Headline
2019/6/13
Garden Party at the Ambassador’s Residence
On 13 June, Ambassador Kodama hosted the Japanese Mission’s annual summer garden party at his residence. It was attended by high-level guests including Vĕra Jourová, the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Dr. Ioan Mircea Paşcu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Pedro Silva Pereira MEP. Other guests included representatives from the EU institutions (the European Commission, the Council of European Union, the European Parliament, and the EEAS), the permanent representatives to the EU and third countries Ambassadors including the U.S., Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea and other diplomatic corps, think tanks, journalists and Japanese companies. The reception was very successful and a total of 500 guests and staff from the mission participated in the event.
In the opening speech as the host, Ambassador Kodama, expressed the congratulatory remarks on the enthronement of the Majesty the Emperor and metioned that the new era “Reiwa”’s start. After the speech, Commissioner Jourová and Mr Silva Pereira joined Ambassador Kodama for “Kagami-biraki” (The Japanese sake barrel-opening ceremony) with sake from Fukushima prefecture and gave the toast.
The garden party was a great opportunity for guests to discover the latest Japanese technological and artisanal innovations, Japanese tourism which were presented by representatives from Kaneka, Toyota, Kaneka, Nitto, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, JR East, JNTO and RIO BREWING＆CO (Uijin beer).
In addition, thanks to the collaboration of Fukushima kenjinkai, the special section for sake and food from Fukushima prefecture was set up in order to support sustainable recovery and renewal from the Great East Japan Earthquake and promote food safety.
The garden party was a great occasion for Japanese and European counterparts to deepen their relationships in a relaxed atmosphere. Many guests remarked how much they enjoyed the Japanese food and sake and that the experience of the party had made them even fonder of Japanese culture and others expressed very positive comments including Japanese wines provided was as good as French wines.
In the opening speech as the host, Ambassador Kodama, expressed the congratulatory remarks on the enthronement of the Majesty the Emperor and metioned that the new era “Reiwa”’s start. After the speech, Commissioner Jourová and Mr Silva Pereira joined Ambassador Kodama for “Kagami-biraki” (The Japanese sake barrel-opening ceremony) with sake from Fukushima prefecture and gave the toast.
The garden party was a great opportunity for guests to discover the latest Japanese technological and artisanal innovations, Japanese tourism which were presented by representatives from Kaneka, Toyota, Kaneka, Nitto, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, JR East, JNTO and RIO BREWING＆CO (Uijin beer).
In addition, thanks to the collaboration of Fukushima kenjinkai, the special section for sake and food from Fukushima prefecture was set up in order to support sustainable recovery and renewal from the Great East Japan Earthquake and promote food safety.
The garden party was a great occasion for Japanese and European counterparts to deepen their relationships in a relaxed atmosphere. Many guests remarked how much they enjoyed the Japanese food and sake and that the experience of the party had made them even fonder of Japanese culture and others expressed very positive comments including Japanese wines provided was as good as French wines.