Press Release - "Statement to the People of Ireland on Behalf of the Family of Mr. Yosuke Sasaki

The family of Mr. Yosuke Sasaki, the Japanese national who was fatally attacked in Dundalk, County Louth on 3 January 2018, have asked the Embassy of Japan to convey the following message to the people of Ireland on their behalf.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness the people of Ireland have shown.

When he was alive, our son spoke about the warmth of the people of this town and his love of Dundalk.

He came to Ireland initially as a language student and only intended a short stay. However, he was touched by the kindness of the Irish people and he decided to work here.

As a family, we are truly saddened by what has happened, but we hope that this incident will not give Japanese people a bad impression of Ireland.

We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to the ambulance personnel, the Gardaí, National Pen Limited, Mr. Oliver Morgan who set up the GoFundMe page, the staff of the Embassy of Japan, and the members of Louth County Council who organised tonight’s candlelight vigil.

Finally, we hope that a tragic event like this one will never happen in this country again.

The Sasaki Family”

The Embassy of Japan would also like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to the members of the Irish public who have sent us messages expressing their condolences.

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(Contact)

Press and Cultural Affairs Section, Embassy of Japan in Ireland

Tel: 01 - 202 8305, E-mail: cultural@ir.mofa.go.jp

Website: https://www.ie.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html