Hokkaido Toyako Summit

Smiling residents after harvesting for the first time
since the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake

In recent years, Niigata Prefecture has been hit by a spate of natural disasters including the floods of July 13, 2004, the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake of October 23, 2004, and the Chuestsu-oki (offshore) Earthquake of July 16, 2007.

On all these occasions, the people of Niigata received warm support from all over Japan and from many other countries around the world. Presently, all the residents of the prefecture are working together on efforts towards recovery and rehabilitation and taking powerful steps towards the future.

The residents of Niigata Prefecture would like to make a modest repayment for all the support they has received by extending a warm welcome to the G8 Labor Ministers Meeting.

Moreover, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the meeting, we would like to tell everybody in Japan and around the world who may have an interest in Niigata that our prefecture is a place filled with soothing nature, an abundance of seasonal flowers, and fresh and delicious food, we can assure them a warm welcome when they come to visit.