On 19 May 2017 Members of the Kansai Consular Corps and other distinguished guests gathered at the Kobe Portopia Hotel for the Commemorative Ceremony of the 150th Anniversary of the Port of Kobe.

This ceremony was one part celebration of the past and one part vision for the future. Individuals who in the past made significant contributions to the development of the Port were recognized, and a presentation of the future vision for the Port.

(Photos from the event are kindly provided by the International Department of the Office of the Mayor of Kobe City)

The 2017 Kansai Consular Corps Youth Symposium was held on 26 March in cooperation with Osaka Prefectural Government. Over 135 guests, including 17 members of the Kansai Consular Corps, representatives of Osaka Prefectural and Kobe Municipal government, and members of the Kansai business community gathered to hear the ideas of local high school, university, and graduate students.

The theme was 「機嫌よう働く: Kansai-Style Business and Working from the Heart」. Over a period of several months, the students met assembled in both Osaka and Kobe to receive special lectures and workshops (in both Japanese and English) from experienced professionals. They were then asked to prepare original presentations, addressing questions such as:

• How can local government and business support the needs of the future generation in Kansai?
• What can Kansai culture contribute to business innovation?

and others.

Presentations were followed by a lively free discussion in which members of the Kansai Consular Corps chatted candidly with youth participants, offering feedback, advice and other valuable bits of wisdom.

A more comprehensive summary, including photos, will be posted in the coming days.

For now, a brief translation into Japanese of comments made during the free discussion can be found here: 3月26日シンポジウム　質疑と評

During recent months, the Kansai Consular Corps was joined by the following members:

• Mr. Davaadorj Delgertsogt, Consul-General of Mongolia
• Mr. Muhammad Khalid Jamil, Consul of Pakistan
• Mr. Shiro Murai, Honorary Consul-General of the Slovak Republic
• Mr. Tamio Ishibash, Honorary Consul of Latvia
• Mr. Jean-Matthieu Bonne, Consul-General of France
• Dr. Werner Koehler, Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Mr. Yoshiaki Kobayash,  Honorary Consul of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Osaka

Kansai Consular Corps members also bid farewell to Mr. Charles Henri Brosseau, former Consul-General of France in Kyoto. Consul-General Brosseau will move to a new post in Jakarta. The Kansai Consular Corps wishes him much success in his new posting.

Also, please note that the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Osaka-Kobe has relocated to a new office effective 19 September 2016.

All changes can be found in the updated version of the Kansai Consular Corps Members Directory: members-list-15-september-2016

Regarding: International Conference on Battery and Hydrogen / Fuel Cell 2016

Greetings everyone! It is another hot and sticky day in Kansai.
Hope you are all doing well and taking good care of yourself in this humid weather.
Please be sure to take appropriate 夏バテ measures!

Our colleagues in the Osaka Prefectural Government office have kindly shared this invitation with us. This is a very good opportunity explore the latest technology and meet key players in the hydrogen fuel cell emerging markets. There are still a few spaces left so please see the information below for more details.
Below, you will also find a link with additional information.

We strongly encourage our Consular Corps members, as well as interested persons in the community, to attend this event. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Dates: September 6 (Tue) – 8 (Thu), 2016
Organizer: Osaka Prefectural Government
http://www.osakaconf.info/index_e.html

=========================================
(Original invitation follows:)

The Conference will provide audience with a unique opportunity to learn state-of-art technologies and market information from key persons and leading experts in the fields.

The Conference also includes one-day excursion tour, taking you to Osaka’s pioneering activities in the fields, and networking opportunity with speakers and experts.

The conference is open for all people who are seeing new business opportunities in battery and hydrogen / fuel cell technologies as well as interested in these emerging markets.

http://www.osakaconf.info/OsakaConfProgramV1E.pdf

Today government officials, distinguished guests, and members of the Kansai Consular Corps came together to bid farewell to Mr. Miwa of the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his role as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kansai Region, Mr. Miwa worked tirelessly to strengthen relations between the community and the Kansai Consular Corps. We are deeply grateful for his valuable contribution.

The Kansai Consular Corps avails itself of this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to Mr. Miwa’s successor, Ambassador Suzuki.

I am delighted to share this invitation to the 2nd International Yoga Day in Kansai, from the Consulate General of India in Osaka-Kobe!

The celebration will take place at Osaka Castle and all those interested – from beginners to experienced – are welcome to join!

What is “International Yoga Day”?
It is a celebration of yoga, declared to be internationally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014. Over 177 countries co-sponsor the event, and in 2015 around 190 countries around the world held events.

Please see the flyer below for a more detailed explanation.
Hope to see you there, rain or shine!

Date: 19 June 2016 (Sunday)
Time: 10:00am-15:00 (Gates open 9am, Free Main Event from 10:00-11:00, paid events follow)
Place: Osaka Castle, Nishinomaru Garden

Can you believe its already June? The weather is warmer, the days are longer,
and I hope you are all finding time to enjoy the many exciting activities offered in Kansai.

Please allow me to share this invitation with you from the Consulate General of Indonesia.
You are warmly welcome to enjoy a Bali Dance Performance on 3 June (Friday) and 4 June (Saturday).
For complete details, please see the flyers below (Japanese).

Date: 3 June (Friday) 2016
Place: Sakai City (Osaka)
Time: 17:00-20:00
FREE!

Date: 4 June (Saturday) 2016
Place: Kishiwada (Osaka)
Time: 18:30-20:00
FREE!

Greetings from the KCC office in Sannomiya!

Mr. Daniel Aviolat, former Consul-General of Switzerland and Honorary Member of the Kansai Consular Corps, is pleased to share this invitation for an elegant evening of dinner and dance at the Kobe Club.

Date: 18 June (Saturday) from 18:30
Place: Kobe Club
Tickets: 7000 yen (Kobe Club Members) and 8000 yen (Non-Members)

Call the Kobe Club at 078-241-2588 (English or Japanese) to reserve.
Space is limited so you may wish to call early.

Please click on the photo below to enlarge it and read more details. Hope to see you there!

I was delighted to discover mention of our recent Kansai Consular Corps Youth Symposium on the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Osaka website! Many warm thanks to Consul-General Manapan for his participation in our event. You can check out their website here:

http://www.thaiconsulate.jp/en/

We also received the kind cooperation of Consuls-General Wols (Netherlands), Greenberg (USA) and Changsan (India) as well as various representatives from Osaka and Kobe City government.

A summary – complete with photos – will be posted soon!