The Japan-Croatia Association has been organizing a variety of activities in order to strengthen our friendship between Japan and Croatia.

One of the most important activities of our Association is providing Japanese people with accurate information about gCroatia.h For this reason, we attach great importance on conducting our activities through Japanese mass media. In other words, we are focused on promoting Croatia through the mass media. While Mr. Sugawara, one of our board members, has contributed through his own articles, we also make proposals aimed at newspapers, magazines and television to promote Croatia. And once they take up our proposal, we arrange the necessary interviews and coordinate their travel plans.

We also organize goodwill trips to Croatia for people who are interested in visiting the country. We also arrange trips for Japanese business people seeking business opportunities in Croatia, and set up meetings with Croatian VIPs for them.

In addition, we introduce Croatia to Japan through lecture meetings, seminars and other functions. These occasions offer great opportunities for both Japanese and Croatians to have a pleasant time together and to enjoy various cultural activities.

Our current activities are as follows:

While we have only just begun our activities, personal relationships are surely and steadily spreading throughout both Japan and Croatia. We plan to organize more and more activities from now on.

<1^st Friendship Party in Tokyo>

27^th Feburuary, year 2001

The first friendship party was held at the Croatian Embassy in Hiroo, Tokyo. The embassy gave us generous support to celebrate the establishment of our association and the development of our activities in the future. The party was attended by about 40 members.

<4^th Goodwill and Fact-Finding Tour>

23^rd - 27^th November, year 2000

Participants: 2 members of the Japan-Croatia Association and a Japanese resident of the Netherlands.

Visits to Zagureb, Dubrovnik and Korcula island

On 24^th November, the European Union held a gBalkan Summith at Zagreb. It was the first meeting between the 15 leaders of the EU and the heads of Balkan states to be held outside an EU member country. We conducted several interviews to ascertain the significance of this epoch-making summit. We spoke with Mr. Neven Cirkveni, economic adviser to Croatian President Stipe Mesic, and Mr. Viktor Vresnik, chief editor of economic magazine gBanka.h We also asked Japanese Ambassador Oba for his opinion on the situation in Croatia, and took the occasion to report the activities of our association and plans for the future.

We held a meeting with a major Croatian travel agent which gave us advice about tours that would be attractive for Japanese tourists.

We visited Korcula island, well known as the birthplace of Marco Polo, a very familiar figure for Japanese people. We explored the place to find out if it was true that Marco Polo was born in Croatia. With the support of the Croatian Embassy, we had a perfect guide for taking a look around the place. Korcula is a calm and peaceful island far removed from the complications of modern society. We visited Marco Polofs house, where local residents were enjoying their afternoon break with their family. The islanders left a great impression for the simplicity of their life rooted on the island. The authenticity of the Marco Polo legend was beside the point. We simply felt that the island is one of the greatest places to visit in Croatia.

 <3^rd Goodwill and Fact-Finding Tour>

20^th - 24^th September, year 2000

Participants: 2 members of the Japan-Croatia Association, 3 staff members, 1 representative of a Japanese company in the Netherlands and Mr. Takebe, a reporter for Jiji News Agency.

Visit to Zagreb City

We arranged interviews for Mr. Takebe with Mr. Goran Cop, a sports writer in Croatia, Mr. Brasic, a reporter for the daily gJutalinisth newspaper, Mr. Viktor Vresnik, chief editor of economic magazine gBankah and Mr. Pero Zlatar, the chief editor of gArena,h a monthly magazine. We also arranged a visit to the Ministry of the Interior, where Mr. Takebe met with Ms. Bozena Katanec, who heads the Department of Migrations. Business meetings were also arranged for the Japanese corporate representative from the Netherlands.

