Your Excellency, Mr. Haydar Mahmoud, Advisor to H.E. Engineer Omar Maani, Mayor of Greater Amman Municipality,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

مساء الخير،

أنا السفير الياباني الجديد لدى الأردن. اسمي تيتسو شيوغوتشي.

 

It gives me great honor to welcome you all here today to the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition “Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography from the 1970s to the Present”.
 

At the very outset, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to H.E. Engineer Omar Ma’ani, Lord Mayor of Greater Amman Municipality and his Excellency’s staff for their valuable cooperation and assistance in organizing this exhibition.

Ladies and Gentleman

This year will mark the 55^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Jordan. Over the past years, the Embassy of Japan saw many Japanese cultural events as part of its efforts to provide Jordanian people with an opportunity to touch authentic Japanese culture in various forms of art. These artistic activities have succeeded, without any doubt, to promote friendship and understanding between our two friendly countries.

Today’s exhibition is just another reach out effort to serve this aim and gain an appreciation of different cultures. As its title implies, the exhibition features photographic works depicting unique views of Japan’s society and landscapes from the 1970s to the present amidst the many changes that took place in Japan between the period of rapid economic growth and the early 21^st century.

In fact, photography does not only document real life stories and events more truthfully, but also help us better understand the aspirations of different societies over time. As we are going to see in this exhibition, those notable photographers have marvelously captured the transformations of Japanese society.

I hope that, in this memorial year of the 55^th anniversary, this exhibition will succeed in contribution to mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Jordan.

Thank you for your genuine interest in Japanese art and for your valuable support for our good and friendly ties.

 

I hope all of you will enjoy the exhibition and have a good time.

Thank you.