From Ambassador (A visit of a friend coming from afar)

2024/7/23
A visit of a friend coming from afar
A visit of a friend coming from afar
A visit of a friend coming from afar
A visit of a friend coming from afar
There is a Chinese classical passage well known in Japan, “tomo ari enpō yori kitaru, mata tanoshikarazu ya.(It is such a pleasure to have friends coming from afar!)”. Minister for Reconstruction Shinako Tsuchiya visited Iceland from July 21 to July 23.
 
Minister Tsuchiya is also the chairperson of Japan-Iceland Parliamentary Friendship League, and this is her ninth visit to Iceland! The first visit dates back to the 1980s, before Hon.Tsuchiya became a member of the Diet.
 
At that time, she met then President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who was already in close contact with her father Mr. Yoshihiko Tsuchiya (Note 1) who was then member of the Japanese House of Councilors. She stayed at the guest room of the president's official residence. This encounter with the president was one of the reasons why Hon.Tsuchiya decided to become a politician. The last time she came to Iceland was eight years ago, in 2016. The year marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Iceland. To commemorate the occasion, she came to Iceland as the leader of a three-member parliamentary delegation of the Parliamentary Friendship League. (Note 2)
 
Hon. Tsuchiya has been Minister for Reconstruction since last year, and working hard every day to support the reconstruction of the Tohoku region damaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. As one of the few female politicians in Japan, she is also working diligently to promote gender equality measures. (Note 3) She was able to make time in her busy schedule for her visit to Iceland this time.
 
This time, she also visited the area around Grindavík to see how the town was damaged by land cracks and lava flows, and also observed the walls that were being built to prevent further damage.
 
Despite the very tight schedule, she was able to reunite with old friends, including Madame Finnbogadóttir. I was reminded once again that the friendship between Japan and Iceland has been sustained by the ties among these friends.
 
(Note 1) Mr. Yoshihiko Tsuchiya came to Iceland in 1984 when a tragic fatal accident that involved the loss of three Japanese occured, and met President Finnbogadóttir. After that, he became the speaker of the House of Councilors. After retiring from national politics, he became the Governor of Saitama Prefecture.
(Note 2) In the same year, five members of the Icelandic Parliament, led by Ms. Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, then Chairperson of the Icelandic Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Japan.
(Note 3) As of this writing, only 5 of the 19 Japanese cabinet ministers, including Minister Tsuchiya, are women. Of the 465 members of the House of Representatives, only 51 are women.