The visit of Japanese companies with subsidiaries in Europe has been organised by the SPIRIT public agency for entrepreneurship, internationalization, foreign investment and technology, the Vienna branch of the Japanese External Trade Organisation JETRO and the Japanese Embassy in Ljubljana.

In a press release port operator Luka Koper said it considered Japan one of the most interesting potential markets in East Asia, while Slovenia's sole commercial seaport was for Japan a good choice in overseas transport to Europe.

A study at the beginning of the year in which experts from the Japanese ministries of transport and economy compared four north Adriatic ports found that the Koper port was the most technologically-advanced and as such the best choice.

Some 350,000 tonnes of merchandise en route to or from Japan travelled through the Koper port last year with cars representing the bulk of imported goods and containers the major export item.

Luka Koper officials have paid several visits to Japan in recent years in a bid to boost cooperation, most recently to Osaka and Tokyo in May.

Yesterday's visit by the Japanese delegation in Koper discussed the potential to expand business cooperation in transport of electronic and mechanical devices and equipment via Koper, as well as distribution of vehicles and agricultural products.