ASiAn invASion wElcomEd - ProMéxico

eport 4oo years of relations mexico-japan
Celebrating
Friendship
Through its history, Japan has learned to understand and adapt aspects of
Western culture while also sharing its millennial heritage with the rest of
the world. Mexico has not been the exception.
By Karla Bañuelos Saenz
Mexico and Japan share many cultural similarities:
the spirit of teamwork, the role and
importance of family and group identity. For
400 years both nations have held a strong
and fruitful friendship.
The first official academic and cultural
exchanges between the two countries began
in 1971. Although, many Japanese communities
were established in the country after
World War II, in places such as Mazatlán, Morelia,
San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Guadalajara,
Tijuana, Ensenada, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and
Mexico City, and have carried out an everyday
exchange with Mexican culture.
Nowadays, there are various institutions
promoting Japanese culture in Mexico, such
as the Japan Foundation, which supports
language teaching programs, artistic and
cultural exchange programs and finances
artistic expressions.
In order to recognize the friendship between
both countries, the Executive Committee of the
400 Year Anniversary of Relations Between
Mexico and Japan was created. Since March
2009, this group has sponsored commemorative
activities including seminars, exhibits and
book presentations.
One of these most recent activities was
the visit by the training ship Cuauhtémoc
to the Japanese ports of Yokohama, Harumi
(Tokyo) and Onjuku (where in 1609 the sailing
ship San Francisco shipwrecked after
traveling from New Spain, initiating the centennial
friendship between both nations).
Keizo Tanaka, President of the Executive
Committee, said this celebration looks
to “deepen the mutual comprehension between
both nations and the promotion of bilateral
exchange in multiple sectors with an
eye to the future.” n
Photo courtesy of the japan foundation