22 March 2023
This year the celebration of Japan’s National Day took place on 15 March 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa, a day after Ambassador Shigeru Ushio presented his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa where he conveyed the message from His Majesty the Emperor of Japan wishing for the advancement of friendship and goodwill between Japan and South Africa.
The Japanese nation commemorates their National Day on the 23rd of February as a celebration of the birthday of Emperor His Majesty Naruhito who celebrated his 63rd birthday this year. He ascended to the throne in 2019 which began the Reiwa era of beautiful harmony.
Japan’s relationship with South Africa dates back to 1910, over a century ago, when Julius Jeppe was appointed Consul General for Japan to South Africa. It has been a century in which profound global changes have taken place that has had a divergent and sometimes contrasting impact and influence on the development of these two nations. The relationship of over a hundred years has grown and strengthened between Japan, on the eastern most corner of the world, and South Africa, on the most southern.
Ushio highlighted three points that he would pursue in enhancing the Japan-South Africa relationship. “The first is human resource development. Japan’s contribution to date includes Japanese government scholarships for more than 100 students. Apart from the scholarships, this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Abe initiative, which is the Master’s Degree and Internship Program announced by former Prime Minister Abe at TICAD5 in 2013. 136 students from South Africa joined the program. The participants of this program hold key positions in business and the public sector in South Africa. The JET program is an example of how South African youth contribute to English education and community internationalization of Japan. To date, around 850 participants from South Africa taught English in Japanese primary and secondary schools.
“The second is business activities and employment. Around 160 Japanese companies have offices in South Africa, and create about 15 thousand jobs. To continue their activities, these companies need a safe, foreseeable and stable business environment. I would like to enhance dialogue with the government of South Africa in this regard.
“The third point is academia and science. Between Japan and South Africa, there are frameworks that include SAJU (South Africa-Japan Universities), a forum to promote bilateral academic exchange and cooperation, AJ-CORE (Africa-Japan Collaborative Research), a framework for joint research, and SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development), a framework for bilateral joint research on global issues and development. On-going joint projects include promising technologies for de-carbonization like Hydrogen and Ammonia. The establishment of the Japan Center at Stellenbosch University last August was also a key development,” said Ambassador Ushio.
Guests enjoyed Japanese cuisine and drink at the celebration and Japanese products and services were on display.