No. 3-19 OCT 2015

Message from the Ambassador
As we head into the wonderful Japanese autumn, we look forward to one of our busiest periods of the year.
On 19 October, a delegation from Keidanren (Japan Business
Federation) will visit Ireland, the first since 2004. They willmeet with the Irish Ministers for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton TD, and Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin TD, as well as IDA, EI and SFI.
On 30/31 October, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland(RCSI) and Japan’s Hoshi University will host a joint workshop
on Future Healthcare - Biomedical Sciences, Technologies &Applications in Tokyo, an inaugural event following their recent signing of an MOU.
A delegation from the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA) will be in Tokyo on 5 November and will participate in a conference on the Irish Regulated Funds environment.

The Embassy recently hosted another Yeats 150 event in conjunction with IASIL, a seriesof talks by Professor Patrick Crotty of Aberdeen University in Hiroshima and Tokyo on
Irish poetry, from 3-9 October. The poet, Moya Cannon, also participated in the IASIL
event.
A delegation from the San-in Japan Ireland Association visited Ireland from 6 to 16 October to mark the exhibition ‘Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn, A Homecoming’ at Dublin’s
Little Museum and, while there, met with President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin.
I was delighted to give a talk in early September on Ireland at the Embassy’s nearest
school, Kojimachi Gakuen. The school plans to send over 100 students per year to Ireland
for a short-term English study programme.
I wish also to announce the departure this month of my colleague, Second Secretary at the
Embassy, Mr Elliot Milton, after over 4 years here. I wish him well in his future career.
Last but not least, I am delighted to announce that Fr. Dónal Doyle, SJ will receive thePresidential Distinguished Services Award at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin on 3 December. He is the first Japan-based Irish person to be so honoured.
Anne Barrington
Ambassador of Ireland to Japan

Inside this issue:
Embassy and Community News

2

Messages from IDA Ireland

5

Embassy and Community News continued

3

Messages from IJCC and Japan GAA

6-7

Message from Enterprise Ireland

4

Upcoming Events

8

Page 2

Embassy and Irish Community News
NEWS
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Japan Irish Set Dancing workshops and a Céili Band Competition
were held in Tokyo on 5 & 6 September.
(Pictured below left are the winners of the All-Japan Céili Band contest with judge, Pat
Murphy.

A delegation from the San-In Japan Ireland Association visited Ireland from 6-16 October
to mark events celebrating Lafcadio Hearn entitled ‘Coming Home- The Open Mind of
Lafcadio Hearn’ at various locations around Ireland. On 7 Oct members of the delegation
met with President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin http://hearn2015.sanin-japanireland.org/1
Yeats 150th Anniversary
On 9 October, Waseda University hosted the Embassy’s
Yeats 150 Keynote Lecture by Patrick Crotty, Professorof Celtic Studies at Aberdeen University and editor of thePenguin Book of Irish Poetry (pictured right)

Educational links (Kojimachi
Gakuen)Ambassador Barrington gave a talkon Ireland (pictured left) at
Kojimachi Gakuen, located besidethe Embassy, on 2 September. From
next year, over 100 students from theschool will travel to Ireland for ashort term English study programme.

Page 3

George Boole, Global Irish Newsletter, Tourism
George Boole, Irishman and Father of the Information Age.
November 2 is the bicentenary of the birth of George
Boole, the forefather of the information age and the first
professor of mathematics at University College Cork. To
mark the occasion University College Cork has launched a
UCC Brings Boole2School. This education initiative, thefirst of its kind, will result in school students across theglobe studying logic in a Boolean Maths lesson, all on thesame day — November 2.
Once registered, teachers receive free age-appropriate lesson plans, puzzles and worksheets, developed by Maths Circles Ireland in consultation with teachers, and available in
English, Irish and Mandarin, for students aged 8 to 18. More than 25,000 school students
across 12 countries are already signed up to take the lessons. (www.georgeboole.com/
boole2school/).
If you are in a school where this might be of interest, why not join up?

