By Robina Asido

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya welcomed the 19 members of the 13th batch of the Nihongo Partners in a courtesy call at the Japan Embassy in Pasay City on Monday.

The Nihongo partners who will be deployed in nine different regions starting this week visited the embassy together with the representatives of Japan Foundation Manila (JFM) headed by Director Suzuki Ben.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the normalization of the diplomatic relationship between Philippines and Japan, Endo shared his optimism that the Nihongo partners will serve as a vital cultural bridge who will further enrich Japan and the Philippines’ people-to-people ties.

"In some areas and some communities, there may be many other people with connections to Japan. But depending on the area, you may be the only Japanese people whom local residents have an opportunity to meet. I do not want you to feel an excessive burden because of that, but I would be all the more grateful if you could conduct your activities in a way that helps increase, even by one person at a time, the number of “Japan fans”—people who come to like Japan or develop an interest in Japan," Endo said in his remarks.

"Against that background, you will be supporting the work of developing the next generation of people on the Philippine side who will build relations with Japan in various ways and help sustain those relations in many different forms. I believe this is extremely meaningful work and, from a medium- to long-term perspective, will amount to a major investment in the relationship," he added.

Endo also noted "the importance of the Philippines as a partner for Japanese society, or indeed for Japan as a country, has increased considerably" compared to the time when the diplomatic relationship between the two nations first began in 1956.

The Nihongo Partners Program endeavors to support local Japanese-Language teachers and students by dispatching Japanese nationals predominantly to secondary education institutions in Asia including the Philippines for a short period, ranging from six months to a year.

The Japan Foundation sends the partners from Japan to work as assistants in classes and introduce Japanese language and culture. Apart from teaching, they are also encouraged to interact widely outside of classes by learning about the host country’s local language, culture, and customs.

This year’s batch of Nihongo Partners will soon be assigned to support schools in municipalities and cities in the National Capital Region, Baguio, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Albay, Iloilo, Cebu, Bohol, and Davao. PHS