Japanese Minister visits School for post Brexit lecture

The School of Modern Languages was honoured to welcome Mr Shinichi Iida, Minister for Public Diplomacy and Media (Embassy of Japan in the UK) to Cardiff this May.

Mr Iida visited the School to address staff, students and members of the public on Brexit and the UK’s relationship with Japan. Mr Iida’s lecture focussed on the long-term and cooperative relationship that Japan has with the UK and what impact Brexit will have on business in light of Japan’s role as the second-largest non-EU investor in Britain.

Mr lida also spoke about the core principles that Japan and the UK share, including adherence to the rule of law and respect for human rights, and to the two countries’ commitment to working together to tackle a range of important global issues. Furthermore, he touched upon the importance of cultural and people-to-people exchange between Japan and the UK as a springboard for advancing our relationship for the benefit of future generations.

The Minister was welcomed to the School by Dr Christopher Hood, Reader in Japanese Studies, Dr Liz Wren-Owens, Director of Teaching and Learning and Deputy Head of School, Masakazu Kudara, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Language and Dr Mayuko Inagawa, Lecturer in Japanese Language.

The lecture was followed by a lunch with Dr Christopher Hood, Masakazu Kudara, Dr Liz Wren-Owens, Rachel Minto and Manon George of the School of Law and Politics and the Wales Governance Centre and Dr Iwan Rees of the School of Welsh, where Mr Iida was keen to learn more about Welsh politics and culture.

Following the visit Dr Hood said: “This was a wonderful, engaging talk which provided the audience – which included staff, students and members of the public, including local companies – with an opportunity to learn about the significance of the UK-Japanese relationship in a range of areas. Such insights are hard to come across in the media, so having Mr Iida come to Cardiff University and speak to students in particular was something that further underlines the positive experience that students studying Japanese here can have.”

Pictured from left to right: Masakazu Kudara, Dr Mayuko Inagawa, Rachel Minto, Mr Shinichi Iida, Dr Christopher Hood, Dr Liz Wren-Owens.