May 2016

Open markets, stronger economies

“If we can work together effectively on the basis of open markets, our economies will gain, our businesses will gain, and our consumers will gain,” insisted EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska in her speech at the EU-Japan ...
August 2016

Representing a small nation’s unparalleled expertise

In 1986, shortly after Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held their historic meeting in Reykjavik, Ambassador Hannes Heimisson joined the Icelandic foreign service. He has worked in Paris, Stockholm ...
April 2017

The royal advantage

This year, Luxembourg Ambassador to Japan Béatrice Kirsch celebrates 25 years working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She started her career representing Luxembourg at the United Nations in New York ...
July 2018

Spain in his veins

There is a tradition of public service in Spanish Ambassador to Japan Gonzalo de Benito’s family. His father and grandfather were in the military, and his three daughters are all public servants. Ambassador de Benito has served his country ...
April 2019

Flying high

Austria and Japan established diplomatic ties in 1869 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, and this year marks 150 years of close bilateral relations.
May 2022

Building on excellent bilateral relations

This year, Alexander Schallenberg marks 25 years with Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, having joined the diplomatic service in 1997.