Mr. Makoto Mizutani, Japanese Consul General at Denver, will speak on "Recent Trends in the Japanese Mentality" at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 16 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Humanities 150.
"Mizutani's visit is particularly timely given the recent friction between the two countries surrounding the sinking of the Japanese fishing boat by a U.S. submarine, the inadequacy of the initial U.S. response and attempts by diplomats on both sides to bridge the cultural gap made apparent by the incident," said Steve Snyder, associate professor in the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Mizutani has served the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan, the United Nations in New York and the Embassy of Japan in Egypt, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
The Consulate General of Japan at Denver serves Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. It provides support for organizations and facilitates dissemination of educational, economical, political and cultural information, with the goal of fostering mutual understanding between Japan and the four-state region. For more information, visit the Web site at .
A reception will immediately follow the lecture and both are free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies and the Program for Teaching East Asia.
For more information on the center, call (303) 492-6639 or visit the Web site at . For more information on the teaching program, offered by the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, call (303) 492-6639 or visit the Web site at .