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N° 8
December 2020 |
| Embassy of Switzerland in Japan |
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| Ambassador Dr. Andreas Baum ©FDFA |
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Dear Readers,
It is my great honour and pleasure to introduce myself to the readership of this newsletter as the new Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan. My mission officially started last month, when, accompanied by members of the Embassy, I had the privilege to present my credentials to His Majesty the Emperor. He welcomed me to Japan with much warmth and kindness. Briefly, who am I? Currently aged 57, I have spent nearly
three decades in the Swiss Foreign Ministry, after studying medicine and international relations. Within the Ministry, I had the opportunity to work in Berne, Ankara, Ottawa, New York, Abuja, Tel Aviv and New Dehli. My mother tongues are French and German; you will have to judge my efforts in English by reading this message. One thing is evident from my CV: Japan and East Asia are entirely new to me. As a fan of challenges, I am eager to get to know and experience such a significant, innovative and fascinating country as Japan. My predecessor, Ambassador Jean-François Paroz, left me an Embassy team in great shape. It is a pleasure to work with such a motivated group of people, both from Switzerland and Japan. We take our work seriously and are at your service, to assist you as citizens, officials or businesspeople, within the broader goal of developing political, business and personal ties between the two countries. 2020 has been a challenging year in so many ways, with the Covid-19 pandemic crisis impacting us all at the personal, national and global levels. Let us remain both careful and resilient, while continuing to protect ourselves and each other. Hopefully, 2021 will bring us progressive recovery and resumption of normal people-to-people contacts beyond borders. Taking part in successful Olympic and Paralympic Games would be wonderful.
Thank you very much for your attention, and stay healthy! I look forward to being in touch online, but also to meeting many of you in person. And most importantly, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dr. Andreas Baum
Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan |
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| Ambassador Baum presents his credentials to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan |
| Ambassador Baum (center) with his team ©FDFA |
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On November 19, 2020, Dr. Andreas Baum presented his letter of credence to His Majesty Emperor Naruhito during a ceremony held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The ceremony marked the formal beginning of Ambassador Baum’s mission as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Japan. After Ambassador Baum presented his credentials to His Majesty the Emperor, the two had a short, friendly exchange, during which Emperor Naruhito congratulated the Swiss Ambassador and warmly welcomed him to Japan. Ambassador Baum highlighted the longstanding friendship between the two countries, marked by then Crown Prince Naruhito’s visit to Switzerland in 2014 on the occasion of 150 years of diplomatic relations. He expressed his hope to see people-to-people encounters fully resume as soon as the pandemic is overcome. |
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| Swiss and Japanese Foreign Ministers Telephone Talk |
| Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (left) and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis(right) ©FDFA |
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Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and his Japanese counterpart Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi held their first telephone meeting on November 27, 2020. Both leaders affirmed that, on the basis of many common values, among them democracy, multilateralism, the rule of law and a science-based approach, Switzerland and Japan aim to enhance their strong relations, in particular in the fields of peace, economy, science and digitalization. In addition to the Covid-19 crisis and strengthened bilateral cooperation, the Tokyo 2020 Games were also in focus. Federal Councillor Cassis expressed hopes that next year’s Olympics and Paralympics can be the moment when the world comes together again. |
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| Third Switzerland – Japan Economic Forum |
| From left: Mr. Dan Slater (Director, Delphi Network), Ms. Chiharu Takakura (Member of the Board of Directors, ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,), Mr. Matthias Leuenberger (Country President, Novartis Switzerland), Mr. Ryo Umezawa (Principal, East Ventures) and Ms. Keiko Tsuchiya (Head of Human Resources, The Adecco Group Japan) ©ď¸ŽSakurako Kuroda |
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The 2020 Switzerland – Japan Economic Forum was held in a hybrid format on October 15, 2020, gathering some 170 participants around questions of talent management. This third instalment was organized by the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan in partnership with IMD Business School and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan. Highlighting similarities and differences between Switzerland and Japan in the field of human resources, the keynote followed by two successive panels provided insights from industry leaders on how to attract and retain talent, and how to develop and re-skill existing workforce. |
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| BUSINESS & INVESTMENT PROMOTION |
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| SwissTech pitchinar and pavilion during CEATEC Japan 2020 |
| swisstech.pitchinar during CEATEC Japan 2020 ©swisstech. |
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As a hub for innovation and technology, Switzerland is an attractive location for investors and foreign companies. This year, the Embassy presented a swisstech.pitchinar and swisstech.pavilion to promote Swiss startups and companies during the CEATEC Japan 2020 online exhibition, held October 20 – 23. Following CEATEC’s theme “Society 5.0 and the New Normal”, the pavilion and pitchinar provided platforms to discover excellent Swiss solutions for Society 5.0.
