Press Releases
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs IKUINA’s Attendance at the Opening Ceremony of Global Festa JAPAN 2026
October 19, 2026
On October 17, Ms. IKUNA Akiko, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, attended the opening ceremony of Global Festa JAPAN 2026 held at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building Triangle Plaza in Tokyo and delivered her remarks on behalf of the three co-organizers, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC).
- In her opening remarks, Parliamentary Vice-Minister IKUINA stated that she had visited the Republic of Djibouti and the Republic of Kenya as part of the House of Councillors' ODA Research Mission in January 2026. There she visited a school and other facilities built with Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) and exchanged views with local people. Through these experiences, she said she had felt how Japan's ODA, through human resource development and technical cooperation, serves as "Visible Japanese Development Cooperation" and contributes to strengthening relations between Japan and its partner countries.
- Furthermore, Parliamentary Vice-Minister IKUINA stated that the world is facing challenges including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, and global issues such as climate change, while confrontation and division are deepening. She emphasized that for Japan, which relies heavily on imports for resources and food and whose daily life is directly linked to the global economy, such global crises are by no means someone else's problem. She also noted that international cooperation through ODA is indispensable for Japan's own prosperity and national interests.
- At the opening ceremony, the comedian Razor Ramon RG, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' ODA PR character "ODA Man" and the navigator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Kids “☆Rabbit” appeared, enlivening the stage with talks and quizzes.
