Reception for the 77th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan
The Reception in celebration of the 77th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan was held on November 24, 2010. About 700 guests attended including The Right Honourable Joseph Clark, Former Prime Minister, The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northen Development, Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
The guests were received by H.E. Kaoru Ishikawa, Ambassador of Japan and Mrs. Masako Ishikawa as well as Major General Mitsuru Nodomi, Japanese Defence Attache to Canada .
During the reception, the National Anthems of Japan and Canada were performed by Ms. Noriko Hashimoto, a Japanese Soprano, followed by the Sake barrel opening ceremony which was held to promote further the bilateral relationship between the two nations.
Ambassador Ishikawa, in his greeting, introduced major milestones between the two nations such as the visit to Canada of Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress in the last summer, the dinner hosted by Their Majesties for the Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mrs. Laureen Harper on occasion of the APEC Summit in Yokohama this November, and the bilateral cooperation in space. He also expressed his idea that Japan and Canada, based upon mutual values such as freedom and rule of law, have a strong bilateral relationship which has been nurtured through such events.
In their speeches, Minister Oda, the Honourabe Bryon Wilfert, Co-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group and the Honourable David Tkachuk, Co-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group, re-affirmed the friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations which were promoted by the visit of Their Majesties to Canada, and expressed their hope that it will deepen further in the future.
(Speech by Ambassador Ishikawa) |
Speech by the Honourable David Tkachuk, Co-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group
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Sake Barrel Opening Ceremony (From left: Dr. Rabinovitch, President of the Museum of Civilization, Minister Kenney, Minister Oda, The Right Honourable Joseph Clark, Ambassador Ishikawa, Minister Duncan, The Honourable Wilfert, The Honourable Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister MacKay, The Honourable Tkachuk)
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