PH Consulate General in Nagoya Pursues Cooperation in Economic Activities, Disaster Preparedness in the Chubu Region

Left photo: Consul General Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat pays a courtesy call on Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki (left). Right photo: Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu (left) receives a Quincentennial Commemorative basket containing products from the Philippines from Consul General Balatbat. (Nagoya PCG photo)

NAGOYA 23 September 2022 — Philippine Consul General to Nagoya Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat, accompanied by Vice Consul Jericson H. Arceo, visited two prefectures straddled by Mt. Fuji — Yamanashi and Shizuoka — on 15 and 16 September 2022, as part of the Consulate’s mission to expand and identify areas for bilateral collaboration in Central Japan.

The Philippine Consulate General in Nagoya and the Yamanashi Prefecture Government agreed to work together in establishing bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, and tourism.

Specifically, Governor Kotaro Nagasaki proposed the exportation of the Prefecture’s grapes into the Philippine market, cited the Prefecture’s use and development of hydrogen fuel cells as a form of renewable energy and source of electricity, and arranged a special briefing for the Consulate team on the Prefecture’s success in harnessing hydrogen energy.

Consul General Balatbat welcomed the proposal and, likewise, suggested importation of pineapples from the Philippines with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry. Noting Yamanashi’s success in attracting foreign tourists, the Consul General also expressed interest learning from the Prefecture’s tourism promotion efforts to help local governments attract more visitors to Mt. Mayon.

Meanwhile, during her courtesy visit on Shizuoka Prefecture Governor Heita Kawakatsu on 16 September 2022, Consul General Balatbal acknowledged the Prefecture’s best practices in preparing for and responding to disasters. The Consulate team visited the Prefecture’s Crisis Management Center and Earthquake Disaster Prevention Center where they were toured to a state-of-the-art system for monitoring earthquakes and other disasters, as well as a movie gallery showing the history of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, murals containing information on earthquake preparedness and post-disaster activities, and an earthquake simulator.

The Governor Kawakatsu also said that the Prefecture was considering to offer more job opportunities to foreigners. Consul General Balatbat highlighted the skills and positive work ethic of Filipino workers.

Other items ddiscussed include the Prefecture’s industrial companies with factories in the Philippines, agricultural products being successfully grown in Shizuoka, and the promotion of the blue economy through the Marine Open Innovation Institute (MaOI) –  a company that provides R&D technology required for genome sequencing, marine foods product development, and medical discovery.

Consul General Balatbat also offered to coordinate with the City of Dagupan, Pangasinan on the status sister city relations with Iwata City, Shizuoka.

After the said visits, Consul General Balatbat and Vice Consul Arceo also attended a get-together with members of the Filipino Community in Gotemba, Shizuoka arranged by Bayanihan Filipino Community President, Mr. Jesse Ruel Lumain and Ms. Marilyn Kaji, Vice President and owner of Jeepney Café and Restobar.

As of 2021, Shizuoka is home to 17,000 Filipinos, who accounts for 17% of foreigners in the Prefecture. END

Clockwise from top-left: (1) Mr. Yoshihiko Ishino, General Manager (left) tours the Consulate team to the Shizuoka Prefecture Crisis Management Center; (2) Mr. Nobuyuki Sato, Manager (center) welcomes the Consulate Team to the Shizuoka Prefecture Earthquake Disaster Prevention Center; (3) The Consulate team meets with (from left to right) Mr. Suguru Hasegawa, General Manager, Mr. Hisao Kato, Coordinator and Mr. Yoshimoto Saito, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow of the Maritime Open Initiative Institute (MaOI) in Shizuoka. (Nagoya PCG photo)

The Consulate team joins the Filipino community in Gotemba, Shizuoka for get-together and open dialogue. (Nagoya PCG photo)

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