Tanabe Hisato, who has worked in his bank in Guangdong before has returned as the General Manager of Guangzhou Branch of Mizuho Bank (China), Ltd. this year. This is his second time to work in Guangzhou. Compared with his first visit to Guangzhou in 2008, he was shocked by the changes. "The Greater Bay Area has become one of the most important logistics outlets in the world. Whether it is in the electronic information industry or in the automotive industry, the development of the Greater Bay Area is at the forefront of the world." He said that the Greater Bay Area means there are more development opportunities for Japanese companies.

For huge changes like Zhujiang New Town, Tanabe Hisato still prefers to walk around the places where he is more familiar, such as Yide Road and Yuexiu Park. "These places maintain the old Guangzhou style, which makes me feel like in my hometown."

Tanabe Hisato said that the journey to Guangzhou was bumpy due to the pandemic. Some Japanese companies have even encountered work stagnation. "After various co-operations between China and Japan, the first flight from Japan to overseas was finally opened, which was to Guangzhou. I took this flight to Guangzhou. We feel that the Guangdong government including the municipal governments gave great support to the Japanese companies and we all very grateful for this."

After arriving in Guangzhou, they also invited a Feng Shui master to re-arrange the office when facing the pandemic. The purpose is to hope that everyone could have a more comfortable environment. Finally, Tanabe Hisato hopes that the pandemic will pass in the new year. He said that he hopes that he and his friends and family can travel to and from Japan as soon as possible.

Video by Li Jiangrui, Alice

Script by Nan

Author | Alice, Nan

Editor| Jerry