Public Diplomacy

On March 13, a reception co-hosted by Foreign Minister Kamikawa and Governor Gotoda of Tokushima Prefecture was held at Iikura House, inviting diplomatic corps to Japan and other guests. The reception featured booths introducing Tokushima Prefecture's food, Host Town exchange, SDGs initiatives by companies and high school students, tourism, traditional crafts as well as the "Awa Odori", traditional dance performance of Tokushima etc. to promote the diverse attractions of Tokushima Prefecture.

On February 7, officials who are from local goverments currently working at MOFA visited the Embassy of Indonesia in Japan.They took lectures about Indonesia, the bilateral relationship between Japan and Indonesia, as well as exchanges between local areas of two countries, which was a meaningful program for these officials.

In January 2024, Consul-General Takonai of Japan in Medan visited Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture. He called on Mayor Asai and exchanged views with officials of the Water and Sewerage Department, and visited the Odakano Water Treatment Plant. Toyohashi City has been cooperating with Solok City, West Sumatra for more than 10 years in the field of water supply and sewerage technology. Thanks to this cooperation, Solok City has been able to supply drinkable tap water for the first time in Indonesia.

Mukawa Town in Hokkaido and Akumene Regional Municipality in northern Lithuania have been fostering friendly relations since signing a cooperation agreement in 2019, triggered by a dinosaur fossil. Ambassador Ozaki of Japan to Lithuania, visited Mukawa Town in December 2023. He exchanged views with Mayor Takenaka and other stakeholders on the attractiveness of Mukawa Town and the prospects for further exchanges with Lithuania.

Between January 27 to February 2, Hawaiian popular 5 chefs and influencers visited Japan. They visited fish markets and fishery companies in Ehime and Fukuoka Prefectures as well as Toyosu market and found various charms of Japanese fishery products. In addition, they participated in cooking demonstration using local fishes and promoted it via social media all over the world.