On the first day of the program, Ambassador Richards attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to kickstart the program, and Minister Charles attended the opening ceremony of the Jamaican coffee booth. Afterward, he held talks with UCC President Ueshima, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister of the world-famous “Blue Mountain Coffee” exporting nation partook in a conference with the All Japan Coffee Association.

In the afternoon, the group paid courtesy calls to Parliamentary Vice-Minister Akimoto and Vice-Minister Katsumata of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Vice-Minister Akimoto had visited Jamaica the week before and had just returned to Japan; he was excited to hear that the group would be visiting his home area of Chiba (Chiba fishing port and Chiba University). Vice-Minister Katsumata was elected at the same time as Vice-Minister Akimoto, and when he heard that Minister Charles would be visiting Japan he said he hoped the group would visit his election district of Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Vice-Minister Katsumata mentioned that Jamaica also must start to adopt smart agriculture and smart fishery into their economy, and thus wished the group to take in as much as possible before heading back to Jamaica.

The following day they visited the FRA in Yokohama; there they were informed of the FRA’s activities over the past 60 years of gathering and analyzing marine plankton, as well as the relationship between sea temperature and fish catches, in particular analyzing the age of each type of fish. They also learned about the FRA’s distinctive position as an educational resource, operating National Fisheries University and Graduate School. Minister Charles and in particular Dr. Bellamy are interested in promoting the raising of lobster and conch shells through aquaculture industry in Jamaica, and thus they asked the FRA for their cooperation with their endeavor. The FRA replied that they are willing to help if they receive a request from JICA. In the afternoon a working lunch with the Marubeni group at the Jamaican Ambassador’s　residence. Marubeni is currently involved in a project in the area of electricity in Jamaica, but the Minister Charles requested their help in the fisheries arena as well. Marubeni gave a positive response, suggesting introducing portable refrigerators and other ideas, saying they would consider if they could provide aid or not. Afterward the Minister’s group visited JICA and held talks with Senior Vice President Miyazaki.

On the 14th, the group paid a visit to the Katsuyama Fisheries Cooperative in Kyonan-machi, Chiba prefecture. Katsuyama Fishing Port is the only fishing port in Chiba prefecture that operates an at-sea aquaculture net pens. The group rode a fishing boat out to the net pens and took a detailed look at the hauling of tilefish and striped horse mackerel. After disembarking, the group had a chance to talk with Representative Union President Hirashima; Mr. Hirashima gave an overview about the fisheries cooperative, and immediately after questions from the Jamaican side came one right after another regarding all aspects of aqua farming, including the size of the tank, involvement of union members, and management of the fisheries cooperative. The Q&A session lasted over an hour, showing how serious Jamaica is about expanding their fishery industry.

In the afternoon the same day, the group visited Chiba University Kashiwa-no-Ha campus’ Plant Factory where they received an overview of the facility from Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences’ Head Professor Takagaki. Afterward Assistance Professor Lu Na gave them a tour of the factory.

At the end of the day, APIC President Shigeie hosted a welcome dinner for the visiting Minister and officials. Among the attendees were Ambassador Richards; Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General Ms. Kobayashi; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ International Coordinator Mr. Kawakami; and previous Japanese Ambassadors to Jamaica Mr. Takase, Mr. Nakano, and Mr. Yamazaki, creating a lively atmosphere.