On February 6, Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin met with Professor Emeritus Haba Kumiko at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo and presented her with the letter of appointment as NEAR Honorary Advisor for Japanese regions.
Mr. Lim highly praised Ms. Haba's efforts in actively promoting NEAR to Japanese regional governments and provincial councils. He expressed his hope that, by appointing her as an honorary advisor, both the engagement of Japanese regional governments with NEAR and the number of Japanese NEAR members will increase in the future.
In response, Ms. Haba expressed her gratitude for the recognition of her efforts related to NEAR. She emphasized the importance of local exchanges and NEAR’s role, and stated that she would actively promote NEAR to Japanese regional governments, provincial councils, and more, and strive to attend NEAR events in the future.
After attending the NEAR International Forum held in December 2023 as a speaker, Ms. Haba strongly resonated with NEAR’s activities and has been actively promoting its role and value in her lectures for Japanese regional governments and provincial councils.