Friday, January 25th, 2019
Education, Sports, Culture
無断転載を禁じます。
On January 25th, MEXT Minister Masahiko Shibayama handed a letter of appointment for Cross Cultural Communication (CCC) Ambassador to Daimao Kosaka, also known as the producer of the famous Pico Taro. As CCC Ambassador, Kosaka will participate in various events which aim to promote the dissemination of information both domestically and internationally and advance communication between various fields and industries for the following initiatives:
-Tobitate! (Leap for Tomorrow) Study Abroad Initiative- a campaign which aims to promote young Japanese students to study overseas;
-Sport in Life Initiative- to increase the population of those participating in sport to improve people’s health through sport;
-Sport Open Innovation Platform Initiative (SOIP)- to promote collaboration between sport and other industries;
-Disseminate Japanese culture towards 2020;
-Disseminate and promote education on countermeasures against pirated copies.
Daimao Kosaka shared his experiences overseas together with Pico Taro, saying he found an unexpected demand for Japanese culture, how our culture has infiltrated the world more than he imagined, and there are fields Japan can win in. Kosaka said while most information nowadays can be acquired over the internet, other aspects including feeling the country’s air, smell, people’s personalities and sense of time can only be felt by visiting the site. Kosaka said he was very enthusiastic about the appointment, and fully identifies with the Tobitate Initiative which encourages young people to just go! and fly! overseas.
Kosaka then handed Pico Taro’s trademark leopard-print scarf to the minister, leading to a duo performance of the PPAP.
