I'm standing with American Baker-Kato participants (from left) Gary Schaefer, Byron Tsao, Rachel Brunette-Chen, Andrew Ou and Ray Greene.
Oct. 14 - The Baker-Kato Diplomatic Exchange program has been a tremendous experience for American diplomats. Four program alumni who are now working in Japan all tell me that they developed close ties of friendship with Japanese counterparts that will help them in their professional careers.
Ray Greene, our Consul General in Naha, was the first American participant in this exchange program. He worked in the Foreign Ministry North American Affairs Bureau and in the Asian Bureau on Southeast Asia. His fondest memory of his time at MOFA was in attempting to ride the Segway that President Bush planned to give to Prime Minister Koizumi. Ray was preparing to write a simple Japanese-language instruction manual for the Prime Minister.
Andrew Ou, second from left, helping his MOFA colleagues work on Japan-Pakistan relations.
Andrew Ou covers domestic politics in the Embassy Tokyo Political Section. He worked on Japan-India and Japan-Pakistan relations at the Foreign Ministry from 2008-2009. He still enjoys playing tennis with his Foreign Ministry friends. Andrew has fond memories of dashing to the convenience store inside MOFA to purchase snacks for himself and his office mates and of the beautiful cherry trees outside the Ministry.
Rachel Brunette-Chen is the deputy of the U.S. Embassy Political-Military Affairs Section. She worked from 2009-2010 in the Foreign Ministry Asia Regional Security Policy Division and the APEC Division. She has fond memories of her farewell party at the Foreign Ministry, where her office mates combined their accumulated "Lawson's Points" to purchase a "Rirakuma" bear plate for her soon-to-be-born daughter.
Rachel Brunette-Chen did "okonomi-yaki" with her Japanese colleagues in Hiroshima.
Byron Tsao, left, often enjoyed dining out with his Japanese colleagues.
Byron Tsao now works as the Embassy Tokyo Assistant Press Officer. He maintains the Embassy Website including this blog! Byron worked at the Foreign Ministry in its APEC , North American Affairs, and Cultural Affairs Offices from 2010-2011. A native Mandarin speaker, Byron formed a lunch group for Foreign Ministry officials to burnish their Chinese language skills. He has fond memories of practicing in the Foreign Ministry Karate Club and of exploring inexpensive lunch spots in Kasumigaseki with his office mates.
Gary Schaefer presently works in the Foreign Ministry International Press Division. He is excited about this assignment because before he joined the U.S. Foreign Service he worked in Japan for seven years as a journalist for Associated Press and Bloomberg. Upon completion of his year as an exchange diplomat, Gary will join the Embassy Tokyo Political Section working on Japanese domestic politics.
I am confident that with the connections this group of exchange diplomats has built, our two governments will be able to face future challenges and build an even stronger partnership.
Until next time,
Jim
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