Volume 1/2019 January-June EMBASSY of MALAYSIA in TOKYO, JAPAN
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KONNICHIWA! Volume 1/2019 January-June EMBASSY OF MALAYSIA IN TOKYO, JAPAN CONTENTS WHERE ARE WE? Page In This Edition 3 Presentation of Credentials Embassy of Malaysia 20-16 Nanpeidaicho, Shibuya 4 Working Visit of Prime Minister Tokyo 150-0036 Japan 5 Ministerial Visits to Japan 6 Visits of State Governments Phone: +81-3-3476-3840 Fax: +81-3-3476-4971 7 Working Visit of Chief Secretary E-mail: [email protected] 8-10 Engagements by the Ambassador 11 Participation at Exhibitions 12-15 Public Diplomacy 16-17 Events at the Embassy 18-19 PERWAKILAN Tokyo 20-21 Outreach and Awareness FOREWORD BY THE AMBASSADOR OF MALAYSIA TO JAPAN Dear Readers, It gives me great pleasure to present herewith the first edition of the Embassy of Malaysia’s biannual newsletter for 2019. It is my hope that this newsletter could give you a glimpse of the various activities and engagements of the Embassy for the first half of the year from January to June 2019. For the first half of the year, the historical event in Japan saw the accession of Prince Naruhito to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, following the ab- dication of his father, Emperor Akihito. According to Japan's traditional order of succession, he is the 126th monarch. Naruhito’s accession also marked the beginning of the Reiwa [interpreted as “beautiful harmony”] era. Bilateral relations with Japan have grown from strengthen to strength with various ministerial and official visits undertaken during the period. The Hon- ourable Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad visited Japan - the fourth visit since his assumption of the premiership in May 2018 - to attend the annual Nikkei Conference on 30 May 2019. Numerous public diplomacy and outreach programme carried out by the Embassy have resulted in positive and successful impacts. This has been made possible due to the excellent collaboration amongst all agencies In Japan. The second half of the year is expected to see flurries of activities, including several ministerial and high level visits. All of us at the Embassy are excited and looking forward to what lies ahead this year. We will keep our readers in- formed in our next edition. Dōmō Arigatō DATO’ KENNEDY JAWAN 2 PRESENTATION OF CREDENTIALS His Excellency Dato’ Kennedy Jawan presented his Letters of Credence on Friday, 5 April 2019 to His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan (the then Emperor and currently Emperor Emeritus) at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo. H.E. Dato’ Kennedy Jawan is the 15th Ambassador of Malaysia to the Land of the Rising Sun. Prior to being appointed as the Ambassador of Malaysia to Japan, H.E. Dato’ Kennedy Jawan had held various positions in the Malaysian foreign service. He was the Deputy Secretary General for Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia since January 2017. He had also served as the Ambas- sador of Malaysia to Spain [2008-2014]; High Commissioner of Malaysia to South Africa [2014-2016] with concurrent accreditations to Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Lesotho and Madagascar; and at Malaysian missions in Washington D.C. [2002-2005] and Myanmar [1995-1999]. H.E. Dato’ Kennedy Jawan, 57 years old, who hails from Sibu, Sarawak, is married to Datin Josephine Anak Dagang and they have four children. The Malaysian entourage was welcomed H.M. Emperor Akihito receiving H.E. Dato’ by the Grand Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Kennedy Jawan during the credential ceremony H.E. Dato’ Kennedy Jawan and Datin Josephine Anak Dagang held a small reception at the Residence after the Ceremony. Present were the Chief of Protocol and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, officials of the Embassy of Malaysia and several Malaysians residing in Tokyo 3 WORKING VISIT OF THE HONOURABLE TUN DR. MAHATHIR MOHAMAD PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA TO TOKYO, 29-31 MAY 2019 The Honourable Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir paid a visit to Tokyo from 29 to 31 May to attend the 25th Nikkei International Conference on the Future of Asia on 30 May 2019. It was the Prime Minister’s 21st appearance at the annual confer- ence. For the visit, he was accompanied by his spouse Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali; Deputy For- eign Minister Dato' Marzuki Yahya; and senior gov- ernment officials. The Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; spoke at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan; and attended the Malaysia-Japan Business Dialogue. [Top] Bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abe During the Bilateral Meeting on 31 May, both leaders discussed several bilateral issues of mutual interest that include the successful issu- ance of the 200 billion yen Samurai Bond by the Government of Malaysia in March 2019; the opening of a a branch campus of Tsukuba Uni- versity in Malaysia; trade and investments; as [Top] The Hon. Prime Minister sharing his views on the well as regional issues. situation in Malaysia as well as various international and ———————————————————- geopolitics issues during the talk at the Foreign Corre- spondent's Club of Japan on 30 May Left: The Hon. Prime Minister attending the Malaysia-Japan Business Dialogue on 30 May, where he spoke on the economy and the in- vestment climate in Malaysia. More than 20 Japanese conglomerates from various sectors, ranging from health to finan- cial services, attended the dialogue. The ma- jority of the companies expressed their con- tinued commitment to expand their businesses or invest in new projects in Malaysia. 