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.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC participated at a working lunch with Mr. Juan Camilo Gomez, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of Colombia to exchange views on the potential collaboration to promote access of Colombian products in the Japanese market.

One of the objectives of JAPOLAC is trade facilitation between Japan and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on the promotion of small and medium size companies.

Dr. Ritter Diaz, Representative Director of JAPOLAC held an online working meeting with professors from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Chiba University (CU) to explore the possibility of developing special lectures on Latin America and the Caribbean for CU students.

CU has been collaborating with JAPOLAC to expand academic cooperation with universities in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

On September 5, took place the first short online program delivered by the University of Technology, Jamaica to Chiba University students under the Program of University Internationalization by the Japan Association for Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean (JAPOLAC).

The three-week synchronous short online program includes an introduction to Jamaica’s history, geography and culture; a course on Jamaica’s energy sector; a course on Jamaica’s ecology and climate change; and a component for cultural exchange and interaction between Japanese and Jamaican university students.

The opening ceremony was honored by the presence of H.E. Masaya Fujiwara, Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, H.E. Shorna-Kay Richards, Ambassador of Jamaica to Japan, Professor Makoto Watanabe, Vice President of Chiba University, and Professor Colin Gyles, President (Acting) of the University of Technology, Jamaica.

During the welcoming remarks, the Director Representative of JAPOLAC, Dr. Ritter Diaz, pointed out that this program will serve as the first step for a closer academic cooperation between Chiba University and the University of Technology, Jamaica.

JAPOLAC’s short online programs seek to introduce practical knowledge of Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) to Japanese university students, encouraging them to visit and study in the LAC region.