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Apple Inc. CEO confirms construction of new facility near Tokyo, describes Japan as "important" to Apple

Xinhua, October 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on Friday that he had enjoyed a great meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and shared with the nation's leader how important Japan is for the future of the U.S. tech behemoth.

"We talked about the future and doing great things together. I shared with prime minister Abe our love for Japan and how important the country is to Apple," Cook, who is currently on a tour of Asia, was quoted as saying at the prime minister's office following their meeting.

Abe's top spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press briefing that Cook confirmed that Apple would complete its construction of a site in Yokohama, just outside of Tokyo, by December and that it would be used as a development facility.

The site was previously used by Japan's Panasonic Corp. and Apple's new development plans are evidence the maker of the ubiquitous iPhone has plans connected to Japan that extend well beyond just end user sales, sources close to the matter said Friday.

The Japanese leader, for his part, said he hopes that Apple will go on to establish further ties with companies here in the process of product development, with Cook stating that there were a number of manufacturers of all sizes here being keenly eyed by Apple as having great potential for working on future devices requiring components made here.

In the April-June quarter of this year sales in Japan of Apple products accounted for 8 percent of Apple's total global revenue.

Cook, whose tour will end on Saturday, has already met with some of Apple's partners here and visited the headquarters of Nintendo Co. in Kyoto on Thursday where he met with company President Tatsumi Kimishima and Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Super Mario game, and was pictured playing the hotly anticipated iOS title "Super Mario Run" which was unveiled at Apple's latest iPhone 7 launch event last month.

Cook's visit to Japan comes on the heels of a visit to Shenzhen in China, where he announced Apple's plans to open a research and development facility there next year. Endit