Governor meets with Queensland Premier and Arts Minister

On Thursday, November 17, Governor Koike met with Premier and Minister for the Arts Annastacia Palaszczuk of Queensland, Australia, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Prior to the meeting, the Queensland Department of Education and Training and the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Education Cooperation with the attendance of Premier Palaszczuk. The MOU is aimed at further promoting international exchange and various other initiatives to develop globally competitive talent.

Governor Koike said, during the meeting, "Japan has very deep ties with Queensland, importing energy resources and food from the state." She mentioned the large numbers of travelers between the two countries, noting that half of the approximately 300,000 Japanese people who visited Australia went to Queensland and that as many as 370,000 Australians came to Japan annually. Referring to the MOU signed earlier in the day, she said, "Developing globally competitive talent is one of the priority areas of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, so it is very significant to strengthen the connection between children in Queensland and Tokyo. I hope the MOU will help deepen the ties between Japan and Australia."

Premier Palaszczuk said that Queensland and Japan—its second largest trading partner—had built strong ties over many years. She stated that the number of Japanese tourists visiting Queensland was growing, but she hoped to welcome even more. She added that the MOU was very meaningful and that the state was going to accept 60 students from Japan. According to the premier, Queensland has many students learning Japanese and the state hopes to promote Japanese language education and various exchange programs.