Letter from Japanese Ambassador in Ireland (January) - "Ireland in January"

Dear Friends,

I hope that this letter finds you well as the coldest days of the year continue with frequent rain on and off here in Dublin. I have been trying to adjust myself to the Irish winter after having lived and worked for three years in Okinawa, the warmest southern island in Japan. Some of my friends have recommended that I enjoy swimming in the ocean during winter. However, I shall keep that pleasure for next winter. 

During the first month of the year, I suppose that you might have met Japanese and Irish friends and colleagues through your private and official exchanges. There have been various encounters around me as well. On 1 January, I attended the celebration of the Eucharist on the World Day of Peace at the Church of the Guardian Angels in Dublin. The Most Reverend Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin, prayed for world peace and the earliest possible end to the ongoing conflicts in the world, recalling the history of Ireland including the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Archbishop’s words made me realise deeply again the meaning of peace at the beginning of the year. Most of the participants were from local communities, and I recalled the Mass to which I was invited more than 30 years ago with my friend and his family in Wales in the UK. I solemnly joined the prayer. 

On 13 January, I presented my credentials from His Majesty, the Emperor to H.E. Ms Catherine Connolly, President of Ireland at Áras an Uachtarán. The President began her remarks by expressing her condolences about H.E. Mr SHIMADA Junji, former Ambassador of Japan to Ireland who passed away last year. Ambassador SHIMADA entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in the same year that I did, and the President’s sincere words had me trying to stop tears from falling during the ceremony. Then, the President smiled, and continued to talk in her own words about the recent remarkable development of relations between Japan and Ireland, expressing her expectations for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland next year. Fortunately, eight days after the ceremony, I was invited again by the President to her New Year’s Reception for the Diplomatic Corps with all the Ambassadors in Ireland. Of course, I was deeply honoured to reiterate my gratitude. 

The presentation of credentials has for many years been the first ceremony for arriving Ambassadors to attend. By handing the letters of credence and recall from the head of state of a sending country addressed to the head of state of the receiving country, an ambassador-designate is allowed to begin full-fledged activities formally as ambassador. A date for the presentation of credentials is decided in accordance with the order of arrivals of the ambassador to the receiving country. Ambassadors from Vietnam and Slovenia presented their credentials in December. For President Connolly, who assumed office as President last autumn, Ambassadors from Vietnam and Slovenia were the first ones. Japan was the third country received by President Connolly. It took place on the same day as the Ambassador of Pakistan. 

The first month of this year has also seen vigorous mutual exchanges between Irish and Japanese young people. In early January, students from Sapporo Nishi High School visited the Embassy of Japan during their stay in Ireland. For about an hour and half, they shared their impressions of staying with Irish families, visiting various places in Ireland, talking a lot about their extracurricular activities at their high school in Sapporo and foreign countries they would like to visit in future among other things. My Embassy colleagues and I also enjoyed exchanging views with them about relations between Ireland and Japan and so on. I heard that Sapporo Nishi High School had visited Ireland every year for 18 years. How wonderful! 

At the end of this month, the Embassy of Japan invited local secondary school and university students to the official residence of the Japanese Ambassador. Dr Peter MacMillan kindly hosted a Japanese karuta competition for the students. Dr MacMillan was born in Ireland, and he has introduced the Japanese traditional karuta game called “Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each)” to the rest of the world. He has translated the one hundred poems in English, and made 10,000 sets of “Hyakunin Isshu” cards in English. Most recently, Dr MacMillan published a book titled “Shin Hyakunin Isshu (New One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each)”, which explains “Hyakunin Isshu” through the original poems, their contemporary translations, and new super-condensed translations reflecting the latest culture of Japan. I pay special tribute to Dr MacMillan’s genius in freely translating the spirit of words at ease, flying quickly from ancient to present times.
 
Now the year 2026 has begun. Have you made a new year’s resolution? Following a Japanese custom, I have chosen one Japanese character to express my resolution. The character chosen is 愛 (‘ai,’ meaning ‘love’), which is also used to describe Ireland in Japanese characters (愛(ai)蘭(ran)土(do)). I will visit various places in Ireland (愛蘭土), meeting together with many Irish people day by day. Then, I hope that we can make the ties between our countries, woven by our predecessors, even more prosperous. February will come next week. I look forward to seeing you somewhere in Ireland or on this page next month as well. I wish you well. 

Yours sincerely,
MIYAGAWA Manabu
Ambassador of Japan to Ireland