A deal soon to be inked with one of Italy's leading research foundations and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, a master class lecture on Trentodoc wines and a tourism campaign all form part of efforts by Italy's autonomous province of Trentino to both promote the mountainous area and establish bilateral relations in Japan.

A Trentino regional delegation representing 12 sectors made their first formal visit to Japan and held a promotional event at the Italian Embassy in mid-January to formally announce the push. Ambassador of Italy to Japan, Giorgio Starace, and the Councillor for Economic Development, Research and Innovation of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Achille Spinelli, opened proceedings.

One of Italy's northernmost regions, Trentino is framed by the Italian Alps and spectacular Dolomite mountain range, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. It also features a number of lakes. The area is renowned for its winter sports offerings, but visiting tourism officials described it as a haven for hiking and watersports in the warmer seasons.

The region is also home to 54 producers of Trentodoc-classified and award-winning sparkling wine. Representatives from Trentino's official tourism board and other tourism sector members have been meeting with Tokyo and Osaka-based travel operators to help establish more industry links.

Trentino is also prioritizing bilateral links with Japan in the innovation, research and development sectors. According to one official, for almost 50 years the Trentino government has invested more than double the Italian average in research and development. The province is considered an important center for computational biology as a basis for new pharmaceutical products, as well as information and communication technologies and nanotechnology. One of Trentino's leading research foundations is in discussion to sign an agreement on common projects and research with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, the official said.