"The blending of Israeli high-tech and the promotion of health that we lead can become a winning combination"

"There is no country that supports the development of technology like Israel. The blending of Israeli high-tech and the promotion of health that we lead can become a winning combination,” said Noriyuki Ando, president and CEO of Suntory Global Innovation Center at Calcalist's Israel-Japan Conference in Tokyo.

Suntory was founded in 1899 as a wine production company, and is one of the largest beverage companies - including spirits - in Japan. Last year its revenues exceeded $20 billion. The company operates 270 branches, most of them in Europe (88), and employs over 40,000 people.

Ando said that the company already imports oranges and lemons from Israel and praised them. But Ando's emphasis was on the innovation center he established in 2013, which specializes in the world of food and beverages and engages in R&D in the field. "We are committed to good products but also to sustainability," he emphasized. Ando gave as an example a recent development by the company in which a smartphone device is attached to the stomach and checks the condition of the intestine using sound waves.

You can watch his remarks from the conference in the video above.