AUGUSTA – State business leaders recently returned from a trip to Japan that included their playing three hockey games aimed at cultivating international business opportunities between the two nations.

For the second year, 16 Maine business professionals faced off on the ice with a group of 50 professionals from Japan in the Maine-Japan International Classic 2002. The “friendship” hockey tournament is a creative opportunity to encourage the development of international business relations through good sportsmanship.

Steven H. Levesque, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, traveled to Tokyo with other Maine businesspeople to compete in the tournament and network with Japanese business leaders.

“It’s very common for businesses to network through a round of golf. While hockey is a less conventional median for building these relationships, it’s just as effective,” he said. “As a result of these two tournaments, strong bonds of friendship have been established and a number of clear business relationships have already developed between several participants.”

Last year, Maine played host to the Maine-Japan International Classic held in Falmouth. Japan was the host of this year’s event, a nine-day trip that included three hockey games, several business receptions and numerous other networking opportunities. Several people on the trip held follow-up visits and meetings with Japanese businesses.