Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Mr. Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss Federation, has handed the new Ambassador of Japan, Kojiro Shiraishi, his letter of credentials. The Japanese government had appointed the current chairman of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group effective September 2. The post in Japan’s embassy in Switzerland had been vacant for about six months.
Embassy of Japan in Bern, capital of Switzerland
Prominent media manager
The Japanese media described the appointment of Shiraishi, 72, as a rare case of a media figure becoming Japan’s top envoy to a country. Political observers view the posting of another prominent figure close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as proof of Switzerland’s continuing relevance for Japan.
Shiraishi’s predecessor was Etsuro Honda, a well-known economist connected with the economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Honda resigned in April of this year and returned to Japan after almost three years in Bern. He summarized his experiences as Japan’s ambassador at the SCCIJ June Luncheon.
Steep Yomiuri Shimbun career
Shiraishi was born in Toyama, studied at Kyoto University and joined the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in 1969 as a political reporter. After rising through the ranks, the Yomiuri Shimbun Group appointed him in June 2011as president. Five years later, he took over the chairmanship of the board. The Yomiuri Shimbun is the largest newspaper in Japan, with a daily circulation of about 13 million copies, and its group company Nippon TV the biggest privately owned television channel.
The new Japan ambassador to Switzerland also served as chairman of the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association for the six years until June 2019. In this capacity, he sat on the nine-member government panel that helped choose Reiwa as Japan’s new era name. He also acted as the owner of the Yomiuri Giants, the professional baseball team of the publishing house, until 2016 when he resigned after players betted on games.
Exhibition on bilateral relations
Independent of the accreditation of its new head, the Japanese embassy in Switzerland has devoted the latest exhibition in its information and cultural center at Engestrasse 43 to the theme “The beginnings of Japanese-Swiss relations – Japan from the Swiss perspective in the late 19th century”. It illustrates how pioneers from Switzerland experienced their stay in a country that was still very closed at the time.
Already in the late 19th century, the Swiss were important trading partners of Japan. In Yokohama and other cities, silk, textiles, watches, and other goods were traded extensively. Longer stays were not uncommon, and early visitors from Switzerland often became familiar with the Japanese language and culture.
Professor Hans Bjarne Thomse, the Chair of East Asian Art History at the University of Zurich, initiated the project. The exhibition shows photographs as well as numerous objects such as books, woodcuts, and letters that the first Swiss visitors brought back from Japan. The exhibition lasts until January 31 and is open from Monday to Friday during office hours.
The exhibition shows the early days of Japanese-Swiss relations with original photographs, letters, and objects collected by the then Swiss in Japan. The focus is on three selected personalities: Charles Ziegler, Arnold Dumelin, and Wilhelm Kuprecht. Former Swiss Ambassador in Japan, Fritz Staehelin, a contemporary collector of cast iron teapots (tetsubin), gave a talk about his particular passion.
Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ; Photo: © Peter Schibli
