Prime Minister Raila Odinga stands beside Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan after installing him as an elder at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi on 12th March 2010

The dinner was attended by several cabinet ministers including Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Moses Wetang’ula, Professor Anyang Nyong’o of Medical Services, Lands Minister James Orengo and Hon. William Ole Ntimama of National Heritage and Culture.

This is the first visit by the Crown Prince of Japan in Sub-Saharan Africa, which comes twenty-seven years after his father, then a Crown Prince, visited Kenya in 1983. Prince Naruhito said his visit, on an invitation by the Government of Kenya, is important in the relations of the two countries. He added that Japan regards Kenya as a key bilateral partner on many sectors including tourism, science and technology.

Crown Prince Naruhito hailed Kenya’s excellence in sports, which he described as a giant in athletics. He said that many Kenyan long-distance runners have their training bases in Japan including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist Samuel Wanjiru.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed optimism in the Kenya-Japan relations, and said that when he was in Japan in February this year, the Toyota Company assured him they would open a regional office in Nairobi.

The Prime Minister was also confident that the volume of trade between Kenya and Japan would increase tremendously in the next few years.

The presence of environmentalist and Nobel Prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai and Professor Miriam Were at Friday’s dinner demonstrates Japan’s regard for environmental conservation and intellectual achievement in Kenya.  In May 2009, Prof. Wangari Maathai was awarded Japan’s highest honour—the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun for her work in promoting the Mottainai Campaign. The ceremony took place at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence in Nairobi, Kenya.

Prof. Miriam Were received the Hideyo Noguchi Africa prize in May 2008, which was awarded to her by the Medical Services of Japan and presented by the Prime Minister of Japan. The 2008 ceremony was attended by the Emperor of Japan and his wife the Empress with over 40 African Heads of State and world leaders during the TICAD IV meeting in Yokohoma.