Greetings from Ambassador Shimada
2025/1/1
My name is SHIMADA Junji, and I have been appointed as Ambassador of Japan to Ireland.
I would like to extend my best wishes for the New Year to you all and say a few words of greeting on my arrival in Ireland.
I have served overseas in Washington DC in the United States, Beijing in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Melbourne in Australia. Ireland is an entirely new country for me, and making full use of all my accumulated experience, I intend to make every effort to strengthen the relationship between our two peoples and raise our existing close ties based on shared values to a higher level. I believe that cooperation with Ireland as it expands its global role is also very important for Japan.
In particular, there are various events linked to the relationship between Japan and Ireland planned for 2025. For example, Ireland House will open in Tokyo this spring and Ireland will also have a pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan which starts in April. Before coming here, I visited both buildings at the end of last year, and was deeply impressed by how these wonderful buildings symbolise the blend of Japan and Ireland so perfectly. In June, Expo 2025 Osaka will hold an Irish National Day and we expect there to be many visitors from Ireland. In addition, from the second half of the year, NHK will broadcast a new morning drama series called “Bakebake”, telling the story of Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), known for his deep ties to Ireland, and his wife. I sincerely hope that 2025 will be a productive year that will help to raise the profile of Ireland.
Furthermore, I plan to focus my efforts on further enhancing Japan-Ireland business and economic relations, and ensuring the safety and well-being of Japanese nationals residing here, as well as the development of people-to-people exchanges and Japanese language education and the spread of Japanese culture.
This brings my brief New Year's greeting to a close. Thank you very much to you all. My wife and I have been posted to Ireland together and we greatly appreciate your support. If you happen to see us around town, please feel free to say hello.
I would like to extend my best wishes for the New Year to you all and say a few words of greeting on my arrival in Ireland.
I have served overseas in Washington DC in the United States, Beijing in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Melbourne in Australia. Ireland is an entirely new country for me, and making full use of all my accumulated experience, I intend to make every effort to strengthen the relationship between our two peoples and raise our existing close ties based on shared values to a higher level. I believe that cooperation with Ireland as it expands its global role is also very important for Japan.
In particular, there are various events linked to the relationship between Japan and Ireland planned for 2025. For example, Ireland House will open in Tokyo this spring and Ireland will also have a pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan which starts in April. Before coming here, I visited both buildings at the end of last year, and was deeply impressed by how these wonderful buildings symbolise the blend of Japan and Ireland so perfectly. In June, Expo 2025 Osaka will hold an Irish National Day and we expect there to be many visitors from Ireland. In addition, from the second half of the year, NHK will broadcast a new morning drama series called “Bakebake”, telling the story of Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), known for his deep ties to Ireland, and his wife. I sincerely hope that 2025 will be a productive year that will help to raise the profile of Ireland.
Furthermore, I plan to focus my efforts on further enhancing Japan-Ireland business and economic relations, and ensuring the safety and well-being of Japanese nationals residing here, as well as the development of people-to-people exchanges and Japanese language education and the spread of Japanese culture.
This brings my brief New Year's greeting to a close. Thank you very much to you all. My wife and I have been posted to Ireland together and we greatly appreciate your support. If you happen to see us around town, please feel free to say hello.
SHIMADA Junji
Ambassador of Japan to Ireland
Ambassador of Japan to Ireland