For Kansai business leaders, Asia, particularly East Asia, has long been far more important economically than the United States.

So it was understandable when they reacted coolly to Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, with some suggesting it was time to start entertaining the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement without the U.S.

Yet while senior executives at major corporations who stand to hugely benefit from the trade deal are unhappy, most small and midsize firms who either do business domestically or primarily in non-American markets, remain ambivalent. Many say they expect Trump's election to have little, if any, impact on the Kansai region, at least in the short term.