A message from Consul-General Osamu Yamanaka

My name is Osamu Yamanaka, and I arrived in Sydney on 18 October, to assume the post of Consul-General of Japan in Sydney.

Under our ‘Special Strategic Partnership’, Japan and Australia have steadily expanded and deepened our cooperation, and the relationship has developed into a core component for the cooperation among like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region. This is the result of the expansion of people-to-people exchanges, trade and economic relations, as well as the recent development of cooperation in the security sector, which would have been impossible to realise without the efforts of all those who have been involved in this process. As a Consul-General, I am committed not only to maintaining this good relationship, but also to further developing and deepening the Australia-Japan relationship, particularly with the state of New South Wales (NSW), where Sydney is located, and the Northern Territory (NT), which our Consulate-General covers.

I have been in charge of relations with the United Nations and international organisations in Geneva and New York, as well as worked in Brazil and Malaysia, which have strong relations with Japan. In the course of my work with international organisations, I have seen how Japan and Australia can cooperate in a wide range of areas through our shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. I would like to make use of the experience I have gained over the years to further promote the safety of Japanese citizens, support Japanese businesses, and promote people-to-people exchange and Japanese culture in a country where multiculturalism flourishes.

There are currently more than 35,000 Japanese nationals residing in NSW and the NT. Ensuring their safety is the Consulate-General's primary mission. In order to do so, we will actively provide information and consular services for the protection of Japanese nationals.

In terms of support for Japanese companies, we listen carefully to the opinions and requests of Japanese companies and make every effort to be of service to them in order to contribute to the further economic development of Japan, NSW and NT.

With regards to people-to-people exchanges, the number of Australian tourists visiting Japan has been on the rise and almost reached pre-COVID levels. In addition, more high school students in NSW choose to study Japanese as a foreign language than any other language. I hope to maintain this trend and contribute further to promoting Japanese culture with the cooperation of people and organisations active in NSW and the NT, so that ever more people become interested in and gain a better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture.

It is a great honour to be posted to Sydney and I look forward to working with you all. 

Osamu Yamanaka
Consul-General of Japan in Sydney