Public Diplomacy

On April 19, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the City of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture co-hosted a Diplomats’ Study Tour to the "SDGs Future City Yokohama". 15 of ambassadors and other participants from 13 countries visited Yokohama SDGs Design Center, Minatomiraihoncho Elementary School, the Kahala Hotel & Resort Yokohama, ZOU-NO-HANA Terrace to receive a lecture from “Social Circus”, and a biofuel production demonstration plant of Euglena Co.,Ltd. and received the explanation about the SDGs initiatives of the City of Yokohama and related businesses and organizations. It is expected that this tour will help the participants deepen their understanding of Yokohama’s SDGs initiatives, and that the exchanges between their countries and the City of Yokohama will continue in the future.

Toyama Prefecture has constantly been implementing the promotion of timeless crafts passed down through the years in both the domestic and international ways. In the occasion of the exhibition in last December, preventing the spread of COVID-19 infection, a hybrid PR event ('REAL & EC') combining with the face-to-face exhibition at MUJI HOTEL BEIJING (REAL) and the website 'Toyama-kan' (EC) was held in Beijing, China. This method to improve the sales channel worked well. While many visitors were attracted and participated in this event, a lot of business negotiations with local buyers were carried out and some great results were achieved. This year, Toyama Prefecture will be planning to further initiate 'REAL&EC' and to promote Toyama's traditional crafts effectively, by appealing both the local sake craft vessels and locally brewed sake itself in the same occasion.

Nikaho City in Akita Prefecture has been deepening exchanges with Liberia. Although the City had no previous ties with the Country, they have many common points such as nature conditions and the most popular sport, that is, "football" which led to the Host Town registration for the Tokyo 2020. Warm-hearted exchanges had initiated and taken place. Among them are lectures for citizens to learn about Liberia, online pep rallies event for the Liberian Olympic team, gifts of sweets made from bananas grown in Africa and figs produced in Nikaho City as well as handmade souvenirs from the City. The ties linked through the Tokyo 2020 Games will continue to grow up.

On February 23, 2022, the Embassy of Japan in Israel held a reception at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor's Birthday. Although a variant of the COVID-19 had spread from the end of the previous year to the beginning of this year, the event was held on a reduced scale since infection control measures in the region were eased at that time. As a result, approximately 180 guests attended the reception. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Israel, the Embassy achieved a large scale promotion of local regions’ charms in Japan.

Shibukawa City is famous for its hot spring "Ikaho Onsen" while Hawaii County is well-known as "Volcanic Island". The fact that there is a villa in Shibukawa used by Mr. Robert Walker Alwin, Hawaiian Minister to Japan, until 1920's, as a historic site of Shibukawa City in 1997, became trigger to the exchanges between both municipalities. Since then, they have interacted in various fields such as education and tourism. However, they have not been able to interact under the influence of the COVID-19 in recent years. In February 2022, they held the Online Signing Ceremony for the Declaration of Cooperation in the occasion of the 25th anniversary of their sister city relationship. In the Ceremony, Shibukawa City presented the original Kokeshi doll modeled after Amabie, a legendary creature which is believed to repel diseases, and reaffirmed the bonds between two sister cities.

Colorful performances!
The tweet that gained the most attention this month was an article about "Local x Global -A Special Event for Future Interactions-" in fiscal year 2021, which was posted on March 23. This event was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan jointly with the City of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture and Yamaguchi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture. A powerful performance of the “Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai” and a beautiful upcycled kimono fashion show presented by Yamaguchi City on the stage added rich colors to the event.

MOFA implements the personnel exchange program with local governments of Japan in which officials from local governments work OJT at MOFA in Tokyo and Japanese overseas diplomatic establishments (Embassies, Consulates General, etc.) as diplomats for several years. On March 23, these officials visited the Embassy of Mexico in Japan and took lectures about the Embassy’s activities, the bilateral relations between Mexico and Japan and so on. The Ambassador herself gave an impassioned lecture with unforgettable messages and memorable advice. It was a meaningful program for the officials to deepen their understanding of Mexico itself and bilateral relations including the cooperation in local level.