Irish ambassador to Japan visits Mainichi president

Irish Ambassador to Japan John Neary, who assumed his post last month, made a courtesy call on Mainichi Newspapers' President Yutaka Asahina on Monday.

During the meeting, Neary explained how the government in Ireland is trying to help revive its economy after the Lehman shock, and is trying to attract investment from overseas including Japan.

Among specific issues, Neary indicated three major points on the country's economic policy over the past two years: reducing the budget deficit to the European Union standard of 3 percent; revitalizing its banking system including nationalizing one bank, and boosting competitiveness by reducing costs to business and investing in research, development and innovation. He pointed out that Ireland has to expand exports as it is a fairly small market with a population of only 4.5 million. Ireland foresees 2.25 percent economic growth next year after zero growth this year due to government support to revive the banking system.

The ambassador disclosed that after the crisis the government called on leading Irish nationals across the globe, and discussed how to get the country back into positive growth. One central message was making use of Irish culture and human networks for business promotion. Subsequently, an Ireland-affiliated advisory committee (The Global Irish Network) was formed by leading business and academic figures. There are about 70 millions Irish emigrants all over the world including 40 millions in the U.S. Neary mentioned that three of the panel's members are living in Japan, with two of them in the IT industry, and the other a horse racing trainer in Hokkaido.

On cultural issues, Neary mentioned that he visited Matsue in October, where Irish author Lafcadio Hearn used to stay in the 19th century. This year marks the 120th year since Hearn arrived in Japan and the 160th anniversary of his birth. “Hearn must have recalled his home in Matsue, which is a beautiful city with lakes and mountains with lots of green.”

When Asahina asked for support to borrow famous paintings from the Kano clan from Chester Beatty Library in Dublin for an exhibition the Mainichi plans to run sometime next year, Neary responded "I will do all I can."