On 23^rd September, the inauguration party of the gJapan Croatia Associationh was held at the Hotel Esplanade Zagreb, the most prestigious hotel in Zagreb. The hotel gave us generous support by arranging an excellent party. Japanese restaurant gHakata Senpachih in Amsterdam prepared the meals. The party was attended by about 40 people including officials at the Japanese embassy in Zagreb as well as those representing mass media, business, government and private citizens of Croatia related to our association. The party went splendidly. Some of the guests had their first taste of Japanese cuisine, and enjoyed Senpachifs excellent Yakitori.

We did encounter some trouble, such as bringing Japanese food from Amsterdam and getting it through customs, which made us nervous. However, the party was a success, and we were all so relieved.

Wefd like to extend our special thanks to Koyanagi Worldwide Co., Ltd., for their sponsorship and support regarding transport and customs clearance.

*This visit resulted in an article titled: gCroatia Aims at Becoming a Normal Country; Relationship with Japan to be Strengthened,h in the 28^th November, 2000 issue of the Sekaishuho magazine.

<2^nd Goodwill and Fact-Finding Tour>

28^th June-3^rd July, year 2000

Participants: 2 members of the Japan-Croatia Association, 3 representatives of Japanese companies in the Netherlands and Mr. Akashi Ikeda, a reporter for the Sankei Newspaper.

Visits to Zagreb and Dubrovnik

 In Zagreb City, we visited a Judo school at Samobor for Mr. Ikedafs reporting assignment. We had the chance to meet Mr. Nicola, who teaches Judo for children in Croatia, and Ms. Sandra, who is a member of the judo league of Croatia. There was no training on the day of our visit, but about 20 children gathered at the Judo school and showed us their exercises.

We also visited Dinamo, Croatiafs strongest soccer team, and had a look at the new stadium which was under construction. We discussed the possibilities of sports exchange between Japan and Croatia through soccer.

Mr. Ikeda also visited Croatiafs biggest tie company, the open-air market and museums.

We arranged business meetings for the 3 representatives of Japanese companies based in the Netherlands.

In Dubrovnik, we obtained cooperation from local travel agents and visited the old city of Dubrovnik, which has been registered as a World Heritage. We also provided support to Mr. Ikeda for collecting materials for his reports.

These visits resulted in an article titled: gThe Revival of the Hidden Treasure of the Adriatic Sea in Croatia,h which appeared on the front page of the Sankei Evening Newspaper through June 11^th to 18^th, 2000. A full-page article about Croatian tourism also appeared in the Evening Newspaper.

<1^st Goodwill and Fact Finding Tour>

April 11^th - 16^th, year 2000

Participants: 4 members of the Japan-Croatia Association and 3 representatives of Japanese companies in Europe.

 Visits to Zagreb and Split

In order to establish a base for our activities, we met many influential persons in Zagreb and succeeded in expanding our human network. We explained the aim of our activities and requested their cooperation. For example, we held meetings with large Croatian banks, marketing companies, law firms, the Croatian Japan Friendship Society and Japanese residents in Zagreb to exchange information and discuss ways in which we could cooperate with each other.

We had the honor of meeting Stipe Mesic, the President of Croatia, and explained to him the aim of our association. This meeting was covered by several Croatian newspapers. We also paid a courtesy call on Mr. Keisuke Oba, Japanese ambassador to Croatia.

In Split, we studied tourist attractions in the city and collected tourist information.

*This visit was covered by Monthly NIPPON, July 2000 issue, in an article titled gA yell from small country Croatia, a former Yugoslavian republich

<1^st Lecture on Croatian State of Affairs>

22^nd May, year 2000

Reporter: Izuru Sugawara

We provided a report on Croatian state of affairs and received valuable advice from the Research Institute for Asian Agri-Business Co. Ltd.

<Support for Japanese journalists covering Croatia>

The Japan Croatia Association supports Japanese journalists in their reporting on Croatia. In order to introduce Croatia to the Japanese people, we make proposals, collect materials for magazines and newspapers, and arrange interviews and meetings for journalists. We will continue informing the Japanese people about Croatia as best we can.