Travelogue – Diplomatic Mission To The Uncompromising Earthquake State

William Lloyd Garrison, an American journalist and crusader, born on the 10th of December, 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, started an abolitionist paper called “The Liberator” and by 1832 he helped form the New England Antislavery Society. When the Civil War broke out, he continued to blast the Constitution of the United States as a pro-slavery document. When the civil war ended, he at last saw the abolition of slavery. Before he died on the 24th of May, 1879 in New York City at the age of 73 he once said;

“I will be as harsh as truth, and uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest, I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard”.

On the 2nd of October, 2018, at about 5:05pm local time in Accra, the call for boarding was announced for Emirates flight EK788 enroute to Dubai and a subsequent connecting flight to Tokyo, Japan. Little did I know that, there are a group of people in our current world (the 21st century) who are collectively as uncompromising as William Lloyd Garrison was in the 19th Century.

The pages of the travelogue has thus opened again and the destination is the technological city of Tokyo and the mission is the agenda setting Ministerial Meeting ahead of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, (TICAD 7), which is scheduled to take place in the Japanese city of Yokohama in August, 2019. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, leads a government delegation to table what Ghana thinks should constitute the important issues that TICAD 7 should address if Japanese support for the African continent is to make any meaningful impact on the continent’s quest for development .                    

The Tokyo Tower at the heart of the City

The Advance Team

As is the custom, the destination bureau under which the Foreign Minister’s trip falls sends a delegation to prepare for the smooth arrival, participation of and departure of the Foreign Minister. Consequently, any other Ministry which may be concerned with the trip would also nominate a representative for same. On this eye opening trip, Mrs. Genevieve Apaloo, Director of Asia and Pacific Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Mrs. Doris Richter, Director of Asia and Pacific Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration and Desk Officer for Japan and Mr. Louis Kwame Amo, Chief Economics Officer and Head of the Japan-China-Korea and Indonesia Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, constituted the advance team with yours truly and the press man on the trip.

The Remaining Delegation

Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Her Delegation and some Japanese Lawmakers

The Foreign Minister’s eleven-man delegation also included Mrs. SenaSiaw-Boateng, Director at the Office of the Foreign Minister; Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mrs. AmaaAdomaTwum-Amoah. Members of the delegation from the Ghana Mission in Japan were H.E. Frank Okyere, Ghana’s Ambassador to Japan; Ms. Abigail Kwashi, Minister and Head of Chancery at the Ghana Mission in Japan; Betty Danso, Counsellor/ Economic and Political and Nana KwabenaAmagyei, First Secretary/Consular Affairs.

The Stop Over

Three members of the Advance Team with the exception of Mr. Louis Kwame Amo, Chief Economics Officer and Head of the Japan-China-Korea and Indonesia Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, made a 22-hour stopover in Dubai. It turned out to be a reflective pursuit in between the eight-hour trip from Accra to Dubai and the ten-hour journey to the land of the uncompromising and nationalistically oriented people, Japan.

Arrival at the Haneda International Airport

After the restful and eye opening stop over at the United Arab Emirates, the 10 hour journey came to a smooth end when the Emirates flight EK 312 touched down at the Haneda International Airport at 22:45 hours local time in Tokyo (13:45 GMT).

The Japanese Spirit at Play

Mr. Louis Amo Receiving his Cell Phones Back

Right after the arrival of the Advance Team of four, the true nature and orientation of the Japanese was at work. Mr. Louis Kwame Amo, who joined the advance team on our connecting flight on the 3rd of October, 2018, left his two top notch mobile phones on his seat on the flight. After nearly 30 minutes of disembarking the flight and going through strict boarder agency clearance, the Japanese crew found the phones, traced the passenger, took it through clearance and delivered it to MrAmo (who at this point did not know he had left his phones aboard the flight), at the luggage collection point. Though pleasantly grateful, he was not surprised because he had studied in Japan and was well aware of the uncompromising nature and strict adherence to the rules by the Japanese people. Mr. Amo thanked the delivery lady and she refused to accept any gift whatsoever for what would have been a full cocoa harvest season in some quarters.

