Europe

On 16 June 2013, the Visegrad Group (V4) plus Japan Summit Meeting was held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of "V4 + Japan" dialogue and cooperation, and leaders from Japan and V4 countries gathered in Warsaw for the first time. In this meeting, the leaders decided to mark 2014 as the V4+Japan Exchange Year with a view to promote people-to-people exchanges among Japan and V4 countries.

Moreover in the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the Visegrad Group and Japan on 11 November 2013 in Delhi-NCR, Foreign Minister Kishida and Ministers from V4 countries confirmed their will to make the V4+Japan Exchange Year fruitful in cooperation with the Goodwill Ambassadors. The Ministers also presented the logo of the Exchange Year.

Ms. Nao Matsushita, actress and a pianist, has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Exchange Year representing Japan, considering that V4 countries has been attracting a lot of people with classic music represented by various artists from these countries.

Various memorial events are held in Japan and V4 countries during the Exchange Year. The schedule of relevant events is as on the Event Calendar.