From Ambassador (Greetings from Ambassador)

Hello, everyone. My name is Hitoshi Ozawa. I was designated as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Iceland on the 5th of February and arrived in Iceland on the 17th of March. As you might be well aware, the new coronavirus was gradually spreading in Europe and Iceland at the time, and shortly after my arrival, the Icelandic government imposed the regulatory measures under a state of emergency, which lasted over a month and half. I started to pay courtesy visits to diplomatic missions individually, but many Embassies had already been minimising their functions by remote work. The severity of the situation grew day by day.
 
Given such circumstances, we have decided that it is important to make the utmost efforts to prevent the spread of the infection among the staff at the Embassy. Therefore, we have reduced our work shift by adopting telework. Although this is my first time to live in Iceland I could only drive around the city of Reykjavik or have a little stroll around my residence area so far. At one point, I drove to the city centre and saw that all the restaurants and shops were closed, no one was walking, and it was like a ghost town.
 
In the latter half of March, the ratio of infection to the population was extremely high in Iceland. However, as a result of the consolidated efforts of the government and the whole nation to strictly comply with the restrictive measures to curb the further spread, the number of new infections started to drop in the end of April. The number of new infections has fallen to zero or single digits in the past weeks. The Icelandic government, while refraining from being overly optimistic about the situation, reopened elementary and junior high schools and relaxed social restrictions (eased the gathering ban from maximum 20 people to 50 people) and allowed some services to resume. I believe that the next mission of the government will be to keep monitoring the situation carefully and implement new measures for tackling the economic fallout in tourism and other sectors, in order to proceed with the future economic policies. I must say that this is a serious issue that all members of the international community must face.
 
Since my arrival, my diplomatic activities have been almost on hold. Fortunately, I was able to present my credentials to H.E. Mr. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland on the 6th of May. I felt like I was finally at the starting line as an Ambassador. The President has said that after the society returns to normal, even though for the time being everyone has to devote themselves to measures against this crisis, more efforts will be put into deepening the relations between Japan and Iceland. He also appreciated our understanding of the unusual settings for the ceremony of presenting credentials, where all the Embassy staff members are usually invited for a commemorative photo session followed by a reception with Icelandic VIP guests in the President Office, under normal conditions.
 
No one can predict how this "abnormal situation" due to the new coronavirus outbreak will continue to affect us in the international society. It is difficult to schedule diplomatic activities, as well as cultural and public events at the moment. Under this situation, we plan to perform our duties flexibly, keeping in mind what is required as an Embassy.