The Staff of the Ghana Mission in Japan

Staff of the Ghana Mission in Japan were already at “Terminal 3” of the Haneda Airport, fully prepared to receive us. Abigail, Betty, Nana Kwabena and Eric, all assisted the team into our right hand drive Japanese-market-only state of the art Toyota SUVs for the 25 minute journey to the Richmond Hotel where the Advance Team would be lodging for the six nights and seven days of work ahead.

The Earthquake State will not Disappoint

Having exited the Haneda Airport, the natural thing to do is to look around and admire the rather fortified buildings and impressive architecture of the high rise buildings in mainland Tokyo. Just as we made the stop in front of the Richmond Hotel and as if to welcome us to the norm in the whole of Japan, all mobile phones, both those of the embassy staff who have local numbers and those of us who had come from the Sub Saharan state of Ghana, buzzed with loud warning sounds of an oncoming earthquake. The earthquake passed peacefully and the caution ‘BEWARE; You Are in the Earthquake State of Japan’, was well noted. 3rd October, the second day of the six day trip was effectively over and the task of adjusting to the 9-hour time difference between Ghana and Japan had begun, the first two days of which was a real struggle for me.

The Preparatory Meeting at the Mission

His Excellency, Ambassador Frank Okyere leading the Preparatory meeting at the Embassy

After the check in and settling in at about mid night in Japan (13:00 hours GMT),  it was agreed that the Advance Team would be picked up at 12 noon  ( 3:00am GMT) for a meeting to fine tune the flow of events and engagements of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. With the struggle to adjust to the time changes, the Advance Team managed to make it for the meeting. Led by His Excellency, Ambassador Frank Okyere, every necessary change was made to the itinerary and all was set for the TICAD 7 Ministerial Meeting (TICAD 7 MM).

Off to the Chop Bar

Ghanaians, known to take our “Ghanaianess” everywhere we go, have not left out Japan. The staff of the Ghana Mission in Japan quickly made calls and secured everyone’s order. Fifteen minutes’ drive from the Mission’s office, *there we were at the “African Home Touch Restaurant” in Roppongi, a suburb in Tokyo, feeling at home inspite of being some 15,000 kilometers away from Ghana. The team recessed to our hotels to get some rest. 4th of October thus ended on a Ghana food in Japan mode.

The Senior Officials Meeting

Representatives who attended the Senior Officials Meeting

On the 5th of October, 2018, the senior officials from all over the Foreign Ministries and State Departments on the continent were scheduled to meet to present their existing business models in their respective countries to each other. Essentially, the senior officials’ session was to network with and learn best practices from the interesting things everyone was doing. Mrs. Genevieve Apaloo; Mrs. Doris Richter, Director of Asia and Pacific; Mr. Louis Kwame Amo, H.E. Ambassador Mrs. AmaaAdomaTwum-Amoah; H.E. Ambassador Frank Okyere; Ms. Abigail Kwashi, Betty Danso, Nana KwabenaAmagyei, and the Director of Business Development Services of the Association of Ghana Industries, Dr. Johnson OpokuBoateng, attended the sessions and made a case for why Ghana should be the destination of choice for Japanese business investments.

Arrival of the Minister

Foreign Minister received by Ambassador Frank Okyereat the Haneda Airport

At 5:45am in the morning, Tokyo local time (9pm, 5th October GMT), on the 6th of October, the receiving party set off on the 25 minute journey to Haneda Airport where Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and the Director at the Office of the Minister Mrs. SenaSiaw-Boateng, were scheduled to arrive onboard British Airways at 7:10am. Upon arrival the receiving party, led by Ambassador Frank Okyere, welcomed the Minister and Mrs. Siaw-Boateng. After going through all the formalities, the Minister’s convoy left off to the Tokyo Prince Hotel, the event hotel as well as host hotel for the Minister.

Before the Opening Ceremony

 

Members of the Ghanaian Delegation Exchange Ideas over the Stand off

The opening session of the Ministerial Meeting was held up for a few hours because the age old conflict between The Kingdom of Morocco and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) resurfaced in Tokyo.The SADR, a former Spanish colony is the last territory on mainland Africa whose post-colonial future has yet to be decided. Morocco walked out when the African bloc admitted the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic declared by the pro-independence Polisario Front at the height of a 1975-1991 war over the territory.

