AJC Delegation Concludes Visit to Tokyo

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Oct 22, 2014, 09:57 ET

TOKYO, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An eight-member AJC leadership delegation has concluded a three-day visit to Tokyo. The trip marked the second AJC visit to Japan in the past four months alone.

The visit was highlighted by a 30-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The delegation, led by AJC President Stanley Bergman and Executive Director David Harris, also met with National Security Advisor Shotaro Yachi; senior members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Israeli Ambassador Ruth Kahanoff; United States Deputy Chief of Mission Jason Hyland; and senior representatives of the prestigious Middle East Institute of Japan. The AJC group met as well with top representatives of Keidanren, the renowned Japanese business group, and leaders of the vibrant Jewish Community of Japan.

Principal topics discussed during the mission included: (a) the U.S.-Japanese relationship, (b) regional developments in East Asia, and (c) bilateral ties between Israel and Japan.

"We came to Japan to express our enduring friendship with, and admiration for, an essential U.S. democratic ally in an increasingly turbulent region and world. Japan's importance as a strategic ally and like-minded partner will only continue to increase in the years to come," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, who has made many previous trips to Tokyo. "And we are delighted to see the deepening links between Tokyo and Jerusalem, highlighted by the close personal relationship of Japanese Prime Minister Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who have identified a number of areas for closer cooperation."

In September, AJC met with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in New York on the sidelines of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. This marked the second meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister in the past two years.

Through its Asia Pacific Institute, currently led by Shira Loewenberg, AJC has been actively engaged with Japan for more than 25 years, and maintains close ties with Japanese officials and other representatives in Tokyo, across the United States, in Israel, and other countries.

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee