People-to-People Exchange
Courtesy Call on Mrs. KISHIDA Yuko, the Spouse of the Prime Minister, by the Winners of the National Japan Bowl
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On July 19, from 11:00 a.m. for about 45 minutes, Mrs. KISHIDA Yuko, the spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan received a courtesy call from a group of high school and university students from the United States. They are winners and prize winners of the National Japan Bowl, who are invited to Japan through the Kakehashi Project. The outline of the meeting is as follows.
- At the beginning of the meeting, Mrs. Kishida welcomed their visit to Japan and expressed her hope that they would deepen their understanding of Japan during their visit. Mrs. Kishida also told them that she would look forward to seeing the younger generation like them to become "Kakehashi," a bridge connecting Japan and the U.S., after returning home. Afterwards, the group representative expressed their aspirations for their visit to Japan.
- Thereafter, Mrs. Kishida had a conversation with the students about various topics including how they became interested in Japan in a relaxed atmosphere.
The KAKEHASHI Project is a part of“Japan’s Friendship Ties programs,” exchange program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, which is intended to promote people-to-people exchanges between Japan and the various nations of Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions.
The purpose of this program is to:
Promote mutual trust and understanding among the peoples of Japan, the US and Canada, and to build a basis for future friendship and cooperation;
Encourage an understanding of Japan; and
Convey information about Japan to the public through participants of this project.
The National Japan Bowl is a national quiz tournament for American high school students who are studying Japanese as a foreign language.
Since its inception in 1992, the National Japan Bowl has been held jointly by the Embassy of Japan in the U.S. and the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C. Since 2016, the National Japan Bowl has also been held in the U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, and other countries.