Exploring Japan: BASIS Students Visit the Embassy
The BASIS East Asia Committee visited the Japanese Embassy in The Hague to explore Japan’s culture and international relations. The trip included thoughtful gifts, engaging discussions on global diplomacy, and insights into East Asian politics.
BASIS Committee's Thoughtful Preparations for Japanese Embassy Visit
Thursday November 14th, the BASIS East Asia Committee organized a trip to the Japanese embassy in the Hague. With the help of our Japanese teacher, we prepared a card written in Japanese, a bouquet of flowers, various flower seeds as the embassy is known for having their own garden, as well as a photo of the ambassador and other members of the embassy, which was taken by our BASIS president earlier this year at a Japanese cultural event.
Insights on Japan: A Focus on International Relations
After being received in the waiting room, which was filled with various different books and cultural objects, we were taken to the meeting room, where we were given an introductory presentation on Japan. As we were allowed to request certain topics in advance, the main presentation that followed was centered around Japanese international relations. Diving deeper into issues such as China’s activity in the Southeast China Sea, Japan’s relationship with the United States in light of the recent election results, the war in Ukraine and its implications for East Asia with Taiwan in particular, as well as the countries’ long-lasting ties with the Netherlands, we were able to get a Japanese perspective on many current events, as well as the topics mentioned during our ongoing “Politics: East Asia” class.
A Fun Finale and Future East Asian Events
The event ended with light-hearted quiz with questions about Japan’s GDP and square footage, as well as the hat of the limited-edition Pikachu card of the Van Gogh Museum. We were each given a copy of the magazine “Nippon” on Japanese dance to take home with us. Next semester we are scheduled to visit the Taipei Representative Office, and we are working hard to arrange more East Asian embassy visits for the students of International Studies, as well as various other interesting events related to the region. Keep an eye out on the BASIS social media or website to be the first to know!