On November 29, the Foreign Minister’s Certificate of Appreciation Award Ceremony (hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) was held at the Iikura diplomatic mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minato-ku, Tokyo), attended by 70 corps members who had completed their term of service and returned home. The awarding ceremony was the first one held in about four years after the Corona Disaster. Guests of honor included members of the Diet who support the JICA Volunteer Program and representatives of the affiliations of the returned members who participated in the current program.
Grassroots diplomats” working with local people to solve problems
In his opening remarks, Masahiro Takamura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, praised the returning diplomats for their contributions to local economic and social development and promotion of mutual understanding as grassroots diplomats, and presented each of them with a letter of appreciation.
Mr. Masahiro Takamura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, presented a letter of appreciation to each of the participants
What you can do to make the world a better place
Yoshimi Hamamoto, giving a representative speech On behalf of the returnees in attendance, Yoshimi Hamamoto (from Hiroshima Prefecture), who worked in Paraguay as a Community Development Corps member, said, “Our activities began in the Corona Vortex. Under such circumstances, we were able to have a precious opportunity to participate in the Cooperation Corps and complete our term of service thanks to the support of our always cheerful local colleagues and friends, our fellow Cooperation Corps members who shared our hardships and joys, our friends and family who supported us from faraway Japan, and many other related people including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy, and JICA, and the understanding of the people of Japan. Looking back on his activities, he expressed his gratitude, saying, “From now on, I would like to make use of these experiences and do what I can do “for a better world” as a member of the international community.
Expectations for domestic issues to be resolved
At the reception that followed the award ceremony, Parliamentary Secretary Takamura read Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa’s greeting on behalf of the recipients, expressing her respect for their service in their home countries as part of Japan’s development cooperation efforts and her hope that they will apply their knowledge and experience gained in developing countries as JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to solving problems in Japan. He also expressed his hope that the knowledge and experience he gained in developing countries as a JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer would be used to solve problems in Japan. Next, on behalf of the JICA parliamentary group, Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, a member of the House of Representatives, expressed his appreciation to the returning members and encouraged them to continue their activities in the future.
The meeting was closed by JICA Vice President Junichi Yamada, who expressed his respect for the members of the corps who worked in the Corona Disaster, and his gratitude to the guests and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their continued support of the cooperative program to meet the expectations of developing countries and Japan.
Scene of the meeting (1) Scene of the meeting (2)
*in alphabetical order
Hitoshi Aoyagi, House of Representatives; Taku Ishii, House of Representatives; Shinji Oguma, House of Representatives; Yuko Obuchi, House of Representatives; Shinichi Nakatani, House of Representatives; Ken Noma, House of Representatives; Hiyayuki Fujii, House of Representatives; Takeaki Matsumoto, House of Representatives; Yuichiro Wada, House of Representatives; Muneo Suzuki, House of Councilors secretary; Kentsuchi Horii, House of Representatives secretary
Mr. Dori Ike (Director and General Manager, Head Office Sales Division, Ishikawa Television Broadcasting Corporation), Mr. Nobuo Shibuya (General Manager, Ebina Crew Station, Operation Car Division, Odakyu Electric Railway Company), Mr. Shingo Suzuki (Senior Manager, Software Open Innovation Division, Fujitsu Limited), Ms. Natsuko Seki (Researcher, International Farmers’ Participatory Technology Network (NPO)) International Network for Farmer Participatory Technology (NPO), Researcher)
Related Link JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers
Incumbent Participation
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