Ambassador and Madame Suzuki’s visit to the University of Cambridge

On 13 and 14 February, Ambassador and Madame Suzuki visited the University of Cambridge, where they met the Vice Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice. The Ambassador also attended a seminar organised by the Centre for Geopolitics and, accompanied by Madame Suzuki, visited several institutions such as the Japanese Studies section at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Toshiba Cambridge Research Laboratory.

Meeting with the Vice Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice

Ambassador and Madame Suzuki were delighted to be able to meet the Vice Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice. The Ambassador was reassured by what he heard about the growing partnerships between the University and Japanese universities and corporations in a wide range of areas and expressed his hope for even stronger ties between Japan and Cambridge in the future.
 

Ambassador Suzuki’s attendance at a seminar organised by the Centre for Geopolitics

One of the main items on Ambassador Suzuki’s agenda was his attendance at the seminar “UK-Japan relations and the new Trump presidency: Strategic opportunities and challenges for bilateral cooperation”, which had been organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge.
 

Meeting with Professors of Japanese Studies Section, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Furthermore, Ambassador and Madame Suzuki visited the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies to meet Keidanren Professor Michael Adolphson, Professor Laura Moretti, Co-Chair of the Faculty, and other scholars as well as young researchers engaged in Japanese Studies. The Ambassador delivered a speech in which he paid tribute to the University as a key institution at the forefront of Japanese Studies throughout the UK and the world for over 75 years and expressing the hope for the further development of Japanese Studies as well as academic collaboration with Japan.
 

Visits to the Trinity College Wren Library and Cambridge University Library

In addition, Ambassador and Madame Suzuki visited Trinity College’s Wren Library and the Cambridge University Library. At the latter location, with Director General Dr Jessica Gardner and Dr Alessandro Bianchi, Head of World Collections, acting as their guides, they viewed some valuable ancient documents relating to Japan and Asia.
 

Visit to Toshiba Cambridge Research Laboratory

Ambassador and Madame Suzuki also paid a call on Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Laboratory. During the visit, they met Hiroshi Morikawa, President & CEO, Toshiba Europe Limited, and Professor Roberto Cipolla, Managing Director, and Lee Johnson, QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) Business Development Manager of the Laboratory. There they were briefed on the history and initiatives of Toshiba's research in Cambridge, as well as on quantum cryptography technology, a cutting-edge method of encryption which enables safe and secure communications.
 

Meeting with Japanese researchers at the University of Cambridge

While in Cambridge, Ambassador Suzuki was also able to enjoy a lively roundtable meeting with Japanese academics active in scientific fields based there. They discussed a range of topics including research in the UK and how to foster young researchers who can work abroad.
 

Ambassador and Madame Suzuki’s visit to Dojima Sake Brewery

Finally, Ambassador and Madame Suzuki visited Dojima Sake Brewery at Fordham Abbey, near Cambridge, where they toured the facilities and the accompanying Japanese garden and shrine – the only Japanese shrine in the country. While there they were briefed on sake production in the UK.