Crespo highlights the fact that Takahiro Nakamae will be ‘the first diplomat from a major country outside Spain to give the opening speech’ at the Feria del Cocido and stresses the ‘positive synergies that will hopefully be created between Japan, one of the world's leading powers, and Cocido’.
The Mayor of Lalín, José Crespo Iglesias, has just unveiled the name of the person who will be the town crier of the LVII Feria del Cocido: the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in Spain, Takahiro Nakamae. Born in Hiroshima (13 August 1960), he graduated from the University of Tokyo (Faculty of Law) in March 1985 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April of the same year, making him an experienced diplomat. He is married and has three children.
Crespo stresses that ‘he is the first foreigner to give the proclamation, the first diplomat from an important country outside Spain to act as proclamation, which is an honour and at the same time a great opportunity to open up Cocido to new frontiers, being aware of the business possibilities offered by the Asian market which, with a solid investment capacity, is among the main world powers, as well as being a country with an enormous tourist potential because they are also in love with the Camino’. ‘Hopefully we can create positive synergies between Japan and our International Fair,’ he says.
The Lalinense councillor also emphasizes that with the election of Nakamae as town crier ‘the idea of the internationalization of the Fair is deepened’ and indicates that he met him during the course of a reception of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Senate of which Crespo is part invited by the ambassador, and from there he mediated directly with him, explaining him what was the Feria del Cocido, who accepted to be town crier at the first time.
Throughout his long diplomatic career, Takahiro Nakamae has held a variety of posts that have taken him to Iraq, Mexico, New York, Paris and Spain, where he has been ambassador since December 2022.
From 1986 to 1988 he did postgraduate and specialised studies in the Spanish language in Valladolid and Madrid. He has special memories of his stay in Spain during those years. It was in February that he travelled to Galicia for the first time.
Among the responsibilities he held, he was Counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in Argentina (1998); Director of International Peace Cooperation (2004); Counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in Iraq (2006); Director of Mexico and Central America at the Directorate General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs (2007); Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at the Directorate General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs (2008); Director for Information and Communications (2009); Minister at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations (2011); Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Brazil (2013); Consul General of Japan in Sao Paulo (2015) and Director General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs (2017).
After serving as Director General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs and Ambassador of Spain to Argentina, he returned to Spain as Ambassador in December 2022. Since his arrival, he has been travelling all over Spain and, of course, Galicia.
In June 2023, he had the opportunity to hold a meeting in Pontevedra with the President of the Xunta de Galicia, with whom he exchanged views on various issues such as business cooperation and the promotion of tourism between Japan and Galicia, among others. He also visited Vigo on the same dates on the occasion of the inauguration of the MINDTECH industrial fair which, for the first time, had Japan as a guest country. Another trip to Galicia is planned for next January, as well as being present at the 57th Feria del Cocido.
