Greetings from the Director

On 4 August 2005, I was assigned the post of director at CLAIR Singapore. As is already known, CLAIR is a joint organization founded by Japanese local authorities to promote and suport their activities overseas. Besides its headquarters in Tokyo, CLAIR has seven branch offices in various parts of the world.

Established in 1990 to promote international exchanges between Japanese local authorities and ASEAN countries, CLAIR Singapore will soon be celebrating its 15th anniversary and I feel honoured to lead this office as its 5th director.

Before commencing my term here, I was the Deputy Secretary General for the Exchange and Cooperation Department (renamed Exchange and Information Department since April 2005) at the Tokyo headquarters, a department that is deeply concerned with the development of ASEAN countries.

My first overseas posting with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was involved in the setting up of CLAIR Singapore. Consequently, I have been engaged in many aspects of its activities intermittently. As a result, I feel I have been connected with this office prior to my appointment here.

CLAIR Singapore's activities span 10 ASEAN countries, the most numerous among CLAIR's seven overseas offices. These countries differ greatly not only in population and land area, but also in culture, religion, customs and geography.

In view of this, I believe it is important to constantly evaluate what the most suitable exchange should be for the respective regions, and conduct our projects and exchange activities accordingly.

International exchange at the local level in Japan is an initiative by local authorities, realised by their own planning with local revenue. Therefore, in order to attain real mutual benefits, local authorities aim at at developing long lasting exchange relationships based on equal status.

I understand that it may take time to build close ties between ASEAN and Japan at the local level, however, I shall always cater for individual needs of both parties in the implementation of CLAIR Singapore's activities

On behalf of CLAIR Singapore, I welcome any ideas or suggestions with regards to our work and look forward to your continuous support and cooperation.

CHIBA Yoshihiro