Embassy of Japan in Canada

Ambassador Ishikawa’s Official Visit to New Brunswick

Ambassador Ishikawa conducted an official visit to the province of New Brunswick (the only constitutionally bilingual province in the country), visiting Fredericton, the capital of the province, Moncton, and Saint John from October 17th to 21st. He made courtesy calls on a number of dignitaries including the　Hon. Dale Graham, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; the Hon. Michael Olscamp, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries; the Hon. Blaine Higgs, Minister of Finance; His Worship George LeBlanc, Mayor of Moncton; His worship Brad Woodside, Mayor of Fredericton; His worship Ivan Court, Mayor of Saint John; Dr. Yvon Fontaine, Rector of the University of Moncton; and Dr. Eddy Campbell, President of the University of New Brunswick among others.

During his visit to New Brunswick, Ambassador Ishikawa expressed Japan’s sincere gratitude for the tremendous support offered by Canadians in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Ambassador Ishikawa engaged in an exchange of ideas in various meetings with dignitaries to further strengthen the cooperative relationship between Japan and New Brunswick in the fields of trade, tourism, and educational exchange.

While in Fredericton, Ambassador Ishikawa met with Japanese residents and learned about their life in the local community including the Japanese club’s activities and a charity event that was held after the Great East Japan Earthquake. 

During his stay in Saint John, Ambassador Ishikawa visited the Saint John Port Authority and received briefings from Mr. Jim Quinn, President & CEO of Saint John Port Authority on the various economic functions of the port including energy-related facilities and cruise vessel traffic as well as several projects such as a plan for the expansion of the port. He also had the opportunity to tour the port that is being redeveloped.

During his trip to Moncton, he was interviewed by media outlets such as Radio-Canada. He appeared on both TV and radio shows which were broadcast on October 18th and 22nd respectively. He was also interviewed by one of the province’s newspapers, the Daily Gleaner, and an article of his interview was printed in the October 21st issue. (This interview also appeared in Times & Transcript and TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL on October 24th.)

Through his official visit to New Brunswick, he had an opportunity to learn the history of Acadians. His experience gave him a renewed recognition of the importance of further strengthening relations between Japan and the province of New Brunswick, a province that embodies diversity in language and culture.