Letter from the Japanese Ambassador to Ireland (December 2025)
2025/12/26
Full moon viewed from the Embassy of Japan in Ireland (photo taken in December 2025)
Dear readers,
I hope that this letter will find you well as the year 2025 is about to end. How has this year been for you? Fortunately, since I arrived in Ireland on 26 November, I have fully enjoyed the beginning of a new mission, greeting new friends and colleagues. I would like to express my gratitude to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Irish and Japanese colleagues from the business, art, and education sectors, and the staff of the Embassy of Japan amongst others.
I hope that this letter will find you well as the year 2025 is about to end. How has this year been for you? Fortunately, since I arrived in Ireland on 26 November, I have fully enjoyed the beginning of a new mission, greeting new friends and colleagues. I would like to express my gratitude to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Irish and Japanese colleagues from the business, art, and education sectors, and the staff of the Embassy of Japan amongst others.
Post box in Dublin (photo taken in December 2025)
Dawn in Ireland (photo taken in December 2025)
The most shocking news this month has been the tragedy in Bondi Beach, Australia. I have expressed my sincerest condolences to H.E. Ms Chantelle Taylor, Australian Ambassador to Ireland in person on behalf of Japanese citizens and the Government of Japan; our minds will stay with the bereaved families. No act of terror should be tolerated irrespective of the motivation or purpose of the act.
The Embassy of Japan in Ireland has two major missions. We try to further enhance the relations between Japan and Ireland. We also work to ensure the security and safety of about 3,000 Japanese nationals living in Ireland. Over the past month, I have talked with Irish and Japanese people from various professions. Let me share a few experiences among many impressive encounters.
Firstly, I have been impressed by Irish people’s kindness and interest in Japan. I assume that this interest is owing not only to our bilateral diplomatic relations over the last 68 years, but also to our long-term exchanges which date back even further. This month, “Gradam Ceoil TG4 @ Expo25,” a documentary film, was televised and published online, depicting Irish and Japanese music exchanges during Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Music has the power to sometimes shorten our distance so dramatically. I was particularly moved by the duet by Ms Cathy Jordan in Irish and Ms KOJA Misako, a Japanese singer from Okinawa in her local dialect, “Shima-Kutouba.” Their minds certainly met each other.
On a different occasion, at a church in Dublin, I listened to carols sung by Cór Linn and Fabre Chamber Choir, which made many members of the audience feel that their minds had been purified. I thought that I had caught a glimpse of where Irish kindness is derived from.
The Embassy of Japan in Ireland has two major missions. We try to further enhance the relations between Japan and Ireland. We also work to ensure the security and safety of about 3,000 Japanese nationals living in Ireland. Over the past month, I have talked with Irish and Japanese people from various professions. Let me share a few experiences among many impressive encounters.
Firstly, I have been impressed by Irish people’s kindness and interest in Japan. I assume that this interest is owing not only to our bilateral diplomatic relations over the last 68 years, but also to our long-term exchanges which date back even further. This month, “Gradam Ceoil TG4 @ Expo25,” a documentary film, was televised and published online, depicting Irish and Japanese music exchanges during Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Music has the power to sometimes shorten our distance so dramatically. I was particularly moved by the duet by Ms Cathy Jordan in Irish and Ms KOJA Misako, a Japanese singer from Okinawa in her local dialect, “Shima-Kutouba.” Their minds certainly met each other.
On a different occasion, at a church in Dublin, I listened to carols sung by Cór Linn and Fabre Chamber Choir, which made many members of the audience feel that their minds had been purified. I thought that I had caught a glimpse of where Irish kindness is derived from.
Ms Karen Ruddock, Director of Post Primary Languages Ireland (Centre), Ambassador-designate MIYAGAWA Manabu (left) and Ms NAKATA Keiko, First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan (right) (at the Embassy of Japan in Ireland)
Irish interest in Japan seems to be quite varied. There are many factors that help to enrich our relations. However, person-to-person exchanges over many years have played a key part in this enrichment. I very much appreciate the value of these exchanges. The Japan Education and Teaching (JET) programme by the Government of Japan is one example of such an exchange. So many young Irish participants in the JET programme have lived and taught English in various places in Japan, and they have maintained their interest in Japan after returning to Ireland. Some of them continue to teach Japanese studies and the Japanese language, while others work at Japanese companies or for the Government of Japan.
Lafcadio Hearn (his Japanese name was KOIZUMI Yakumo), who was born to an Irish father and spent his boyhood in Ireland in the late 19th century, is well-known in Japan. After moving to Japan, Yakumo introduced Japanese culture to European countries and the US. Since this autumn, “Bake Bake” (“The Ghost Writer’s Wife”), the Japanese TV drama by NHK has been televised, depicting daily life in Japan during the Meiji period (1868-1912), as observed by Setsu, Yakumo’s Japanese wife. The current youth exchanges between Ireland and Japan are the result of the close bond that has been built through trial and error since the time of Setsu and Yakumo.
Lafcadio Hearn (his Japanese name was KOIZUMI Yakumo), who was born to an Irish father and spent his boyhood in Ireland in the late 19th century, is well-known in Japan. After moving to Japan, Yakumo introduced Japanese culture to European countries and the US. Since this autumn, “Bake Bake” (“The Ghost Writer’s Wife”), the Japanese TV drama by NHK has been televised, depicting daily life in Japan during the Meiji period (1868-1912), as observed by Setsu, Yakumo’s Japanese wife. The current youth exchanges between Ireland and Japan are the result of the close bond that has been built through trial and error since the time of Setsu and Yakumo.
Fox in Dublin (photo taken in December 2025)
Finally, as we approach 2026, let me touch upon a few things. In January, I will present my credentials from His Majesty the Emperor to H.E. Ms Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland. The occasion will be a great honour for us. On 7 February, a member of the consular staff of the Embassy of Japan will visit Galway to provide consular services for those who have made reservations. These services will include procedures related to overseas voting, residential registration, family registers, nationality, certificates, passports, and more.
I very much look forward to meeting, listening to, and sharing views with my Irish and Japanese friends and colleagues all over the country. Please take care of yourselves. I look forward to meeting some of you next month somewhere in Ireland and to sharing my experiences on this page again.
Yours sincerely,
MIYAGAWA Manabu
Ambassador-designate of Japan to Ireland
I very much look forward to meeting, listening to, and sharing views with my Irish and Japanese friends and colleagues all over the country. Please take care of yourselves. I look forward to meeting some of you next month somewhere in Ireland and to sharing my experiences on this page again.
Yours sincerely,
MIYAGAWA Manabu
Ambassador-designate of Japan to Ireland