“By the time the fighting ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire, Morocco controlled 90 percent of the territory, including its three main towns, and insists it is an integral part of the kingdom. But the SADR, which remains a member of the AU, insists the territory’s future can only be decided in a UN-supervised referendum in accordance with a 1975 decision by the International Court of Justice. One was supposed to be held in 1992 but was aborted when Morocco objected to the proposed electoral register, which it said was biased in favour of independence”.

The consensus reached between Japan and the two feuding parties paved way for the Ministerial Meeting to commence after about four hours of delayand as a compromise, no African country was going to have a specifically named tag but rather African Union tags. Could this be the beginning of the much awaited Unites States of Africa? Your guess is as good as mine!

Opening Session/ Plenaries

Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey at the Opening Ceremony

The Ministerial Meeting opened with a kick off meeting at the Tokyo Prince Hotel followed by an opening session for all Ministers. Over the two-day period of the meeting, there were four plenaries. Plenary one discussed trends and challenges since TICAD VI. Economic transformation for inclusive growth was the main focus of plenary two.  Health, sustainable and stable society for human security informed the discussion lines for plenary three and plenary four took a look at strengthening connectivity for Africa and beyond. The Minister for Foreign Affairs addressed plenary two.

TICAD 7 Must Support Africa Beyond Aid Agenda – Foreign Affairs Minister

TICAD Ministerial Meeting underway in Tokyo

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, called on organizers of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), to ensure that they factor into their plans and programmes for TICAD 7 which is expected to take place in the Japanese city of Yokohama, in August next year, a strong policy that will see the ‘Africa Beyond Aid’ agenda becoming a reality.

Speaking to yours truly after addressing the 2nd Plenary of the two-day TICAD Ministerial Meeting on the topic; “Economic Transformation for Inclusive Growth,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said President AkufoAddo’s ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ and by extension the ‘Africa Beyond Aid’ agenda,  has caught up with his colleague Heads of State on the African continent. The call by President AkufoAddo according to Madam Botchwey, is increasingly informing the negotiation patterns of African leaders with the developed world.

To this end, it was the position of Ghana that organizers and partners of TICAD, in setting the agenda for the upcoming multilateral forum, look beyond grants and loans for African countries but rather focus on how Japan can make available to Africa its technological know-how and intellectual properties in the manufacturing and electronic sectors for the rapid industrialization of the African continent, the Foreign Minister observed.

Key on the agenda of the Foreign Minister of Japan and over 45 Foreign Ministers and Heads of State from the African continent, was also the need for quality infrastructure and the challenges in making development more inclusive on the African continent, where China’s influence is fast growing. As part of the four sessions of meetings, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and senior officials exchanged views on a range of topics from infrastructural development and health care coverage to disaster prevention and business investment.

Foreign Minister of Japan, Taro Kono, in his opening address stressed the importance of quality infrastructure and said Japan seeks to connect Africa and Asia under its ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.’

“International assistance should be provided in accordance with international standards such as transparency, openness and economic efficiency,” Kono said at the outset of the meeting. “These principles are crucial components of Japan’s quality infrastructure initiative,” he added.

In the previous round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 2016, Japan pledged $30 billion over a three-year period for investment in Africa. China is also courting African countries with massive investments. Chinese President, Xi Jinping, vowed in September to extend $60 billion in financing to the continent, which is seen as having growth potential. Concerns have been raised, however, that huge loans extended to finance infrastructure development could lead to defaults by African countries.

Meeting the Chairman of Ghana-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League

The Foreign Minister met with Japanese lawmaker and Chairman of Ghana-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League, Manabu Sakai.

 On the sidelines of the (MM), the Foreign Minister met with Japanese lawmaker and Chairman of Ghana-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League, Manabu Sakai. At the meeting, Sakai pledged to use his influence in the Diet of Japan (bicameral legislature), which composes of a lower house, the House of Representatives and an upper house, the House of Councillors, to broker a deal for direct Japanese investment in Ghana’s emerging railway sector.

