line of communication to the state office of technology, or if necessary, to the governor's office."

The job is close to a dream come true for Johansson.

"When I was 6, my family was on visiting Niagara Falls, and we closed the curtains on the falls to watch men walk on the moon. That made a huge impression on me," he said. From that point, he wanted to be an astronaut but found he didn't have the math skills: he's numerically dyslexic.

Now, he's working in the space industry after all. "Instead of being a square peg in a round hole, I adjusted the hole to fit the kind of peg that I am."

Johansson's philosophy comes right out of his other passion besides Asia and space: Aikido, the Japanese martial art form that he credits for his success in life.

"Aikido's all about blending force against force," he said. "It's about positioning and timing and discipline. I try to conduct my daily life with the principles of Aikido."

On one of his evenings off in Tokyo, he plans to visit the Aikido Hombu Dojo, the world headquarters for Aikido.

Even though he'll be dressed in the same outfits as everyone else on the mat, he'll probably still be easy to spot.