Message from Ambassador

Dear visitors of our website,

It has been a long time since I last updated this corner. Today, I would like to share with you some of my recent activities in Rwanda.

On February 26, the Embassy of Japan and the Rwanda Karate Federation (FERWAKA) organized the 2nd Karate Ambassador’s Cup at Petit Stade, Amahoro Stadium. Karate is very popular in Rwanda and as many as 3,000 Rwandans enjoy doing karate today. The competition was attended by more than 200 karate practitioners from all over the country. The skills of cup winners were especially impressive for me. Karate was added for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. At present, members of Rwandan national karate team are doing hard training with the support of JICA’s karate volunteer. I am looking forward to seeing Rwandan karate practitioners in Tokyo in three years.

On March 29, the inauguration ceremony of Rwandan “Michi-no-Eki” (roadside station) was held in Huye. Although Michi-no-Eki is prevalent in Japan, this is the very first one in Rwanda. In collaboration with the One Village One Product (OVOP) movement, which is also originated from Japan, this Michi-no-Eki aims to be a center of excellence and contribute to the economic development in Huye. This Michi-no-Eki was constructed by the financial support from the Government of Japan and it is operated and maintained by the Government of Hyue District in cooperation with the Private Sector Federation (PSF). It is expected that signature products from each neighboring village will be exhibited and sold at this facility and then distributed nationwide and abroad. I hope that Michi-no-Eki and the OVOP which are both originated from Japan make a breakthrough in Huye and contribute to the economic development of Rwanda.

On March 31, I signed the Exchange of Notes for the Project for Rehabilitation of Irrigation Facilities in Rwamagana District, with Hon. Claver GATETE, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. The project site is a marshland, about 60km east of Kigali and consists mainly of rice fields. The main purpose of this project is to rehabilitate old irrigation facilities which were built 30 years ago. Significantly, this project includes the establishment of an organization for local farmers to maintain and manage the facilities, in addition to the rehabilitation of the dam, irrigation canals and feeder roads. After the completion of this project, the amount of harvested crops is estimated to increase by 30 percent. I hope that the the facilities will be fully operational for a long time though proper management by the organization of farmers.

April 2017

Takayuki MIYASHITA

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Rwanda