Japanese Ambassador to Washington, D.C., to Visit SJU
Thursday, January 28, 2010
PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 28, 2010) - The Honorable Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan’s Ambassador to the United States, will visit Saint Joseph’s University to speak to students on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 11:30 a.m. The lecture, which will focus on U.S. – Japanese relations, will be held in the Haub Executive Center on the 5th floor of McShane Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
“The political science department is honored that Ambassador Fujisaki is visiting our campus,” said Lisa Baglione, Ph.D., chair and professor of political science. “Japan is a longstanding, trusted partner of the United States, and to have the Japanese Ambassador at SJU is a wonderful opportunity for our students. We look forward to hearing the Ambassador's views on how the American-Japanese relationship can move forward together – with relatively new governments in place on both sides of the Pacific – to address global challenges.”
Ambassador Fujisaki served as the political minister of the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC, from 1995-99. However, his association with the United States goes back even further. In the early 1960s, he attended junior high school in Seattle, Wash. He also studied one year each at Brown University and Stanford University Graduate School in the early 1970s.
As a diplomat, he also served in Jakarta, Paris and London. Prior to his current post, which he assumed in 2008, he served as Ambassador to the United Nations and to the World Trade Organization in Geneva. While there, he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, he held posts as Deputy Director-General for Asian Affairs and Director-General for North American Affairs before being appointed as the Deputy Foreign Minister. He has also served as the Sherpa, or the personal representative, of the Prime Minister to G8 Summit meetings.
The Ambassador’s visit is sponsored by SJU’s department of political science, Asian studies program, College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the President.
