Mr. Kiyoshi Kimura, Honorary Director of JAPOLAC, along with Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director, Mr. Ajoy Shinha Roy, Senior Director, and Mr. Hirokazu Yamaguchi, Managing Director of JAPOLAC, attended a reception on the occasion of the official mission to Japan by H.E. Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Dominican Republic.

During the event, Mr. Kimura conveyed JAPOLAC’s greetings to Vice President Peña and expressed his best wishes for stronger ties between Japan and the Dominican Republic. He also informed the Vice President that JAPOLAC is available to support and advance education, culture and business cooperation between both countries.

Vice President Peña’s itinerary included meetings with authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, parliament, the mayor of Aikawa city, Dominican Republic citizens residing in Aikawa city, the president of the baseball team Hiroshima Toyo Carp, as well as a visit to the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, among other activities.

JAPOLAC will host the cultural event “Rhythms of the Caribbean: The Magic of Dominican Republic” on July 23 this year at Hamamatsuchokan in the center of Tokyo to promote Dominican Republic’s music, dance, food and tourism.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the Embassy of the Dominican Republic is an honorary member of JAPOLAC.

 

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC, held a working meeting with H.E. Robert Takata, Ambassador of Dominican Republic, to request the cooperation of the Embassy of Dominican Republic to celebrate the next JAPOLAC event showcasing the music, dance, food and tourism of Dominican Republic.

H.E. Robert Takata expressed his support for the celebration of the event titled “Rhythms of the Caribbean: The Magic of Dominican Republic” to be held on Sunday, July 23, 2023, at Hamamatsuchokan, Tokyo City Port Takeshiba.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC, also explained Ambassador Takata about a scholarship program to invite talented high schools from Latin America and the Caribbean to Japan.

Ambassador Takata showed interest in the program and confirmed the cooperation of the Embassy to identify talented students from Dominican Republic to participate in the said program.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC, paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Miguel A. Ramirez, Ambassador of Cuba to express his gratitude for the support of the Embassy of Cuba in the successful celebration of the event “Rhythms of the Caribbean: The Charm of Cuba” held on February 4, 2023, to promote Cuban culture.

During the meeting, Ambassador Ramirez also expressed his thankfulness to Dr. Diaz for the donation carried out by JAPOLAC to support the education of economically vulnerable people in Cuba. Part of the funds raised in JAPOLAC’s cultural events are allocated to social welfare activities of the country theme of the event.

In addition, Dr. Diaz exchanged views with Ambassador Ramirez regarding the possibility of academic and research cooperation between Japan and Cuba in the area of medicine due to the high level of advancement of Cuba in the medical field.

JAPOLAC also promotes academic exchanges between Japanese and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) universities, and in this regard, relies on the cooperation of the LAC embassies to identify universities interested in fostering academic links with Japan.