Major events of 2007
- January 12, 2007
- The 2007 New Year Party of Western Japan Office ( Hotel Hankyu International, Osaka )
- February 6, 2007
- A Lecture Meeting by Mr. S. Naito, Former Japanese Ambassador to Belgium ( at Pioneer Corporation, Tokyo)
- August 24, 2007
- The Daikin Bon Dance Festival for W.J. Office ( Yodogawa Plant, Daikin Industries, Co., Ltd.)
- September 29, 2007
- JBS Members Bus Tour to YUKI, Ibaraki, A Sister City of Mechelen, Belgium, famous for History & Traditional Pongee ( Ambassador J. Maricou & Embassy Diplomats join the tour)
- December 5, 2007
- The 2007 Annual Members Assembly & Social Gathering at Sakura-no-ma, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.
Report of the 2007 JBS Annual Members Assembly
On December 5, 2007- (18:00 - 20:00)
At Sakura-no-Ma, Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
The 2007 JBS Annual Member's Assembly was successfully held with 192 participants in the honorable presence of Prince and Princess Hitachi.
At the outset Mr. Kaneo Ito, JBS President, looked back to the 2007 activities of the JBS and mentioned that JBS had strengthened the "grass roots" level cultural exchange activities in the friendly relations between Japan and Belgium, with the support of the Members, the Belgian Embassy & Government Offices, and of Cities and Companies who have close ties with Belgium.
An example was the JBS Members Bus Tour to Yuki, a twin city with Mechelen in September, which was our main cultural exchange event of this year and was very successful. It was reported by major national newspapers including the Japan Times as a real citizen level exchange activity. He expressed his sincere gratitude to Mayor Eizo Konishi who provided the full support for the success of our event, and of course to Ambassador Johan Maricou who personally participated with his spouse.
He also referred to the administration part, where various reforms were implemented during the year for future improvements. One of the major issues was the launch of a comprehensive JBS website in bilingual and two-way communication format, in order to cope with the global operation and with the rapid change of the social environment. He mentioned that it would help us to broaden the gate to those who are interested in Belgium, as well as for more Belgians living in Japan who are interested in our activity.
He also introduced and asked for the member's support to our new JBS logo mark that was created to bring fresh breath into 40 year's of proud JBS history and to emphasize our strong desire for a bright future.
Ambassador Johan Maricou then made a reciprocal address and expressed his deep appreciation to the JBS for its efforts of turning the Japan-Belgium Society into an essential instrument for further deepening and strengthening relations between both countries.
He also referred to his memorable experience of joining the JBS member's bus tour to Yuki with Kathleen where he could familiarize himself with its interesting culture and traditions, such as old weaving, dyeing, zen meditation and miso making.
The Banquet hall was fully decorated with beautiful flowers arranged by Mr. Daniel Ost, who is a world famous Belgian flower artist and a JBS member, that created a gorgeous Christmas atmosphere. Furthermore, we added entertainment this year, featuring a trendy Jazz band "The Tokyo Sunrise" volunteered by Pioneer Corporation, so that everyone could combine friendship with a delicious dinner and music composed of Belgian and Japanese songs.
Prince Hitachi and Princess Hanako who always have a deep understanding and interest in our activities, seem to have enjoyed our assembly and talked to participants on their departure as they do every year.
- As the organizer of the assembly, we would like to express our sincere thanks to The Tokyo Sunrise for wonderful music, to Mr. Daniel Ost for gorgeous flower decoration, to Konishi Brewery Company for Belgian Beer, as well as to Americo Company and Royce Confect Company for gifts for every participant on their way home.
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Report of Yuki Tour
The Japan-Belgium Society organized a one-day trip to Yuki , Ibaraki Pref. on Sept. 29 to promote friendship between the people of Japan and Belgium. Yuki has been a twin city of Mechelen, Belgium and it's been famous for Yuki pongee, i.e., the traditional Japanese weaving and dying. Yuki also has a rich religious heritage with many old temples and shrines dotted throughout the city. A total of 62 participants, including the Ambassador Maricou and his spouse, Family Van de Voorde, the Minister-Cousellor were accompanied by JBS President Kaneo Ito, and experienced traditional weaving / dying and zen-meditation. They also visited a few interesting sites, such as a Miso factory and Sake brewery.
Ambassador Maricou who tried weaving coaster cloth and handkerchief dying, commented "I have seen the weaving at many places in the world, but it is the first time for me to have tried weaving in 58 years of my life. I enjoyed it very much. Since my home town is famous for tapestry, I am interested in weaving and today's experience was very informative." He also mentioned in his speech that "It is fine to enjoy excellent relations at the diplomatic, economic and political level as is the case between Belgium and Japan. But it is equally important that exchanges at "grassroots" level between the peoples themselves, exist and thus contriute to a better understanding and appreciation of different values and traditions." He was also enjoying the local traditional entertainment, such as "Dai-dai Kagura (i.e., divine ceremony)" and "Legend of Buried Gold"
We were very impressed with a city wide welcome for our group, allocating more than 15 city staff and local volunteers at our visiting spots to make our tour smooth and really enjoyable. Mayor Eizo Konishi told in his speech that he will continue to promote Japan-Belgium friendship as a Member of The Japan-Belgium Society. JBS President Kaneo Ito expressed his sincere thanks to Mayor Konishi and his city government for their warm reception and told that the JBS tour, which was the latest event of the "Sister City Summit Week commenced in Himeji on September 25, of contributed to the enhancement of Japan-Belgium friendship and JBS will further strengthen the people-to-people "grassroots" exchange activities.
The total number of participants were 62 in two buses and it was not merely the largest tour in JBS history, but it was really meaningful. Because 16 out of 62 participants were Belgians which was a true international exchange between Japan and Belgium.
JBS secretariat, as an organizer of the event, was very pleased with the outcome, and would take this opportunity to extend to Mr. Konishi and his staff a greatful thanks for the success this event.
As a real international exchange activity, our event was taken up by several newspapers such as Japan Times on October 7, and similarly by Mainichi, Asahi and Ibaraki Shinbun on September 30 as well as by Yomiuri on October 2, which is shown above.
Snapshots Gallery