CHILDREN FROM SOMA, JAPAN ON GOODWILL MISSION TO MEXICO

• 22 children from the town of Soma, Japan, one of the most affected by the 2011 tsunami, arrived in Mexico on a goodwill mission.

• The visit is clear testimony to the excellent bilateral relationship between Mexico and Japan.

As part of the excellent relationship between Mexico and Japan, Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa met today in the Foreign Ministry with 22 children from the community of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, which was seriously damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The children's visit is due to the efforts of Margarita Zavala, wife of President Felipe Calderon, to show solidarity with Japan after last year's natural disasters and to symbolically demonstrate Mexico's gratitude for the assistance Japan has given our country at various times, such as after the 1985 earthquake.

For ten days, the children will take part in an entertaining cultural visit that will introduce them to some of Mexico's history, its culinary traditions and the way of life of Mexican children their same age. 

During their stay, the Japanese children will visit historic, archaeological and other sites of interest in the states of Mexico, Guerrero and Puebla and in Mexico City whose governments enthusiastically lent their support to the program, as did various public and private institutions.

The 22 children were selected by Japanese officials and represent all the schools in Soma: ten primary, five secondary and two high schools.

The visit was organized by the Foreign Ministry's Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and was cosponsored and supported by agencies and institutions such as the Ministries of Tourism and Public Safety, the IPN and UNAM. It also received generous support from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the Mexican-Japanese School and the association of former recipients of Mexican scholarships in Japan of the Mexico-Japan Association.

Companies and organizations from Mexico's private sector such as the Azteca and Coca Cola Foundations and the Danone group, Bimbo and Canon.  It also received support from the National Association of Charros, Ernst & Young, Mikado Travel, Mexico Mitsui and the Daruma and Suntory restaurants, as well as Rancho La Trinidad.

All those who participated in this project did so because of their awareness that the excellent relationship between Mexico and Japan is based not only on a solid political and economic understanding, but also on the mutual understanding of their children and youths of each other.