Spain National Day Special Elevated Partnership Symbol of Steadily Growing Ties
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Saturday, October 12, 2019 | The Japan Times | 7 Spain National Day Special Elevated partnership symbol of steadily growing ties JORGE TOLEDO ALBINANA the first and intense contacts between our Left: Sagrada Familia AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN countries and our people. Our relationship in Barcelona is one of was finally formalized in 1868 when we the most famous Today, we celebrate established diplomatic ties — officially 150 works designed by Spain’s National years ago last year. Spanish architect Day. It is an oppor- Our bilateral relationship is excellent Antoni Gaudi. The tunity to commem- but, at the same time, it has great potential cathedral has been orate Christopher to grow and develop in all aspects, both under construction Columbus’ arrival material and immaterial. since 1882. Right: The to the American Bilateral trade has reached €6 billion in “El Drac” sculpture at continent on Oct. 2018, placing Spain as the sixth-largest sup- Guell Park in Barce- 12, 1492, a decisive plier of Japan among EU member states, lona is another step in the modern and making Japan our 16th largest cus- masterpiece of comprehension of our world. A global tomer globally. Gaudi. TURESPANA vision that was to be completed a few years The number of Japanese tourists visiting later by the first circumnavigation of the Spain went up significantly during 2018, Earth, a Spanish enterprise initiated by the reaching 551,000 visitors (an increase of Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan and 24 percent compared to 2017 figures). The completed by Juan Sebastian Elcano, a feat data available for 2019 shows a 30 percent whose 500th anniversary we commemo- increase over the number of visitors during rate this year. the same period of time last year, including Spain continues to uphold the global an important increase of those traveling and international vision that lies in the for longer stays in Spain benefiting from origins of the Oct. 12 endeavor. As the the working holidays bilateral program. If Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and ambassador of Spain, I am honored to rep- this upward tendency holds, 2019 will be Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at their resent my country in Japan and to work to a record year. Japan is also “in fashion” in meeting in Osaka in June EMBASSY OF SPAIN strengthen our ties, together with my col- Spain and among my fellow countrymen, leagues at the embassy. and an important increase of visitors to this want to point out that intangible relations The relationship between our two coun- country will soon see Iberia increasing the between our two countries also play an tries dates back a long time. The arrivals of number of its direct flights between Tokyo important role and are getting stronger by St. Francis Xavier to the coasts of Japan in and Madrid from five a week to a daily the day. Our shared interest in our respec- 1549 and the first Japanese embassy (The flight. tive cultures (literature, gastronomy, music, Keicho Embassy) in 1614 were some of Besides this positive economic data, I architecture and fashion); the attraction to each other’s lifestyles, so different and individual; and our shared point of view regarding many of the challenges posed by this new society brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution call for an even stronger and closer relationship “Las Meninas,” painted by Diego Velazquez in 1656, is exhibited at the between our two countries in the future. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao, Basque Country TURESPANA Museo del Prado in Madrid. TURESPANA Since we celebrated the Spanish national day last year, Japan has played a very chez. Japan has also led a successful and Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to and all its citizens, as well as to all my fel- active role internationally, which has also very intense presidency of the Group of 20, Tokyo to participate in the enthronement low thousands of Spaniards that have brought about an increase of our bilateral with numerous visits of Spanish ministers ceremony of His Imperial Majesty Emperor made this great country their home. official contacts in these last 12 months. to Japan to attend different meetings, and Naruhito, further proof of the close rela- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Spain the visit to Osaka of Sanchez, to take part in tionship between the two royal house- This content was compiled in collabora- last October, signing a bilateral agreement the G20 summit. holds and our two countries. tion with the embassy. The views expressed for a strategic partnership with his Spanish Finally, we will have the honor in a few Let me, on the occasion of our National here do not necessarily reflect those of the Spain is one of the largest producers of wind power in the world. TURESPANA counterpart, Prime Minister Pedro San- days to welcome Their Majesties King Day, to wish peace and prosperity to Japan newspaper. Sharing a legacy of scientific advancements NOBORU KINOSHITA medicine, the 1906 Nobel laureate in physi- PRESIDENT, THE SPANISH SOCIETY OF ology or medicine was shared by Santiago JAPAN Ramon y Cajal for his work on the structure of the nervous system. The 1959 Noble lau- On behalf of the reate in physiology or medicine was Severo Spanish Society of Ochoa, who shared the award for his work Japan, I would like on RNA and DNA. The present developer of to extend our con- clustered regularly interspaced palindromic gratulations on the repeats in genome editing, Francis Mojica, National Day of the The Spanish Society of Japan’s President is also notable. Many Spanish scholars in Kingdom of Spain. Noboru Kinoshita and Instituto Cervantes Japan are carrying on the medical geneal- The amicable rela- Tokio Director Victor Ugarte ogy research that began in Spain. In 2018, tionship between the first Meeting of Spanish Researchers Spain and Japan, presentations of the unique and impressive in Japan was held in the Spanish embassy beginning with the arrival in 1549 of Francis world of the music and the arts of Spanish- auditorium, and in 2019, the first Meeting Xavier, has grown stronger as attested by speaking countries are given almost every of Spanish Researchers in the Asia-Pacific many wonderful events. The ties are mainly week. In 2018, the academic forum Catedra Region was held at the Instituto Cervantes due to the efforts of the Spanish embassy Instituto Cervantes was established to intro- Tokio. The Catedra Instituto Cervantes is and the Instituto Cervantes Tokio. duce the influential activities of Spanish proceeding with plans for a symposium The Instituto Cervantes was established science. The Catedra Instituto Cervantes in January 2020 on the Spanish transplant in 1991 in Madrid by the Spanish govern- started its activities with the introduction of system. ment as a cultural institute for the propaga- the Spanish experts who have won interna- Spain has made outstanding contribu- tion of Spanish-language education and tional acclaim in a variety of scientific fields. tions to medical science, and will continue Spanish culture, and the Instituto Cervantes When we study the history of science, to do so. We hope that Spain will stand at Tokio was established in 2007 as an over- Spain has produced eminent scholars in var- the head of the academic fields, in both the seas branch. In the institute’s auditorium, ious scientific fields. In the field of modern humanities and the natural sciences. Congratulations on the Occasion of the National Day of Spain www.felixsolisavantis.com FelixSolisAvantis @felixsolisgrup@felixsolisgrupoo PAGE: 7.