Jamaican Ambassador to Japan hoping to build closer ties – Jamaica Gleaner

The Jamaica Gleaner today features an article by Hasani Walters entitled “Jamaican Ambassador To Japan Dreams Of More.” The article features Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan Her Excellency Claudia Cecile Barnes speaking about her experience at the One Love Jamaica Festival held in Tokyo Japan yearly and her plans and hopes for closer ties between Jamaica and Japan in the future.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Gleaner Article

Amid all the celebrations taking place in Jamaica in this year of the country’s 50th anniversary of Independence, thousands of miles away across the great oceans the Japanese, ‘distant relatives’ to the islanders, are having their own version of the jubilee. Over the years, the two countries have developed close ties – most noticeable through the influence of reggae music on the Asians.

The latest celebration, the ‘2012 One Love Jamaica Festival‘, held at the Yoyogi Park last month, was the most recent collaborative effort between the Jamaican embassy in Japan and a local Japanese planning committee. The event was a huge success. It was the best ambassador of Jamaica to Japan, Her Excellency Claudia Cecile Barnes, has attended.

“I can say this is my fourth festival and, for me, it has been the best because this year we had the full collaboration from the Jamaican community in Japan. Usually, they collaborate, but this year being the 50th anniversary of our Independence, they were fully on board,” she said.

Barnes believes that events of this nature are critical in Japan as the bond that the two countries has formed is a strong one. With the festival they are allowed to strengthen that bond, experiencing first-hand Jamaicans living in Japan who are showcasing authentic Jamaican culture. Read More

[jamaica]