The Embassy of Japan in Albania provided €155 thousand in grants to support the work of the Berat and Korça Municipalities. Last week, Ambassador Makoto Ito signed separate agreements with the mayors of the two cities to provide €75 thousand for the purchase of a fire truck in Berat, as well as €80 thousand for the provision of 89 machines of different types to help the Korça municipality enhance and maintain its green spaces. In 2018, Ambassador Ito also signed agreements for the donation of one waste collection trucks and 50 bins to the municipality of Tirana.
In addition to Tirana, Berat and Korça are among cities that have attracted Japanese donations. Japan has 22 world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, and Berat is also one of such sites in Albania. Furthermore, Japanese tourists visiting Albania have Berat at the top of their list of cities to visit.
On the other hand, Korça is home to the Museum of Oriental Art “Bratko”, with several Japanese artworks and items that for the Albanian public are hard to find elsewhere in the country. The Korça Municipality is also building a Japanese garden in the city.
The Embassy of Japan in Tirana opened in 2017. During these two years there have been several high level official visits between the two countries as well as meetings of high officials in international forums.
The Embassy of Albania in Japan opened in 2005. Former Albanian Ambassador in Tokyo Bujar Dida was conferred the imperial decoration “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star” in recognition of his diplomatic work in years.
Trade between the two countries remains at modest levels, but only in 2018 Japan provided about $5 million in grants and donations for various projects in Albania. One year ago, a technical cooperation project to help smallholder families’ financial inclusion was launched by JICA worth $4.6 million.
In addition to the Japanese government’s valuable financial support, what is most visible to the public eye are probably the culture-related events organized by the Embassy of Japan.
The Embassy supports culture festivals, events and shows with Japanese artists in Albania quite often, particularly if one would consider the long distance between the two countries and the short time since the Embassy started operations. To mention just a few, last year Butoh dancer Sayako Onishi performed at the Cloud Festival in Tirana; Shamisen player Keisho Ohno-Trugaru and drum player Kenji Furutate performed at the “Tirana Multicultural Fest”; Shakuhachi player Yosuke Irie brought the traditional Japanese instrument tunes to Albania in a lovely concert in Tirana; Violinist Samika Honda also performed in Tirana – all events supported by the Embassy.
Sports has also been one of the main areas of collaboration between the two countries with visits of athletes and officials from both countries. With the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics approaching, the cooperation is expected to increase. The Government of Japan invited several wrestlers of the Albanian Wrestling Federation for a week in Japan to train with the Japanese National Wrestling Team.
Japan has several programs applicable to Albania in the field of education as well. Last year, 18 Western Bakan (3 Albanian) students benefited from the students exchange MIRAI Program. Tens of other students have also benefited from the annual Japanese government Monbusho scholarship, which provides financial support for research, master and PhD studies in Japan. Moreover, the Japan Foundation provides scholarships in Japanese Studies. The Embassy of Japan recently donated equipment for the Japanese language lab at the Polytechnic University of Tirana.
Possibly the most serious engagement of the Japanese Government in the region as a whole is the recent initiative launched by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2018 – “Cooperation Initiative in the Western Balkans”, which aims at supporting socio-economic reforms in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. It remains to be seen to what extent the Albanian government will be able to benefit from this initiative.
