Ambassador's Corner

 

New year greetings from the Ambassador Sano

 

In my capacity as Ambassador of Japan to Denmark, I, Toshio Sano, would like to send my new year greetings to all Japanese residents in Denmark, everyone visiting from Japan and everyone with an interest in Japan and Denmark.

 

It is, of course, my duty and that of the Embassy of Japan’s not only to protect and aid all resident Japanese and Japanese visitors, but also to promote better mutual understanding between Denmark and Japan by accelerating exchanges in the fields of business, culture, and science and technology. Therefore, I hope that you will make maximum use of the Embassy as your point of reference.

 

Japan and Denmark share many thoughts and views on issues and opportunities stemming from the globalised world, and this works to strengthen our relationship of cooperation in the international community even further.

 

Thanks to the untiring efforts of Japanese nationals who have resided in Denmark for a long time, the relationship between our two countries is extremely friendly and has fortunately been blessed with not having to deal with any serious problems.

 

Since I was appointed as Ambassador to Denmark, I have devoted much thought to the following two points with the objective of further developing the relations between our two countries.

 

First of all, in order to solve some of the problems in Japan, we can learn from Denmark’s example, especially in the areas where Denmark is the most advanced.

 

For example, Denmark, like Japan, faces the approach of an aging society, but it has a well developed social welfare system, excellent social policies and medical care. There are, however, many problems implicated in using this system and policies. So from now on, I believe there are many issues to study for each country in order to be ready to resolve the problems of an aging society. Denmark has also set a daring target for solving the problem of global warming for the world to follow. It is not possible to make a simple comparison of the economies in Denmark and Japan, because of the difference in scale, but a sensible policy which Japan can learn from Denmark is making maximum practical use of renewable energy like wind power and try to secure economic growth and employment through green development. And the Danish educational system, which gives children self esteem and advanced English education, is also something which we can learn from.

 

There is also the fact that, in spite of the public sector being comparatively large, Danish efficiency and productivity is also high. At the same time, the Danes enjoy a balanced civic life with an emphasis on domestic life.

 

I believe that our country, Japan, can learn from these examples.

 

Of course, the difference in the size of the populations – the Danish population of approximately 5,6 million and the Japanese population of a little less than 130 million - makes a simple comparison inappropriate, but as a model for the coming 21 st century, there are many ideas that Japan could emulate, if in the future Japan moves onward with decentralization of the power to local government, and makes changes to society to have more respect for local systems.

 

Secondly, in order for them to understand our country better, I would like to communicate to the people of Denmark the areas in which Japan excels.

 

One thing that I would like to mention is that we consider it our duty as citizens of an advanced democratic and peace-loving state and a member of the international community to protect fundamental basic values, namely freedom, democracy, human rights, rules of law, and market economy.

 

I would also like to share my knowledge about East Asia's remarkable economic growth, the dynamic reality of cultural diversity and the harsh strategic environment in Northeast Asia.  The Embassy of Japan holds the “Sakura Festival” every year in cooperation with The Japanese Association in Denmark, and introduces various parts of Japanese culture such as Japanese martial arts, music, tea ceremony, Japanese food and pop culture. And we have introduced Danish people to Japanese culture such as Noh, Sushi and Sake demonstrations and Japanese traditional vegetarian food (Buddhist cuisine). I hope it has helped many Danish young people to know our country.

I believe that in order to increase both peoples’ mutual understanding further than the stage of merely having a positive image of each other, it is necessary to communicate these matters on a face to face level.

 

I also think that Denmark and Japan can act and use each other as a bridge to Europe or Asia in implementing their respective European or Asian policies. In this sense Japan and Denmark can be gateways to each other in Asia and Europe, and I have spread this idea to intellectuals and business people.

 

Let us therefore enhance the close cooperation between our two countries in dealing with the challenges that we share, namely the problems of global warming, international terrorism, the crackdown on pirates, the promotion of free trade and investment, cyber-terrorism, security issues, disarmament and non-proliferation.

 

The Embassy is expected to carry out the role of increasing mutual understanding and to perform many other tasks. Your advice and opinions are very precious and always welcome, and we appeal for your continued support. .

 

I hope this year 2013 will be a fruitful and prosperous year for all of you.

Thank you.

Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Denmark