Ambassador Hiroyasu Ando, the Japanese consul general in New York, presented a cherry-blossom pink picture of Japan's current relationships with other Asian nations and the United States in Huntsman Hall on Monday.
Ando, who recently visited the Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, spoke about Japan's recent economic recovery, which has been enhanced by the country's increasing ties with its Asian neighbors.
Japan has also evolved from the competition-driven economic powerhouse of the 1980s to a more global figure. Now the second-largest donor to the United Nations, Japan has participated in economic aid and development in Asia as well as reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Efforts to spread Japanese pop culture throughout the world have also been successful. Ando cited the Hello Kitty line of products, Pokemon and anime as examples.
"Our world does not only depend on the free flow of goods, but also of cultures and ideas," he said.
Ando particularly stressed the healthy state of Japan and China's economic relationship, despite recent anti-Japanese protests in China that have put a strain on the relations.
"Japan is working to make China an open-market economy, promote democracy and human rights," he said.
"Until 1990, the United States and the European Union were Japan's primary partners. Today, 47 percent of Japanese trade is handled with China. ... China and Hong Kong combined are Japan's largest overhaul trading partners -- more than the United States."
This, however, does not imply that U.S.-Japanese relations are waning, either.
"On the contrary, they are stronger, proven by the very fact that [U.S.-Japanese] relations will not make headlines as they used to in the '80s and the '90s," he joked.
"Japan is working closely with this alliance, whether it's fighting terrorism, facing the threat of North Korean nuclear missiles or reconstruction -- she has sent $5 million to Iraq for humanitarian and developmental aid," he added.
Yet Ando's description sounded too rosy and glossed-over for some.
"The first part was a diplomatic statement, so we might as well have gone to the [Ministry of Foreign Affairs'] Web site," Political Science doctoral candidate Nori Katagiri said. "But he got better in the Q & A session because he opened up."
Frederick Dickinson, a History professor, was also enthusiastic about Ando's rhetorical skills.
"The talk was very candid and interesting. He's got a tough job to put a positive spin on a relationship that is in itself positive but is not perceived by the American general public as being positive," he said.
The talk was presented by Penn's Center for East Asian Studies and the Lauder Institute, a joint program between the Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sciences.