The Lawmaker

Japanese lawmaker and Chairman of Ghana-Japan  Parliamentary Friendship League, Manabu Sakai

In a brief remark, the lawmaker said the Japanese government is very ready to invest in infrastructural development in Ghana. He added that he has a great deal of influence on the Joint Venture Japan Railways Organization and he intends to harness same to secure Japanese investments into Ghana.

Foreign Minister

Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey During the Meeting

Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in her response welcomed the commitment demonstrated by the member of the Japanese Parliament towards Ghana. She assured Mr. Sakai that she will, through Ghana’s Ambassador to Japan, His Excellency, Frank Okyere, follow up to ensure that the issues discussed materialize into concrete and measurable projects.

State Visit to Japan

As part of the discussion during the lawmaker’s call on Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Mr. Manabu Sakai, disclosed that President AkufoAddo has accepted to pay a state visit to Japan at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, from the 11th to the 13th of December, 2018. He added that he is looking forward to the visit which he believes will greatly strength Ghana’s bilateral relations with the highly advanced state of Japan.

The Lawmakers Team

The lawmaker was accompanied by his colleague Member of Parliament, Hon. Dai Shimamura, Secretary for the Japan-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship League, and  Dr. Itaru Ishii, Special Advisor to Hon. Manabu Sakai and an advisor to Ghana’s Ambassador to Japan, His Excellency, Frank Okyere.

The Lawmaker and his two colleagues at the meeting

Japan-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship League

The Japan-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship League comprises 20 Members of Parliament (MPs) from the two countries. The league exists to exchange institutional knowledge between the two countries’ legislative bodies as a means of improving upon the legislative arms and work of both Japan and Ghana.The 6th of October thus came to a successful end after a fruitful discussion and an all Japanese dinner.

Stepping Up Relations with Japan

 

inister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and her team holding  bilateral talks with Foreign Minister of Japan, Taro Kono, and his team

 The 7th of October commenced with the Foreign Minister and her team participating in the third and fourth plenaries. After the two plenary sessions, Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey held bilateral talks with her colleague Foreign Minister of Japan. In an interview after the bilateral talks at a closed door session and a working lunch with her colleague Foreign Minister of Japan, Taro Kono, the Minister said Ghana is stepping up her relations with Japan to attract technology and industry giants in the Asian state to drive government’s agenda of moving Ghana from a raw material production economy into an industrialized and technologically driven one.

She observed that Japan has all the intellectual know-how in terms of all that Ghana needs to industrialize and it is in the interest of Ghana to position itself to take advantage of Japan’s advanced technology and to learn and adopted the best practices that has brought them this far.

“I believe that if we want to leapfrog in having very sophisticated technology, we need to be learning from best practices like Japan. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, they have already done it and we just need to copy from them,” Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said.

Japan Monorail Technology

The Foreign Minister granting an interview after holding bilateral talks with Foreign Minister of Japan

 According to Minister Shirley’s Ayorkor Botchwey, her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, agreed to link Ghana up with the Japan monorail companies to assist the country in developing a monorail system of transportation in Ghana as exists in several cities in Japan. The initial target will be to have such metro rails in the capital city, Accra, and subsequently to other regions of the country.

The State Visit

As part of the discussions of the two diplomats during the closed door session, the two firmed up the proposed state visit of President AkufoAddo, to Japan from the 11th to the 13th of December, 2018. Madam Botchwey indicated that her Japanese colleague was upbeat about the President’s visit. She added that during the State visit, President AkufoAddo and the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe, will solidify cooperation between Ghana and Japan.

The TICAD Ministerial Meeting

Foreign Minister at the closing ceremony of the TICAD Ministerial Meeting

Overall, the Foreign Minister described the Ministerial Meeting ahead of TICAD 7 as a “good stock taking exercise” that had been carried out successfully. The Minister for Foreign Affairs addressed plenary two. In her address, the Foreign Minister said, “Ghana’s transformation agenda is set within the context of a long term strategic vision of consolidating its middle-income status and building an industry-driven economy capable of providing decent jobs that are suitable and sustainable for development.”

“The ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ vision and ideals are also in line with the AU Agenda 2063, the strategic framework for socio-ecomomic transformation of Africa. It is against the background that President AkufoAddo is calling for an ‘Africa Beyond Aid’ with the conviction that if Africa embraces this ideology, it would not take long for it to realize the transformation that has eluded a greater part of the continent till today,” Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said.

