On 28th September, the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce (IJCC) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) brought back our famed joint networking event after a 3-year hiatus.  

We were delighted to host ACCJ President Om Prakash, ACCJ members, friends and staff at Ambassador Cole’s Residence. A warm thanks to Ambassador Damien Cole, Economic Counsellor Rory Conaty, the Embassy of Ireland in Japan and the Residence team for all their kind support and hospitality to our friends from the ACCJ.  

The evening kicked off with IJCC Vice President Aisling Barry who warmly welcomed guests from both Chambers. Then Ambassador Cole, ACCJ President Om Prakash and IJCC President Yoshihiro Tsuchiya each shared their remarks at the podium – all highlighting the incredible trilateral bond between Ireland, the US and Japan. We then followed with our event tradition - a gift exchange to highlight the friendship between the two Chambers. The IJCC provided a Rathbornes 1488 luxury candle, courtesy of IJCC Corporate member ONODA, Inc. 

This year also marked significant milestones for both Chambers: 75 years of the ACCJ and 50 years of the IJCC. On this special occasion, we were delighted to invite musicians Dai Komatsu of Ode, Inc, an IJCC Corporate member, and harpist Shinobu Narita of Stella Musica to share their talent with us on this evening. Thank you Komatsu-san and Narita-san for bringing a bit of Ireland to Japan. 

With pints of ‘the black stuff’ in hand, a buffet of beautifully crafted Irish cuisine, and great company all around, everyone left more ‘Irish’ than they came!  

A special thanks to IJCC Platinum Sponsor the BUSKER Royal Oak Distillery for providing Buskers Irish whiskey and to IJCC Corporate member Whisk-e Limited for providing Michter's Bourbon American whiskey to complement this special night. 

We were delighted to celebrate our Chambers' lasting partnership again in-person and we look forward to welcoming our ACCJ friends again soon.