Cultural Exchange
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio by Mr. KATO Ryozo, Japan CULCON Chair
Prime Minister KISHIDA who received a courtesy call from Mr. KATO, Japan CULCON Chair
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister KISHIDA by Mr. KATO, Japan CULCON Chair
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On November 19, commencing at 10:30 a.m. for approximately 10 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call from Mr. KATO Ryozo, Japan Chair of the Japan-United States Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) and Former Japanese Ambassador to the United States. The overview of the courtesy call is as follows.
- At the beginning, Japan CULCON Chair KATO presented a “Joint Statement” issued on the occasion of the 29th Plenary Meeting of CULCON, which was held online last October.
- Chair KATO, Vice Chair KUBO Fumiaki (President of National Defense Academy of Japan), Panelist AGAWA Naoyuki (Professor Emeritus of Keio University) and Panelist SUGIURA Yasuyuki (Managing Director of Toyo Bunko [The Oriental Library]) explained the following points in the statement.
- (1) Creating momentum in people-to-people and educational exchanges
- (2) Nurturing the next generation of leadership to support the U.S.-Japan Alliance
- (3) Shared values
- (4) Advancing digitization and broadening information exchanges
- (5) Exploring local and regional interchanges and new platforms for subnational diplomacy
- (6) Building economic resilience.
In response, Prime Minister KISHIDA expressed his respect for the activities of CULCON, which inherits the words of President John F. Kennedy to Prime Minister IKEDA Hayato at the time of its establishment in 1961: “the Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States. Rather, it unites us.” Prime Minister KISHIDA also expressed his hope that CULCON will continue contributing to the expansion of exchanges and dialogues between Japan and the United States.
Note: CULCON was established in June 1961 via a joint statement from Prime Minister Ikeda and President Kennedy. Expert panels from Japan and the United States make proposals and recommendations to both governments regarding cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries. Its first meeting was held in Tokyo in January 1962. Since then, conferences have been held biannually in principle, alternating between Japan and the U.S.