Message from Consul General Okada

Greetings.

My name is Seiji Okada.  I have been appointed as the new Consul General of Japan in Vancouver as the successor to Mr. Hideki Ito, former Consul General.  This is my first message to you.

I am currently working in the Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan and scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on January 25.  After entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981, I was posted to the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa in June 1982 for my first overseas assignment.  Canada is the place where I took my first step as a diplomat.

From 1984 to 1987, I worked at the Embassy of Japan in Bahrain in the Middle East, where Mr. Ito, former Consul General, had also worked prior to his posting to Vancouver.  Then, from 1987 to 1989, I was again assigned to work at the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa.

Thereafter I was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, the Embassies of Japan in Washington D.C., the United States of America, and Seoul, Korea.  Then once again I worked at the Ministry in Tokyo, followed by postings in the Embassies of Japan in Nairobi, Kenya and Kabul, Afghanistan.  I am now returning to Canada for the first time in 24 years.

Afghanistan, where I am currently working, is an extremely disorderly place struggling with civil wars and terrorism.  The official staff of the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan are all living in the compound of the embassy, surrounded by tall fences like a fortress.  For transportation, bulletproof vehicles are used and armed guards always accompany the officials when going outside the embassy compound.  In April last year, the Japanese embassy was under a direct attack from an antigovernment force; I narrowly escaped death when 2 rocket bombs hit my office.

Although that was an extreme case, the embassies that I have worked for in the past have different tasks from the consulate where I will soon arrive.  They, however, are all the same in terms of their objectives to provide services to Japanese people overseas and to Japanese descendants, and improve relationships between Japan and the area they are located.  Together as one with all the consulate members, I would like to make continuous efforts to be of service to you just as my predecessor Consul General Ito was.

While having worked in various countries and with different tasks, no matter where I was, I have always paid close attention to Canada, which was the starting point of my diplomatic career.  It is a great pleasure to be assigned in Canada again and I am looking forward to meeting you soon.

December 20, 2012
Seiji Okada                                                             

Consul General of Japan in Vancouver