“Merci dat dir komm sidd,” Okuyama welcomed his guests, which included finance minister Yuriko Backes (DP), local politicians and ambassadors, in Luxembourgish. With a mandate in Jordan ahead, the ambassador looked back on two and a half years marked by the pandemic and Ukraine crisis.

“There were so many cancellations of high-level visits,” he said. But, as he noted, the grand duke, and more recently prime minister Xavier Bettel (DP) on the occasion of Japan’s ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe’s state funeral, had visited the Japanese archipelago. The Ukraine flag displayed alongside the Luxembourg and Japan flag illustrated the ambassador’s support for the war-stricken country, too.

“We will need to have a political dialogue in order to forge a coordinated stance against all the forms of authoritarianism,” he concluded.

Space, funds and culture

Okuyama formally presented his credentials to Grand Duke Henri on 11 February 2020, a short month before the start of a pandemic and series of lockdowns. “It was a wonderful experience,” he said of his time spent in the grand duchy. “The cultural context gives newcomers a refreshing feeling of welcome, so even with covid-19 I felt like my wife and I were welcomed,” he told Delano.

Asked about the successful collaborations between Japan and Luxembourg, Okuyama cited a few. There were the Japanese artists and musicians performing at Esch2022 and the recent signing of a memorandum of cooperation . The collaboration on development funds and space-related projects was also cited by Okuyama. He mentioned the Japanese company iSpace, which has a branch in Luxembourg, among other successes. “Luxembourg has been very keen [on space] since the 1990s and Japan has also been very keen to develop both civil use and defence use of spatial technologies.” Which would explain, he said, the compatibility between the two countries in that sector.

New ambassador first Japanese ambassador with business background

A successor to the position has now been named--Tadahiro Matsubara will inherit Okuyama’s role as the Japanese ambassador to Luxembourg before the end of the year. As the latter explains, Matsubara has a particular profile, being the first Japanese ambassador to come from a business rather than a political background. “Matsubara has an extensive business background with 40 years of experience,” Okuyama told the crowd at the farewell event.

Matsubara has worked as a senior executive officer for Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire insurance. His mandate in Luxembourg begins on 21 October 2022.