Consul-General Yamamoto Visits Kingston and Queen’s University
Consul-General of Japan Eiji Yamamoto visited Kingston on Oct. 9, as part of his tour of regions under his jurisdiction. While there, he met with Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen, Queen’s University President Daniel Woolf and representatives of the local Japanese community. He also gave a presentation on Japan-Canada relations at the university.
Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen (left) meets with Consul-General Eiji Yamamoto.
Kingston lies 250 km east of Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario. The late Prince Takamado of Japan once attended Queen’s University which is located in Kingston.
Mayor Gerretsen explained to the Consul-General how Kingston was named the first capital of the Province of Canada in 1841, and how it developed through providing public facilities such as Canadian military bases, various correctional facilities and Queen’s University. The Mayor also said he had relatives in Fukushima, Japan, the site of the nuclear accident last March, and said his impression was that the Japanese Government was acting very cautiously, putting the safety of its citizens top priority.
The Consul-General expressed his appreciation for the generous support shown by Canadians for Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake last year, as well as his hope and support for continuing exchange between Kingston and Japan.
Consul-General Yamamoto meets with Queen's University President Daniel Woolf (right).
Queen’s University is one of Canada’s celebrated educational institutions, as illustrated by Prince Takamado’s attendance. President Woolf explained how his university devoted considerable effort toward internationalization, and was in active exchange with Japanese schools such as Kyushu University, Waseda University and Keio University. In particular, Queen’s University’s relationship with Kwansei University has deepened in recent years, resulting in several Japanese students coming to Queen’s for language study, as well as academic and research exchanges..
President Woolf also stated he had attended Queen’s with Prince Takamado. Because of this, when the President was working at the University of Alberta, he actively assisted in establishing the Price Takamado Japan Canada Memorial Fund there.
The Consul-General expressed his appreciation for the university's initiatives in hosting so many Japanese students, and his hope that the school’s exchange with Japan will continue to develop.
Consul-General Yamamoto meets with representatives of the Japanese community in Kingston.
Representatives of the local Japanese community who met with the Consul-General included those who were active in Japanese language education, researchers at Queen’s Unviersity and those who were active in high school student exchange programs. The meeting was fruitful and provided a great deal of information for the Consul-General, who said he was very impressed by the level of local exchange with Japan. He expressed his sincere appreciation to the efforts devoted by the local Japanese community toward the betterment of Japan-Canada relations.
Consul-General Yamamoto gives a lecture to Queen's students.
Later in the day, the Consul-General gave a presentation to Queen’s University students and researchers entitled “Japan in Asia and its Relations with Canada”, outlining the importance of the partnership between the two countries. The enthusiastic audience asked questions pertaining to such topics as Japan-China relations, nuclear energy policies, immigration and globalism.
It is the intention of the Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto to continue to foster and improve relations with all regions in its jurisdiction.
