New Year's Greetings from Ambassador Okuda
January, 2014
Happy New Year!
Nine months have passed since I assumed my duties as the Japanese Ambassador in Ottawa. Over the last year, we have seen considerable encouraging news as we continue to support our restoration and reconstruction efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Mount Fuji was added to the World Heritage list and “Traditional Japanese Cuisine” was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In addition, Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
With respect to bilateral relations between Japan and Canada, Prime Minister Abe visited Ottawa in September, and held a summit meeting with the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada. During their meeting, in the field of security, they welcomed the substantial agreement on the ‘Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA)’ and agreed to hold the second Japan-Canada vice minister-level "2 plus 2" dialogue on foreign and defense affairs as early as possible.
On the economic front, various agreements that Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Harper reached during their meeting quickly took shape. In October, Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry met with the Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources in Vancouver, and signed the‘Statement on Oil and Gas Cooperation.’ Also in October, Canada and Japan successfully concluded negotiations to allow Japanese and Canadian air carriers daytime access for one flight each per day at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
In terms of cultural relations, various Japanese cultural events took place over the last year, including English Rakugo performances in 5 different cities across North America. These performances by the Canadian Rakugo comedic storyteller Katsura Sunshine, who received an appointment as Cultural Ambassador from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, were extremely well received by the audiences across North America.
During my official visit to the province of Ontario in June, I reaffirmed the importance of strengthening Japan’s economic relationship with the Province of Ontario, which plays a central role in the Canadian economy. I also recognized the importance of ongoing promotion of research cooperation and student exchanges between Japan and Canada in contributing to the future of this bilateral relationship.
Following Prime Minister Abe’s official visit to Canada in October, I made an official visit to the province of British Columbia. While in the province, the Premier of British Columbia indicated that greater energy cooperation between Japan and the province would reinforce the economic relationship between Canada and Japan.
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the Japanese–Canadian Redress Settlement. I was very impressed by the efforts of Japanese communities across Canada in preserving Japanese culture for future generations as well as their dedications to improving the welfare of Japanese-Canadians and to Canadian society as a whole in a wide variety of fields.
As for this year, I would like to stress my commitment to the Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations which will facilitate business relations and bring widespread benefits to both Canada and Japan. Furthermore, I want to encourage active exchanges between Japan and Canada in order to promote mutual understanding and to consolidate a closer bilateral relationship between the two nations.
In closing, I wish you and your families a happy 2014.
Norihiro Okuda
Ambassador of Japan to Canada
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