From 27th to 28th January, Ambassador ENDO visited Davao City. During his visit to Davao City, he visited the Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku and the Davao City Bypass Road Construction Project, visited the Mintal Japanese Cemetery and the IMIN Museum, held a meeting with Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, and attended the Handover Ceremony for ‘the Project for the Promoting Digital Birth Registration for Populations at Risk of Statelessness in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’.
On the 27th, Ambassador ENDO visited the Japanese Association of the Philippines and Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku, where he observed Japanese language classes for students at the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai International School (PNJK-IS), students at the “Pera Pera” School, and students at Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku, and encouraged the students studying Japanese. He also expressed his gratitude for the enthusiastic welcome he received from the students. He also had a friendly chat over lunch with the President of Mindanao International University, Inez Yamanouchi Mallari, and the Chancellor of the Board of Trustees, Judge Antonina Oshita Escovilla, and other members of the Board of Trustees.
Ambassador Endo visited the Davao City Bypass Construction Project, which is being implemented with Japanese grant aid, and inspected the tunnel excavation site. Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadaine from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of the Philippines also participated in the inspection.
On the 28th, Ambassador Endo visited the Mintal Japanese Cemetery and laid flowers at the monument to the Japanese pioneers who died in the early 1900s when Davao was first being developed, as well as visiting the various other Japanese memorials in the cemetery, and paying his respects and reflecting on the historical ties between Japan and Davao.
In addition, Ambassador Endo visited the IMIN Museum, where he learned about the history of the Japanese people and the development of Davao City before the war, and also learned from Aiko Tanaka, a Japanese-Filipino who remained in the Philippines after the war, about the state of the Japanese community in Davao City before the war and the hardships they faced in the Philippines, where anti-Japanese sentiment was high, after the war. He also greeted and had a friendly chat with each of the Japanese-Filipino second, third and fourth generation residents of the Calinan area who remained in the Philippines after the war.
Ambassador Endo visited the Davao City Hall and held a meeting with Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte. During the meeting, Ambassador Endo expressed his gratitude to Mayor Duterte for his support for the active exchange between Davao City and Japanese local governments, which includes sister city relationships with Kitakyushu City, Sennan City and Hamamatsu City. He also asked for Davao City’s support for the Japanese community, including Philippine Nkkei Jin Kai, as well as the approximately 1,000 Japanese residents living in the suburbs of Davao. In addition, we asked for the support of Davao City for the Davao Waste-to-Energy (WtE) project and the leadership of Mayor Duterte, and we also referred to Japan’s commitment to supporting peace in Mindanao, which has been demonstrated for over 20 years, and we once again emphasized the importance of the first Bangsamoro parliament elections being carried out fairly and democratically, which is an important milestone in the peace process.
Mayor Duterte expressed his gratitude for the support provided by Japan for projects such as the Davao City Bypass Construction Project, the Metro Davao Master Plan, and the Davao WtE Project, and he expressed his hopes for continued support from the Japanese government, including infrastructure development, and for cooperation between Davao City and the Japanese government.
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