Governor meets with the Charles Darwin Foundation’s Executive Director and delegation of Ecuadorian youth

On Friday, March 16, Governor Koike welcomed the Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation (*) and its Research Station and a delegation of students from Ecuador at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The year 2018 marks both the 50th anniversary of the reversion of the Ogasawara Islands to Japan and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ecuador. The youth delegation was in Japan for a student exchange program organized between Ogasawara Village and the Galapagos Islands as part of the “50th Anniversary Project for Ogasawara Islands Reversion.” They visited the governor to report on the exchange activities with students of the Ogasawara Islands.

Executive Director Izurieta told the governor, “The last time I visited the Ogasawara Islands was back in 1995. This time’s visit showed the islands to be very well maintained. I hope that they will continue to be kept in this condition. I wish you and the people of Tokyo will visit the Galapagos someday.”
Tobias Castro, representing the Ecuadorian youth group, said, “We are so happy to have had the experience of a lifetime in Ogasawara. We hope that this excellent exchange program connecting Japan and Ecuador will continue for a long time. We believe that the program will make bonds between our countries very strong.”

Welcoming the fact that their visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of the reversion of the islands, the governor said, “Exchange between the youth of Ecuador and Japan holds the key to Ecuador and Japan’s long-term relationship” and “I hope that Ecuador and Japan, as well as Ogasawara and Galapagos, will join hands in pursuing the preservation of species and conservation of ecosystems.”

(*) An international non-profit organization established in 1959 to engage in conserving the natural environment of the Galapagos Islands.