You can read more about the publicity for Boole2School on-line: http://www.ucc.ie/en/
about/uccnews/fullstory-605764-en.html.
_________________________________________________________________________
Global Irish Newsletter
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has launched a bimonthly Global Irish newsletter containing news and features relevant to the Irish diaspora.
It is easy to subscribe to the newsletter, and read previous editions, via this link: https://www.dfa.ie/global-irish/staying-in-touch/newsletter/. You can also follow on twitter via
the Global Irish twitter account (@GlobalIrish).
Irish organisations are welcome to submit material for the Global Irish newsletter and they
can do so by emailing globalirishhub@dfa.ie. Please note that any content must be suitable
for a global audience.
The next edition of the Global Irish newsletter will issue at the end of November and will
include a ‘focus on travel’ section ahead of the festive period.
_________________________________________________________________________
Irish Golf Tourism
The Irish company, Fairways and FunDays Limited, is now recruiting part-time agents topromote Ireland as a golf and leisure tourist destination. This is a part-time role and may
appeal to members of the Irish community who are involved in social, sporting or culturalactivities. For further information, see www.fairwaysandfundays.com

Page 4

Message from Enterprise IrelandInterview with John Casey:
Vice President, Key Accounts
APAC, FEXCO
Employing over 2,000 people globally, FEXCO is one of the country’s most distinctive
success stories in the area of financial solutions and technology. The company is perhaps
best known for its pioneering role in the development of dynamic currency conversion(DCC) and is the world’s leading provider of the service, which allows credit card users toavail of exchange rates at the time of a purchase in a foreign currency, rather than later inthe billing cycle. In 2013, FEXCO entered into partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS
Co., Ltd. (MUN), Japan’s major credit card company.
Through this partnership, FEXCO has become the largest provider of DCC in the country.
The initial roll out targeted business travellers and tourists to Tokyo. John Casey, vicepresident, Key Accounts APAC at FEXCO, explains the timing proved particularly opportune, “given the upsurge in business travel and the new government focus on inbound tourism as well as the attractiveness of the yen to foreign visitors”. The agreement between
FEXCO and MUN was also, however, indicative of the careful nature of relationshipbuilding in Japan, as it represented the culmination of three years’ investment, from initialscoping and introductory meetings, to the gradual building of trust, with FEXCO ultimately establishing a base in Tokyo.
“To establish a relationship or partnership like we have with MUN requires a deep understanding of the business culture in Japan and how best to navigate it,’ Casey says.
FEXCO invested in this understanding – coordinating regular meetings at the outset between senior management and their counterparts at MUN. Technical experts were broughtfrom Killorglin to Japan to showcase the technology and explain the integration and implementation, from inception through to delivery. “While FEXCO is the market leader in delivering DCC worldwide, we do face competition from other providers in securing partnerships of this nature. A huge component of the deal’s success lay in establishing trust initially, recognising the nuances in business culture in Japan and working at the appropriate
pace.”
Setting up an office in Tokyo with a local team proved to be a key development in progressing the relationship. “Japanese is the first language of our team on the ground in Tokyo, affording us a significant advantage as they can accurately and succinctly communicate messages back into the FEXCO world. From our partner’s perspective, it was also valuable that they could see we had invested locally.” With 10+ employees servicing the Asia
market, it represents a greater commitment than other countries might require. However,
the reward for that commitment is long-term access to a major economy and an affluent
market. “Trust is key to doing business in Japan and the sense that loyalty is long-term isapparent,” Casey says.
“To our Japanese partner, we are not only a service provider, but an integral part of theirbusiness. Japan represents a significant and exciting growth opportunity for FEXCO, andwe feel we are only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of prospects in the region.”

Page 5

Messages from IDA Ireland and Embassy

Over the last number of months, IDA Ireland has
continued to attract FDI into Ireland. Some of thehighlights include IBM, Accenture and SAS’s new
Innovation and Analytics centres; the opening ofAmgen’s new €300million bio-pharmaceutical facility; and Uber’s announcement to open a Centre of
Excellence in Limerick hiring 150 people. There aremany more exciting projects, including investments in Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices,High Tech and ICT, and Financial Services.
http://www.idaireland.com/newsroom/
IDA Ireland is also very happy to welcome the Japanese company, Rohm Semiconductor,
to Ireland and to the IDA family. In July, Rohm, a $3 billion Kyoto-based electronic component company and a global leader in analog power IC solutions, purchased Cork based
Powervation Ltd, for approximately $70M, in an all-cash transaction. Powervation Ltd,
originally a spin-out from University of Limerick, is a digital power IC company that develops Digital Power Management system-on-chip (SoC) solutions.
http://www.rohm.com/web/eu/news-detail?news-title=2015-07-23-rohm-semiconductoracquires-powervation&defaultGroupId=false
We are also starting to see progress as a result of IDA’s cooperation with SFI’s ISCA
(International Strategic Co-operation Award) programme. We hosted a number of seminars/
meetings in Tokyo/Osaka in the area of Medical Devices in May, and in Connected Healthin June. As a result of this, 2 Japanese companies will visit Ireland in October to explore
opportunities in the area of medical devices and we just completed a follow-on workshop
with a large Japanese ICT company in the area of connected health.
We will continue to promote Ireland’s attractiveness for Research, Development and Innovation and plan our next set of seminars/meetings in the exciting area of Cloud Computing/
Data Analytics for early in 2016.
_________________________________________________________________________New Passport Card:
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has just launched the Irish Passport Card.
The Irish Passport Card, can be used by Irish citizens for travel within the European Unionand the European Economic Area. The Card is available to all Irish citizens who are over
18 years and hold a valid Irish Passport.
Applications can be submitted online or through the free app from anywhere in the world.
The fee for a Passport Card is €35. There will be an additional €5 postal fee if you resideoutside Ireland. Further info: https://www.dfa.ie/passportcard/

