The Japanese Association for the Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean (JAPOLAC) organized a virtual meeting to introduce the Embassy of Colombia in Japan to Chiba University, with the purpose of promoting academic exchanges between Chiba University and Colombian universities.

Representing the Embassy of Colombia were H.E. Santiago Pardo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia and the Second Secretary María Claudia Vélez, while Chiba University counted on the participation of Dr. Makoto Watanabe, Executive Vice President of Education, Student and International Affairs, Dr. Michiko Takagaki, Director of the Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, Mr. Kiyoshi Takao, Deputy Director of the Department of International Affairs and Ms. Satoko Jumi, Head of the Department of International Affairs.

The University of Chiba carried out a presentation of the university to Ambassador Pardo, who expressed his gratitude for this first meeting, aimed at expanding academic exchanges between Japanese and Colombian universities.

JAPOLAC was represented by Dr. Ritter Díaz, Representative Director of the Association and Ms. Martha Zelayandía, former Ambassador of El Salvador in Japan and Honorary Member of the Association, in charge of international exchange programs.

One of the objectives of JAPOLAC is the promotion of academic exchanges between Japanese and Latin American and Caribbean universities, as well as the creation of an academic and research network between Japan and LAC.

On September 9, Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC held a virtual meeting with Mrs. Celia Labora, Director of International Affairs of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba to explain the objectives and activities of JAPOLAC and explore ways to cooperate in the promotion of Cuban products in the Japanese market.

The meeting was organized by the Embassy of Cuba in Japan, which was represented by Mrs. Katia Monzon, Commercial Counsellor of the Cuban Mission.

On the following day, Dr. Ritter Diaz, together with Mr. Hirokazu Yamaguchi, Managing Director of JAPOLAC held a meeting with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tokyo-Japan to explain the objectives and activities of the Association.

One of the activities of JAPOLAC is the promotion of small and medium size Japanese companies interested in the Latin American and Caribbean market.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC held a meeting with top representatives of ITO EN Ltd, a well-established Japanese beverage company dedicated to manufacturing and sales of tea and other healthy beverages. ITO EN is Japan’s largest green tea distributor and the country’s fourth largest soft drink producer.

Dr. Diaz explained the objectives and activities of JAPOLAC and expressed his support for the introduction of ITO EN products, especially Japanese tea, in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Dr. Diaz was also accompanied by Mr. Neil Butler, President of Japan Partnership Holding, who is also an Advisor and Member of JAPOLAC.

ITO EN representatives explained the company’s product portfolio and look forward to identifying future business opportunities in the region of LAC.

One of the main activities of JAPOLAC is business facilitation for Japanese and LAC companies interested in introducing their products in the market of the other.

On August 19, Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC participated in the Workshop Digital Solutions to Improve Food Trade and Traceability, organized by the Interamerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

During the workshop, Dr. Gerardo Escudero, Representative of IICA in Panama explained technical cooperation projects implemented by IICA to improve production and trade of beef, grapes, banana, coffee and other products in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. He also referred to pilots projects conducted by IICA to develop Blockchain in the agricultural sector to secure the transparency and traceability of products in domestic and international markets.

The workshop also included a presentation on Blockchain, delivered by Mr. David Proenza, President of the Foundation for Development of Controlled Environment Agriculture, who explained the concept, characteristics, and processes involved in this new digital platform, which is emerging as a new ecosystem for the agricultural sector to directly connect producers and consumers.

In his intervention, Dr. Ritter Diaz made a brief presentation of JAPOLAC, which seeks to facilitate trade between small and medium size companies of Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Diaz also congratulated IICA for his role in the establishment of the Research Center for Production of Agriculture in Controlled Environment as well as the development of digital platforms such as Blockchain to boost the agricultural sector.

At the closing of the workshop, H.E. Augusto Valderrama, Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama welcomed the efforts of IICA to introduce new digital technologies to the agriculture sector and expressed the strong support from his office to speed up the process of digital transformation of agriculture to improve life of farmers.

JAPOLAC organized a virtual meeting between Chiba University and the University of Costa Rica with the purpose of promoting academic exchanges between both universities with focus on renewable energy and environment.

Representatives from both universities made a presentation about their academic programs and agreed to organize a short online program for CU students next year.

Participants from Chiba University included Mr. Kiyoshi Takao, Deputy Director for International Affairs, Ms. Satoko Jumi, Chief, International Affairs Division, Dr. Michiko Takagaki, Faculty and Dr. Lu Na, Faculty. The University of Costa Rica was represented by Dr. Diana SENIOR ANGULO (Ms.), Director of the International Affairs Office and External Cooperation and Mr. Alejandro MORALES GUTIÉRREZ, in charge of cooperation with Asia.

JAPOLAC was represented by Ambassador Martha Zelayandia, Honorary Member of JAPOLAC, in charge of international academic programs, and Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of the Association who served as moderator of the meeting.

One of the activities of JAPOLAC is the promotion of international academic exchanges between universities of Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean to develop an academic and research network between Japan and LAC.