OSAKA, Japan - Governors from three southeastern U.S. states and representatives of four others met with Japanese officials and business leaders in this western Japan city Monday for an annual gathering aimed at bolstering investment and trade.

Attending the three-day conference, which ends Tuesday, were Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and representatives from Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia.

The represenatives, along with business leaders from their states, joined discussions on trade and direct investment Monday before visiting the Universal Studio Japan theme park for a reception. In all, more than 300 officials and businesspeople from the seven states were taking part.

Also taking part were Osaka Gov. Fusae Ota; Fujio Cho, president of Toyota Motor Corp.; and Yoshihisa Akiyama, chairman of the Kansai Electric Power Co. and head of the Kansai Economic Federation.

Kansai is the area in western Japan where Osaka, Japan's second-largest city, is located.

The meeting, under the auspices of the Japan-U.S. Southeast Association, has been held each year since 1975. Organizers said more than 1,000 Japanese corporations have officies or subsidiaries in the seven states, and have invested more than US$32 billion and created 150,000 jobs.