The aim of Ambassador Paroz’s inaugural visit to Japan’s second metropolitan area was to demonstrate the Embassy’s commitment to the Swiss community in Western Japan and to confirm the excellent relations between Switzerland and a number of local governments in Kansai.
Together with the Swiss Honorary Consul General in Osaka, Mr. Dieter Sommerhalder, Ambassador Paroz attended a dinner event hosted in Osaka by the Kansai Chapter of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan and met with the President and the Secretary of the Swiss Society of the Kansai in Kobe. He also paid courtesy calls to Governor Ido of Hyogo Prefecture and Governor Yamada of Kyoto Prefecture as well as to Mayor Hisamoto of Kobe City and Mayor Kadokawa of Kyoto City.
The Swiss delegation also travelled to Oyamazaki Town in Kyoto Prefecture, where the Ambassador was met by a group of kindergarten children, before meeting with Mayor Yamamoto. Oyamazaki is participating in the Host Town Initiative and will be a host town for Switzerland in view of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.