National Day Reception for the 60th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan

On February 20th, prior to the 60th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan on February 23rd, Consul General of Japan in Calgary Shigenobu KOBAYASHI hosted a reception to celebrate the occasion.

The event was attended by many distinguished guests, including The Honourable Nathan Cooper, speaker of Legislative Assembly for the Province of Alberta, Honourable Ric Mclver Minister of Transportation for the Government of Alberta, and His Worship Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of the City of Calgary.

Approximately 380 guests attended the reception from a variety of fields, including Alberta Government Officials, multiple Mayors from across Alberta, members of the Calgary Consular Corps, academia, cultural groups as well as Japan-Canada Business members from across our jurisdiction.

Following both national anthems, welcome remarks were made by Consul General KOBAYASHI, followed by a speech by The Honourable Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry for the Government of Alberta, and a toast was offered by His Worship Chris Spearman, Mayor of Lethbridge.

At the event, Consul General KOBAYASHI’s chef prepared Japanese food and demonstrated cooking tempura for the guests. Our office also prepared Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls) made with a new crop of rice from Hokkaido, Japan. There were was a variety of Japanese Sake and Green Tea for the guests to enjoy, and Japanese green tea ambassadors were present to answer any questions the guests had.

The Edmonton-based Taiko group Booming Tree Taiko consisting of Mr. Gregory Shimizu and Twilla MacLeod preformed a selection of songs which were greatly enjoyed by the guests.