Official visit of Consul General Uchikawa to Prince Edward Island (May 22 to 24, 2024)
From May 22 to 24, Consul General Uchikawa traveled to Prince Edward Island for an official visit. During his stay, he met with Lieutenant Governor Antoinette Perry, Premier Dennis King, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Darlene Compton, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Trade Gilles Arsenault, Minister of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport, and Culture Cory Deagle, and the Mayor of Charlottetown, Philip Brown. During each meeting, they exchanged ideas and opinions on strengthening relations between Japan and Prince Edward Island. The Consul General also met with the Interim President of the University of Prince Edward Island, Greg Keefe, to discuss the promotion of inter-university exchanges between Japan and PEI. The province is rich in attractions, including Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, which is popular in Japan, but also fresh, delicious local cuisine, and breathtaking landscapes that seem straight out of a movie.
Consul General Uchikawa also visited Sekisui Diagnostics, a Japanese company, and the Green Gables Heritage Place, which received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation Award in 2020. Subsequently, he visited the Bedeque Area Historical Museum and the former schoolhouse where author Lucy Maud Montgomery once taught. Ms. Catherine Callbeck, Former Premier of Prince Edward Island and former Member of Parliament, accompanied the Consul General during his tour of these two sites. It is worth mentioning that Ms. Callbeck's family once welcomed the Mizuno family, the first Japanese family to immigrate to Prince Edward Island, returning from one of the internment camps after the Second World War. Documents recounting the Mizuno family's story are also on display at the museum.