TICAD 7 (MM) had thus been executed. All participating African countries articulated their interests and Japanese authorities are now better placed to aggregate these interests and pin down the agenda for TICAD 7 in 2019.

Dinner with the Ambassador

At about 17:30 hours local time (8:30am GMT), Ambassador Frank Okyere, received the Foreign Minister and her 11-member team into his home which is about 30 minutes drive from the city centre for a Ghanaian dinner. On the menu was light soup with goat meat, ‘Ghana Jollof’ made in Tokyo and yam with kontomire stew. After about an hour and a half of dining and reflecting on all that had been accomplished, the team embarked on a one hour journey to the Narita Airport to see the Foreign Minister and Mrs. Siaw-Boateng off from Japan to their next diplomatic assignment.

The Minister’s Departure

The uncompromising nature of the Japanese will spring forth again. This time round, they decided to screen Ghana’s top diplomat in breach of diplomatic courtesies as exists all over the world. As a country, we ought to also start screening Japanese officials when they arrive and exit our jurisdiction. At about 22:00 hours local time (13:00 GMT), the Minister got on board effectively ending the (MM) episode on the evening of the 7th of October, 2018.

Meet (Yaa) Akemi OGAWA

 



“Yaa”Akemi OGAWA, at the preparatory meeting at the Ghana Embassy

As part of the MM, the Japanese government assigned a liaison officer each to every visiting envoy. Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey’s liaison was Akemi OGAWA, later to be named “Yaa Akemi”. Not willing to retreat an inch from the Minister and her assignment given to her by her superiors, she was harsh as truth, indeed uncompromising as justice.

The Tour of Tokyo

The 8th of October, which was a holiday in Japan, the Advance Team had the pleasure of touring the city of Tokyo in the company of Eric, a staff of the Ghana Mission in Japan. After nearly 7 hours of roaming the streets of Tokyo, here are some of the things I learnt and observed.

Buildings in Tokyo

Japan, a natural earthquake prone zone has had to develop solid technology to construct its buildings to withstand all earthquakes and earth tremors while making use of the underground.

Space Management

A car packed in an open garage

Japan as a country has every little land space and as a result, effective use of space and management of same is a ritual. “Don’t give small space any chance” appears to be the watch word in the judicious way spaces are prudently planned and designed.

Before You Own a Car 

A would-be car owner in Japan first needs to acquire a parking space, register same and secure a parking permit documentation before a car would be sold to you. Simply put, “No Parking, No Car” (NP-NC).

Securing a Mobile Phone Number

Unlike several developed countries where at the presentation of your passport, mobile phone numbers can be purchased almost instantly, the Japanese story is completely different. Short stay visitors to Japan can simply not acquire cell phone numbers for use during the period of their stay. The levels of uncompromising and strict requirements will only lead you to abort any desires of acquiring a local number.

Moving About in Tokyo

Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mrs. AmaaAdomaTwum-Amoah Mrs. Genevieve Apaloo, Director of Asia and Pacific Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Mrs. Doris Richter during the tour.

The cost of parking makes it totally unattractive to want to move around with your personal vehicle on daily basis. Instead the railway and monorail network in the cities of Japan make it the most reliable means of transport. The bullet trains make long distance travels even much simpler and easy with long distance travels from the north to the south of Japan.

Enabling the Disabled

Yellow and silver tactiles strips that serve as guiding lines visually impaired in almost every major public venue

At the beginning of my six-day stay in Tokyo, I wondered what all these yellow tactile strips everywhere I passed was for till I saw a visually impaired man using it as a guide to cross a highway. Of all the few countries that I have visited, Japan has the most accessible infrastructure of any country I’ve ever been to. The most notable accessibility feature for the visually impaired is the yellow tactile strips that serve as guiding lines in almost every major public venue, such as subway stations, sidewalks in Tokyo, the sporting halls and some indoor malls. The education I got is that they serve a dual purpose. First, it allows you and others to stay on the left side while moving in the crowded and busy spaces. (In Japan you stay on the left, not the right.) Second, these lines lead you to key places like ticket kiosks and the exits. These are more useful if you actually know where you are going, unlike most tourists. Strips of tactile bumps also precede many of the stairwells and escalators, which is good because there are many patrons, especially in a major Tokyo subway station.

