Greetings from Ambassador Kenichi KASAHARA
2026/1/19
Alii! Happy New Year 2026.
I am Kenichi KASAHARA, and I was appointed as the Ambassador to the Republic of Palau in December 2025. I am very pleased to be able to work in Palau, a tokubetsu country that is connected to Japan by a long and strong historical bond of over 100 years.
Palau is a neighboring country located directly south of Japan (with no time difference!). Japan and Palau are close friends who have always cooperated in international fora and on global issues. Underlying this friendly relationship are deep cultural and economic ties. Japan and Palau share the vision of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP) and a great responsibility to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Oceania region, and further in the global scale. In other words, the two countries are important partners who need each other in all aspects, including politics, diplomacy, security, and economy. Palau is also one of only 12 countries in the world that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In October 2025, our long-cherished goal of resuming direct flights between Narita and Koror has been achieved. I sincerely hope that this will increase the number of visitors from Japan, which had been stagnant since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the day, I believe improving relations between countries can only be achieved by promoting people-to-people exchange. Our embassy will continue to strive to provide information so that as many Japanese people as possible who view this website will visit Palau.
We have even better news. For the first time in the history of our Embassy, an official Japanese chef has been assigned. The chef will play an important role as a "culinary diplomat" to promote Japanese food culture and Japanese food products. We also hope that the chef will contribute to the field of medical and health fields in Palau through collaboration with nutritionists, local chefs, vegetable producers, and Japanese restaurant owners who are already active here and are working to improve the food supply and healthy diet in Palau.
The Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Palau will continue to make every effort for the further development of Japan-Palau relations, and we would greatly appreciate your continued support and cooperation. Thank you very much for your continued support.
Kenichi KASAHARA
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Palau
I am Kenichi KASAHARA, and I was appointed as the Ambassador to the Republic of Palau in December 2025. I am very pleased to be able to work in Palau, a tokubetsu country that is connected to Japan by a long and strong historical bond of over 100 years.
Palau is a neighboring country located directly south of Japan (with no time difference!). Japan and Palau are close friends who have always cooperated in international fora and on global issues. Underlying this friendly relationship are deep cultural and economic ties. Japan and Palau share the vision of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP) and a great responsibility to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Oceania region, and further in the global scale. In other words, the two countries are important partners who need each other in all aspects, including politics, diplomacy, security, and economy. Palau is also one of only 12 countries in the world that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In October 2025, our long-cherished goal of resuming direct flights between Narita and Koror has been achieved. I sincerely hope that this will increase the number of visitors from Japan, which had been stagnant since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the day, I believe improving relations between countries can only be achieved by promoting people-to-people exchange. Our embassy will continue to strive to provide information so that as many Japanese people as possible who view this website will visit Palau.
We have even better news. For the first time in the history of our Embassy, an official Japanese chef has been assigned. The chef will play an important role as a "culinary diplomat" to promote Japanese food culture and Japanese food products. We also hope that the chef will contribute to the field of medical and health fields in Palau through collaboration with nutritionists, local chefs, vegetable producers, and Japanese restaurant owners who are already active here and are working to improve the food supply and healthy diet in Palau.
The Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Palau will continue to make every effort for the further development of Japan-Palau relations, and we would greatly appreciate your continued support and cooperation. Thank you very much for your continued support.
Kenichi KASAHARA
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Palau