Public Diplomacy

The five Central American countries, including Japan and Costa Rica, will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in Feb 2025, during which time sister city ties have been established between Costa Rica and Okayama City in Okayama Prefecture and Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture. In addition to these, Matsukawa Town in Nagano Prefecture became a host town for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the above-mentioned municipalities were promoted at the Emperor's Birthday Reception held recently at the Embassy of Japan in Costa Rica. The Embassy also held a Japanese food promotion event with Costa Rican Japanese restaurants, where Niigata's sake was introduced.

Ambassador Ishizuka of Japan to Georgia visited Yamanashi Prefecture and exchanged views with the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture on international interaction. He also visited local wine and sake breweries and Japan Wine History Exhibition, in order to explore the possibility of promoting the export of Japan alcoholic beverages to the Caucasus.

Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture and Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia have continued and developed cooperation for over 30 years, and it is one of the models among the Japan-Mongolia intermunicipal exchanges. Ambassador Igawahara of Japan to Mongolia visited Miyakonojo city and exchanged views with the Mayor of Miyakonojo on the current status and the challenges of municipal exchanges, as well as with prefectural government officials involved in agricultural promotion on the expansion of exports of agricultural and livestock products..

On March 4, the Embassy of Japan in Germany, together with JETRO and JNTO, hosted "Japan Night Food & Travel," a reception to promote the appeal of Japanese food and inbound tourism in Germany. This reception, by simultaneously promoting food and tourism, aimed to synergistically expand exports of Japanese agricultural, forestry, and marine products and food products and inbound tourism.

Shiga Prefecture and the state of Rio Grande do Sul, located at the southern tip of Brazil, have sister city relationships because both cities have the largest lake in the country. Shiga Prefecture donated "Shiga Park" to the state, which has recently undergone renovations. In addition, this report also introduces other connections between the state and the local government of Ishikawa Prefecture.