National Day Celebration for the 62nd Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan
2022/3/15
From March 1 - 5, 2022, Ambassador Yasuhisa Kawamura, the Ambassador of Japan to Canada, and his wife hosted an online video celebration of the Emperor's Birthday. At the celebration, we were honoured to have a video message from The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada; The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry; The Honourable Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Terry Sheehan, Co-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group.
At the beginning of the video, Ambassador Kawamura expressed his congratulations on the Emperor's birthday, referring to the Japan-Canada cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine and the success of Canadian athletes in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. He also mentioned high-level exchanges between the governments of Japan and Canada, emphasizing the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region for both countries, and highlighted that the Foreign Ministers of the two countries agreed to promote concrete cooperation in six priority areas. He also expressed hope for further increasing mutual direct investment and trade, referring to Japan-Canada cooperation in the CPTPP, climate change and innovation. Ambassador Kawamura also mentioned the activities of the younger generation as a bridge between the two countries, and expressed hope that Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai will provide excellent opportunities for exchanges between the two countries. (Attachment to the greeting text)
In his guest of honour address, The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada, congratulated the Emperor on his birthday, referred to the fundamental values that bind Canada and Japan together, such as democracy, human rights and freedom, and the rule of law, and reminisced about his exchange with the Japanese Supreme Court during his 2019 visit to Japan, and expressed his expectation for Canada-Japan judicial cooperation.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry of Canada, congratulated the Emperor on his birthday and expressed his confidence in furtherance development of cooperation between Canada and Japan, as well as the willingness of both countries to work together to become global leaders in growth centred on green and technological innovation.
The Honourable Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, congratulated His Majesty the Emperor and highlighted his expectation for Canada-Japan cooperation in a wider range of fields, noting that Japan is an important partner of Canada with a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.
Mr. Terry Sheehan, M.P., Co-Chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group, congratulated the Emperor on his birthday and emphasized the role of the Group in promoting and solidifying the multi-layered relationship between the two countries.
The National Anthems of both countries were performed by Ottawa-based soprano Noriko Hashimoto and pianist Mayuko Takagi, and celebratory flower arrangements by Mrs. Anne Breau, Sogetsu school of Ikebana, Ikebana International Ottawa Centennial Chapter, decorated the scene.
In addition, with the support of the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and other organizations, a slideshow was shown to flashback to the events related to Canada-Japan relationship, and a video created by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) introduced the beauty of Japan's nature and scenes from 47 prefectures of the country.
