Japan’s national holiday celebrated in Budapest, Ambassador Otaka bids farewell

To mark His Majesty Naruhito’s birthday, the Embassy of Japan held a National Day reception at the Budapest Marriott Hotel on the evening of 16 February. The event was special as the much-loved and respected HE Masato Otaka, Ambassador to Hungary, bid farewell.

Considered one of the largest diplomatic events in Hungary, Japan National Day is always an interesting event in terms of both size and programme.

In his speech, HE Masato Otaka welcomed His Majesty and listed the most important events for Japan in the past year. He then referred to the international situation, which he said was very worrying and that Japan was doing its utmost to normalise the situation, whether in Ukraine, Gaza or the Korean peninsula.

In his speech, Masato underlined the close ties between Hungary and Japan and expressed his satisfaction that there are currently 180 companies operating here. He added that Japanese investors have made major investments in Hungary and are planning to do so in the future. At the end of his speech, the Japanese Ambassador to Budapest thanked everyone who helped him in Hungarian for the past three years he has spent here in Hungary.

He expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to meet so many valuable people and to serve Japanese-Hungarian relations.

The guests thanked Ambassador Masato, who will be the Head of Mission in Bangkok, Thailand, for his extraordinary service with a long round of applause.