Greetings From Ambassador

　Alii, everyone. I am Kazuhiro Tajiri. I arrived here in Palau on September 5th as the new ambassador. After the assumption of post, I presented my credentials to President Remengesau at the Office of the President in the National Capitol on September 17th and attended the welcome dinner hosted by His Excellency and Mrs. Remengesau for my wife and me. The following day, I hosted the Embassy reception and enjoyed attendance of more than 100 guests. On these occasions, I had the privilege to meet His Excellency and Mrs. Remengesau and many other distinguished members such as Vice President Bells, traditional leaders, Ministers, Senate President, Delegate Speaker, and other OEK members as well as those fellow Japanese people who are working in Palau. I am very glad and greatly honored to be warmly welcome by everyone.

　Although I have been in Palau only for half a month, I believe that my understanding of Palau has been deepened ever since. Since I had not experienced working overseas except for the People’s Republic of China and the United States, I had little knowledge about the Pacific island countries. Through the pre-departure briefing and greeting tour to the related persons in Tokyo, I understood that Palau is one of Japan’s important neighbors and has consistently supported Japan’s policies and positions at the UN and other international agencies. The gravity of the responsibility to maintain and develop the friendly and close relationship between Japan and Palau renewed my motivation as Ambassador. Since the arrival in Palau, I have felt even stronger sense of such motivation through encounters with the high evaluation and expectation for Japan expressed by President Remengesau and other leaders in all fields and with the pro-Japanese sentiments held by the Palauan people.

　From now on, I will try to increase the number of Japanese tourists to Palau and promote other exchanges between Japan and Palau, being actively involved in activities to help the Palauan people to understand Japan more. I will also engage in activities to expose more about Palau and its relationship with Japan to the Japanese nationals. I look forward to your warm help.

September 20, 2013
Kazuhiro Tajiri