Both the swisstech.pitchinar and swisstech.pavilion were organized as part of #SwissTech, a campaign organized by Presence Switzerland in collaboration with Switzerland Global Enterprise and supporting institutional partners Innosuisse, digitalswitzerland and the swissnex network. The campaign aims to promote Switzerland as a leading high-tech nation that has much to offer to international investors and foreign companies. |
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| 17th Science and Technology Ministers’ Roundtable |
| The 17th Science and Technology Ministers' Roundtable ©SERI |
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The Embassy supported Dr. Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation representing Switzerland at the 17th Science and Technology Ministers’ Roundtable organized by the Government of Japan on October 3, 2020. The meeting took place on the occasion of the Science and Technology for Society Forum (STS forum). A total of 35 Ministers, Vice Ministers and equivalents attended the online meeting. State Secretary Hirayama stressed the importance of international cooperation in science and innovation, and emphasized the involvement of stakeholders and citizens when setting priorities for research and innovation policies. |
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| Tokyo Hub of the CYBATHLON 2020 |
| BionicM participant to CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition competing from the Tokyo Hub ©Takao Ochi/Kanpara Pres |
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The Tokyo Hub of the CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition was organized by the Embassy on November 13 – 15, 2020 in collaboration with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan. This unique championship initiated by ETH Zurich, in which people with disabilities tackle everyday tasks using advanced technologies, was held online with 51 teams from 20 countries competing in their own locations. Swiss and Japanese teams were highlighted for their solid performance and technologies in the global live streaming from Switzerland that aggregated the race results. Viewership from Japan was high but if you missed it live, you can still see it here. |
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| formSWISS exhibition ©Form |
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Co-organized by Form together with the Embassy, the design exhibition FormSWISS was held between October 16 and November 3 on three locations in the vicinity of Shibuya, during DesignArt Tokyo 2020. Switzerland has long been a global force in the development of modern and contemporary design. How does Switzerland’s lifestyle shape its creative scene? From work-life balance to environment and culture, what can we learn from the Swiss ways of living and designing? FormSWISS explored these links of kinship through graphic design, typography and motion graphics, in addition to a series of interviews with designers, school and museum representatives. FormSWISS also offered public discussions between Japanese and Swiss designers, and presented several products featuring collaborations across the two countries. Participants included Balmer Hählen, Gavillet & Cie, Jannuzzi Smith, Kasper-Florio, Notter+Vigne, Simone Cavadini, Studio Feixen, Swiss Typefaces, ECAL and ZHdK.
More information: FormSWISS |
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| Swiss Creative Talk @SUPER DOMMUNE |
| SWISS CREATIVE TALK VOL. 7: Creativity and the New Normal – Augmented Reality and Robotics Meet Dance and Contemporary Art ©FDFA |
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Dancers in different cities collaborating through Virtual Reality; an app that brings choreography to your fingertips; a connected robot available for anyone to pilot;
telepresence, avatars and new forms of cross-pollinations: what are the creative spaces of the New Normal? To explore these questions, the 7th instalment of Swiss Creative Talk, in collaboration with streaming platform SUPER DOMMUNE, presented on October 1, 2020 a hybrid evening of discussions, collaborations and artistic performances with some of Switzerland’s and Japan’s finest: AATB (design practice), Gilles Jobin (choreographer and filmmaker), Daito Manabe (Rhizomatiks), Yukiko Shikata (curator and critic), Naohiro Ukawa (SUPER DOMMUNE) and Tobias Presig (Quite Love Records). On this occasion, AATB re-opened its online robotic installation Handshake with an entirely new Japanese editorial. The talk will soon be made available on here. |
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| The Swiss authorities online – information at your fingertips |
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Moving abroad? How to vote? Registering my marriage? What is the AHV? Moving back to Switzerland? How to find an apartment back home? You can find answers to these questions and many more under www.ch.ch - the Swiss Authorities online in five languages. |
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| Election of the Council of the Swiss Abroad |
Between January and June 2021, Swiss expatriates around the world will vote to determine the composition of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), referred to as the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland”. In Japan, this election will be organized by the Swiss Club in Tokyo and the Swiss Society of the Kansai.For persons interested in the Tokyo region: please contact the Swiss Club Tokyo by e-mail. For information regarding the Kansai region: please consult the website of the Swiss Society of the Kansai (details to be uploaded in due time).
You can also find a general overview of the CSA election here. |
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