Message from Mr. Kiyoshi Kimura, Honorary Director of the Japan Association for Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean

 

I would like to welcome you to the website of the Japan Association for the Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean (JAPOLAC).

My name is Kiyoshi Kimura, President of Kiyomura Corporation and owner of the restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai.

For many years, I have had the opportunity to meet and befriend people from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). I have also carried out tuna-cutting demonstration and testing at events organized by the Embassies of Panama and Cuba.

I have observed LAC people are very friendly and cheerful, with a positive attitude toward life. LAC region is also full of natural, cultural and historical wealth, not known to many Japanese people.

On the other hand, Japan looks very far for Latin people, and probably, they think of Japan only in terms of technological devices.

Due to the lack of knowledge about each other, a group of Japanese and Latin American people have decided to create JAPOLAC with the purpose of promoting exchanges between Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in various fields such as human resources, culture, education, environment, agriculture, trade, tourism, artificial intelligence, among others.

JAPOLAC wishes to establish a cooperative model with the active participation of Japanese and LAC people to bring together the best values and practices of both cultures as well as to increase the spiritual and material wealth of people in both regions.

Based on the above, JAPOLAC will endeavor to serve as a platform for smooth communications between Japan and LAC, supporting projects of common interest in different areas to further deepen human bonds in both regions.

I am very happy to join JAPOLAC as Honorary Director, and in this capacity, will make efforts to deepen Japan and LAC relations at different levels, working for the mutual prosperity and progress of our regions.

Truly yours,