Last Thursday, I attended an event at the University of Connecticut (UConn) –Stamford Campus, with the Ambassador and Consul General of Japan in NY, Shinichi Nishimiya. The event was co-sponsored by the Japan Society of Fairfield County, Inc. and the UConn Center for Globalization and Commerce.
The Ambassador mentioned what he calls “Grassroots Diplomacy”--- his goal to bring Japan to the people so to speak. He mentioned when I questioned him that it is his goal when he speaks at campuses to make Japan ‘accessible' to everyone.
As more and more young people in the U.S. are interested in Japanese culture due to anime & manga, cool fashions out of Tokyo and other Japanese pop-culture trends, there is an up-tick in Japanese study. This is an opportunity him to really open discussion in new ways with America about Japan.
In the past people such as myself studied Japanese mainly for business reasons. This is changing but the end result is the same as I mentioned in The Manga and Anime Revolution in America post last year -- more people studying Japanese language and culture and that will be good for business between the two nations.
Not just financial aid (which is very important) but responsibility to share expertise and technology in international efforts. He mentioned that with two recent earthquakes, one in Haiti and the other in Chile that Japan immediately deployed Self Defense Forces for assistance as well as much needed financial aid. In addition, being that Japan is an earthquake prone nation, its earthquake technology is more advanced than most nations and that it gladly shares this advanced expertise with other nations.
He mentioned Japan’s goal to actively be a bridge and guiding force in bringing the countries of East Asia and the world closer together as the region goes through growth and shifts in economy and politics.
Ambassador Nishimiya’s presentation was filled with specific mention of goals and programs that will take the way Japan is perceived by Americans in new directions. His efforts are at levels that directly reach the 'lay people" and not just upper echelons of finance, banking etc. It was the Ambassador putting forth his action items to help fulfill Japan’s part of the Japan-U.S. global leadership responsibilities.
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The Japan Society of Fairfield County, Inc. is a private non-profit membership organization comprised of volunteers and dedicated to building knowledge and mutual understanding between Japanese and Americans through educational, cultural and philanthropic programs.
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