Page 6

Message from the IJCCThe Chamber held 3 successful events in the 2nd quarter.
Joint Networking Event with the British Chamber of Commerce on
10 September
Following the summer break, more than 100 members from both the IJCC and the BCCJ enjoyed a
Joint Networking Event at the Irish Ambassador’s Residence. At the event, IJ CC Pr esident
Gerard Mulligan presented Mr. David Bickle, President of BCCJ, with an Irish rugby jersey in preparation for the Rugby World Cup being held in England! Delicious Irish food and drinks were available, and many thanks to our Platinum Member Diageo for kindly providing both draught Guinness
and Kilkenny which was enjoyed by all!

Third Thursday Networking Event
In both July and September, our Third Thursday Networking Event was held at Slainte, our Platinum Member Toyoko Inn’s bar. Many thanks to Toyoko Inn forproviding all food and drinks at a discounted price for our guests!
Around 40 people participated and enjoyed an evening of Irish
fun and networking.
All past event photos can be found at the IJCC website: http://
www.ijcc.jp/event-photo-gallery/
Upcoming IJCC events – Mark your calendar!
*You can find the details of IJCC upcoming events and register online at www.ijcc.jp
22 Oct 2015 Thir d Thur sday Networ king Event at HUB Roppongi #2
31 Oct 2015

Ireland Japan Golf Challenge, Ambassador’s Cup at Haruna no Mori CC in Gunma

19 Nov 2015 IJ CC Business Awar ds Dinner 2015 at Roppongi Hills Club, 51F of Roppongi
Hills
Dec 2015 IJ CC Family Chr istmas Par ty
Become A Member Of The IJCC?

The Chamber always welcomes applications for membership from any company or individual withan interest in helping develop and foster better Japan-Ireland business relationships.
For more information, please visit our website www.ijcc.jp and our Facebook page.

Page 7

Message from Japan GAA

The very first Legends
Tournament for ladies
GAA organised by the
Asian Country board
secretary took place inTokyo on August 22.
The Malaysian Ladies team played against Japan Ladies GAA. The game ended in a draw, but it was areally good experience ahead of the next big tournament. The Men’s teams came to cheer the Ladies on,
and we had a fabulous party afterwards and enjoyed agreat night.
And now, the biggest event of the year, the Asian
Gaelic Games tournament will be held in Shanghai
later this month from 24-25 October. Japan GAA will
participate with one men’s team and two ladies’
teams. We have been training twice a week from April
this year. Both our Men’s and Ladies’ teams are aiming to have a great time at the games and hopefully
bring home some silverware!
Japan GAA is a unique team in that both the Men’s and Ladies’ teams consist of various nationalities including Irish, Japanese, American, Australian, Spanish, Swedish, Malaysian and so on. In
particular, the large number of local Japanese players enjoying Irish sports always generates greatinterest at the Asian Gaelic Games.