4 Ministerial Visits to Japan The Honourable Lim Guan Eng, Finance Minister paid a visit to Japan - the Samurai Bond Roadshow - following the agreement by Japan to issue JPY200 billion 10-year bond which was guaranteed by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation. The Hon. Minister met with the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso and Dr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan. [Top] The Hon. Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance met with H.E. Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Japan on 7 February. [Right] The Hon. Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance called on Dr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan on 8 February. [Top] Group photo of the Hon. Minister Hajah Zuraida with some of the Malaysian attendees. The Hon. Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister of Housing and Local Government visited Tokyo to attend the Women Political Leaders Summit on 25-27 June in Tokyo. She also held a programme to meet the Malaysian community at the Embassy of Malaysia on 27 June. She highlighted several of her Ministry’s new programme and initiatives being implemented. She also spoke on the current situation in Malaysia. [Left] The Hon. Dr Jayakumar paid a call on H.E. Keiichi Ishii. [Right] The Hon. Dr Jayakumar with the Malaysian participants of the Japan Water Forum. The Hon. Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources paid a visit to Fukuoka and Tokyo on 23-27 June with the objectives of promoting cooperation in good water governance as well as seeking collaborations in water-related challenges faced by Malaysia. During the visit he also met with H.E. Keiichi Ishii, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan on 25 June in Tokyo. 5 Visits by State Governments The Hon. Adly Zahari, Chief Minister of Melaka undertook a visit to Tokyo in March 2019. On 27th March, he held a dinner - meeting session with Malaysians in Tokyo to provide updates on developments in Malaysia, especially in the state of Melaka. (Far Left) Hon. Adly and H.E. Dato’ Kennedy; (Left) Hon. Adly with the Malaysian participants The Hon. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Chief Minister of Perak led a 26-member delegation for a Working Visit to Fukuoka and Tokyo on 1-5 April. The visit to Fukuoka was in conjunction with the 30th anniversary celebration of Ipoh-Fukuoka Twin Cities. In Tokyo, the Hon. Chief Minister held discussions with relevant Japanese authorities on sharing of best practices on more effective urban management and to preserve the environment, as well as seeking [Left] Discussions with Japanese authorities investment opportunities into Perak. [Right] Gathering with Malaysians He also met with Malaysians during the visit. ————————————————— On 29-30 April, the Hon. Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Chief Minister of Kedah, paid a visit to Tokyo and held discussions with officials of Shibaura Institute of Technology to discuss po- tential collaboration with Universiti Utara Malaysia. [Left] Hon. Dato Seri Mukhriz [Far Left] Gathering with Malaysians. Also present were Itabashi Mayor Sakamoto and his wife. On 16 April, the Hon. Amirudin Shari, Chief Minister of Selangor and H.E. Dato' Kennedy Jawan graced the Opening Ceremony of the Malaysian Pavilion at the Premium Food Show 2019. 14 Malaysian companies, including Invest Selangor Berhad participated in this year's Food Show [Left] Ribbon cutting ceremony [Right] Malaysian Pavilion 6 Working Visit of Chief Secretary to the Government 21-23 June 2019 Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr. Ismail Hj. Bakar, paid a working visit to Tokyo and Kobe on 21-23 June. In Tokyo, he visited the JR Freight Sumidagawa; University of Tsukuba; AEON headquarters; Toyosu Market; Tsukiji market and met with Embassy officials. In Kobe, he visited the Japanese beef and dairy farms. [Top] The delegation was given a briefing on the [Top] Datuk Seri Dr. Ismail met with Prof. Kyosuke Japanese freight railway system, followed by a tour Nagata, President of the University of Tsukuba, and of the JR Freight Sumidagawa Station discussed the university’s strong interest to establish its branch campus in Malaysia [Bottom] Datuk Seri Dr.