Press Releases
Courtesy Call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs HORII by Ambassador (ret.) James P. Zumwalt, Chairman of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC and Mr. Ryan Shaffer, President of the Society
On December 15, commencing at 4:30 p.m. for approximately 45 minutes, Mr. HORII Iwao, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, received a courtesy call by Ambassador (ret.) James P. Zumwalt, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC (JASWDC), and Mr. Ryan Shaffer, President of JASWDC. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- State Minister HORII expressed his appreciation for nearly 70 years of the Society’s contributions, and conveyed his gratitude to Chairman Zumwalt, who is expected to conclude his tenure next year, for his longstanding efforts to strengthen Japan-U.S. relations across a wide range of fields including diplomacy, economy, and people-to-people exchanges.
- The participants then exchanged views on a broad range of topics related to promoting understanding of Japan, including the importance of Japanese-language education in the United States, grassroots-level exchanges, and parliamentary exchanges.
(Reference) Japan-America Society of Washington DC (JASWDC)
Established in 1957. Its first official event was held in June 1957, welcoming then Prime Minister KISHI during his visit to the United States. The Society implements a wide variety of educational and cultural programs aimed at strengthening mutual understanding, promoting grassroots exchange, and enhancing Japan-U.S. relations, including the “Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival” at the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the National Japan Bowl, a competition for high school students across the United States on Japanese language and culture. Chairman Zumwalt has served in his post since 2019.