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Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kira’s Visit to Sweden and Germany

November 2, 2012
Japanese

  1. From Monday, November 5 through Friday 9, Mr. Shuji Kira, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, will visit the Kingdom of Sweden and the Federal Republic of Germany.

  2. In Stockholm, Parliamentary Senior-Vice Minister Kira is scheduled to participate in the Meeting between the Swedish Chairmanship of Arctic Council and Observers/Ad- hoc Observers. On this occasion, Parliamentary Senior-Vice Minister Kira also plans to exchange views with his counterparts of the Swedish government on bilateral relations and regional affairs, among other issues.

  3. In Berlin, Parliamentary Senior-Vice Minister Kira is scheduled to participate in the 21st Japanese-German Forum and deliver a speech on East Asian affairs. On this occasion, Parliamentary Senior-Vice Minister Kira also plans to exchange opinions with senior government officials of Germany on bilateral issues and regional affairs, among other issues.

  4. In Hamburg, Parliamentary Senior-Vice Minister Kira is scheduled to visit the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and hold a meeting with Mr. Shunji Yanai, President of the Tribunal.

Reference: Itinerary

November 5　Departure from Narita:Arrival in Munic,Departure from Munich:Arrival in Stockholm

November 6　Departure from Stockholm:Arrival in Hamburg,Departure from Hamburg:Arrival in Munich,Departure from Munich

November 9　Arrival at Narita

The Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum established in 1996 to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the 8 Arctic States (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United States of America), with the involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues; in particular, issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Japan submitted its format application for the observer status in the Council in July 2009.

The Japanese-German Forum

The Japanese-German Forum is a forum that was agreed to be created in April 1992 at the meeting between then Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to promote mutual cooperation and understanding, and to hold discussions among intellectuals of relevant fields from both countries on important issues in the international society. The 21st forum will be held this year.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

ITLOS was established in 1996 in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1996, Japan has been the country providing the largest contribution to the Tribunal, and Japan has produced two judges. Judge Shunji Yanai (former Japanese Ambassador to the United States) has been serving as a Judge of ITLOS from 2005. He was elected as President of ITLOS in October 2011.   

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Japan-Sweden Relations
Japan-Germany Relations

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