By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat Philippine and Japanese firms will sign over 20 business agreements with estimated value of close to P300 billion ($5 billion) and projected employment of at least 80,000 jobs.   Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said these huge business agreements will be signed at the sidelines of President Rodrigo Duterte's trip to Japan for the Nikkei's 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia on May 30 to 31. Lopez did not divulge the specific companies involved, but said the agreements will be mostly investment pledges in infrastructure, manufacturing, electronics, medical devices, business process outsourcing (BPO), power, electricity, transport, automotive, food manufacturing, and marine manpower industries. “Japanese investors remain bullish on the sustained growth momentum under the administration of President Duterte, given its aggressive infrastructure build-up, meaningful investment and financial reforms and demographic advantages,” said Lopez. DTI will also hold a business forum and roundtable discussions to have a closer dialogue with the Japanese investors, and an opportunity for greater business-to-business interactions during the trip. In 2018, Japan was the Philippines' 2nd major trading partner with total trade at $20 billion, $9.5 billion worth of exports to Japan, and $10.5 billion-worth of imports from Japan. The country is the Philippines' 3rd major export market and import supplier. "The Department of Trade and Industry is consistently pursuing investments from all countries to provide decent employment opportunities to Filipinos. This is part of President Duterte's Tapang at Malasakit approach to nation-building and DTI's priorities,” said Lopez.