I found these features incredibly helpful and couldn’t help wondering why the so called “super powers” almost never implement this kind of enabling support for the “disabled”. My enquiry revealed that they are easy to install, not obstructive, and helpful for everyone, not just the visually impaired. All future roads, bridges and transportation terminals in Ghana could take a clue from the Japanese.

Government Business

By design, the three arms of government, the Prime Minister’s Office and Residence, the Diet (Legislature) and offices of members of the House of Representatives and House of Councillors, and the Judiciary are all located within the same enclave.  This makes government business and the maintenance of security effective and less costly to the state.

The Imperial Palace

Some Japanese citizens jogging right in front of the Imperior Palace

I discovered that the Japanese believe that exercising around the pathways by the home of the Emperor guarantees longevity and good health. It is therefore a custom to walk and exercise on the pathways and main ceremonial entrance of the Imperial Palace.

The Shinto Shrines

A typical Japanese shrine located just along a highway

Virtually every community and locality in Tokyo has a shrine and in no particular fashion or regimented timelines, the believers of nature go to the shrine, perform a ritual and pay homage to their “god”.

The Foreign Currency Exchange Machine

A Foreign Currency Exchange Machine

Japan is known as a technologically advanced country. True to its image, even exchanging currency has gone high-tech with money exchange machines. You can find these “money vending machines” at airports, hotels, malls, and selected convenience stores. These machines accepts 13 major currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, KRW, HKD, SGD, TWD, CNY, PHP, MYR, and THB.

All u have to do is just feed your cash into the machine and you will receive your Yen instantly. The machines’ touch panels provide instructions in Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese. It is a quick way to get Japanese Yen at any time of the day.

The Departure

After the “Tour de Tokyo”, the Advance Team took a break and got some rest ahead of our late departure from Tokyo at 21:35 local time (12:35 pm GMT) on the 9th of October. After spending the first half of the departure day in town looking for hundred yen ($1.00) shops to buy some souvenirs for family and friends, the Advance Team pitched camp at the Ghana Embassy premises for all the necessary reconciliations and protocols. With all cleared, the one hour journey to the departing airport (Navita Airport) commenced at 18:00 hours local time (9:00am GMT). The team arrived at the Navita Airport at about 19:15 hours (10:15 am GMT). After struggling through with the Japanese staff of the Emirates Airline over the weight of our bags which according to them should be a total of 30 kilograms rather than the known two bags of 23 kilograms each for economy class. Thankfully, we made it through bringing all departure formalities to a peaceful conclusion. At about 21:00 hours (11:am GMT) the team was on board one of Emirates’ flagship airline, the Airbus 380, enroute to Dubai for a connecting flight to Accra. Yours truly though, had to continue to Yeveren, the capital city of Armenia to join the team led by President AkufoAddo to the 2018 Francophonie Summit. The travelogue takes a short break and will resurface momentarily.

Staff of the Ghana Embassy in Japan

Staff of the Ghana Embassy in Japan in a Group Picture with the Ghanaian Delegation

I cannot close the pages of this travelogue without mentioning all the ladies and gentlemen who work at the Ghana Mission under the able leadership of H.E. Frank Okyere. You guys rock and I admire your sense of urgency to work and the cause of our beloved Republic.

Minasama, 

DOUMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!

Mata Aimasyou!

 My Take

The trip to Tokyo, Japan, can be described in two words as *refreshing* and *revealing.* The ‘Ghana, Africa Beyond Aid’ agenda  was successfully tabled, diplomacy was at its best, Ghana’s senior diplomat, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, negotiated well for Ghana, the Japanese have shown and thought me a lesson that the world does not need another dictator of a leader but a *WELL STRUCTURED SYSTEM* ( Social, Financial, Economic, etc)  that does not cut corners but is simply made to work. At the heart of this well-structured system is an educated population and for that matter a work force that is educated and oriented to adhere strictly to the rules *UNCOMPROMISINGLY.*

SAYOUNARA!

 DOUMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!

 

 

Source: Starrfmonline.com