Hopefully the next update will be of a successful tournament!
We will be in off season after the Asian Gaelic Games this year but will start training around Marchnext year.
If you are interested in playing Gaelic football with us, please check our schedule on our homepage
or feel free to contact us directly.
http://www.japangaa.org/

Page 8

Upcoming Events
The Cat and the Moon, A pioneering Kyogen performance of Yeats’s “The Cat and theMoon” translated into Japanese by Professor Tetsuro Sano, former president of IASIL Japan.
Tuesday 10 November, Kobe Gakuin University http://www.kobegakuin.ac.jp/
social_contribution/greenfes/
Celtic Christmas 2015:

Stars of the traditional Irish music scene, Altan, Dervish, We Banjo 3
Saturday, 5th December, from 17:15
Venue: Sumida Triphony Hall (Tokyo)
http://www.plankton.co.jp/xmas15/index.html
Éire Japan (Paddy Keenan / Frankie Gavin / Junji Shirota)
Saturday, 24th October – Saturday, 31st October
Around Japan
http://toms-cabin.com/EireJapan2015/
Irish Culture Weekend
Thursday, 22nd October – Sunday, 25th October
Venue: Kyojin no Stewhouse (Tokyo)
http://www.kyojin-stewhouse.com/kyojin-irish-culture-events/2015/10/22/irish-cultureweekend
Nara Irish Association, the Fuchsia Foundation
Two well-known children’s writers will be invited to Japan by the Fuchsia Foundation in
October 2015 (Colmán Ó Raghallaigh) and in 2016 (Eddie Lenihan).
October events:
http://www.library.pref.nara.jp/
event/1742

Page 9The Embassy of Ireland is responsible for promoting
The Embassy of Ireland is responsible for proand strengthening
links between
andIreland
Japan. It
motingand strengthening
links Ireland
betweenrepresentsinterests of theGovernment
andJapan.theIt represents
theIrishinterestsof the in

IrelandHouse
Ireland House
2-10-7
Kojimachi
2-10-7
Kojimachi
Chiyoda-ku
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0083, JapanTokyo 102-0083, Japan
Phone: +81 3 3263 0695
Fax: +81 3 3265 2275
tokyoembassy@dfa.ie
tokyoembassy[at]dfa.ie

Phone: +81 3 33 0695
Follow +81
the Embassy
on 2275
FacebookFax:
3 3265and Twitter.
tokyoembassy@dfa.ie

Irish
Government
in Japanin politics,
trade, relaJapanin politics, trade,
economics
and cultural
economics
andafter
culturalrelations.
It Irishlookscommuniafter
tions. It looks
the welfareof thethe welfare of the Irish community in Japan andty in Japan, provides support to Irish citizens and isprovides support to Irish citizens. It is also realso responsible for issuing Irish visas.
sponsible for issuing Irish visas. Please registerwith the Embassy at http://www.irishembassy.jp/
home/index.aspx?id=81055.

The Ireland House Team
M. Anne Barrington (Ambassador)
Mr. Diarmuid O’Leary (Deputy Head of Mission)
Mr. Elliot Milton (Second Secretary and Consul) - departing Oct 2015
Ms. Aisling Braiden (Press & Culture Attaché)
Mr.
John
Neary Tsuda
is the Ambassadorof Ireland to JapanMr.
Shingo(Office Manager)
The
EmbassyTeam
Ms. Nobuko Hirai (Secretary to Ambassador)
Mr. Donal Kenneally (Deputy Head of Mission)
Ms. Tomomi Nagoshi
Mr. Eddie Hughes (Director, Enterprise Ireland and Commercial Counsellor)
Ms.
TomokoKamimura
Mr.
ElliotMilton (Second
Secretary and Consul)
Ms.
Aisling
Braiden(Press & Culture Attaché)
Ms.
ChisatoFujimoto
Ms.
Akiko
Watanabe(Office Manager)______________________________________________________________________________
Ms. Nobuko Hirai (Secretary to Ambassador Neary)
Mr. Pat O’Riordan (Director, Enterprise Ireland)
Ms. Tomomi Nagoshi, Ms. Haruko Onda, Ms. Miwo Fukuda, Ms. Tomoko Kamimura
Mr. Derek Fitzgerald (Director, IDA Ireland, Japan)

The Embassy is open to the public from 10:00 – 12:30 and 14:00 – 16:00(and by appointment until 17:30), Monday to Friday.

The Embassy visa officeis Embassy
open eachisWednesday– 16:00.
The
open to the frompublic14:00
from 10:00– 12:30
and 14:00 – 16:00 (and by appointment until 17:30),
Monday to Friday.

The Embassy is not responsible
for external services and events or for the
The Embassy visa office is open each Wednesday fromcontent of external websites,on which is provided in good faith
14:00 –information
16:00.
for information purposes only
The Embassy is not responsible for external services and events or for the content of external websites, information on which is provided in good faith for
information purposes only.