Jamaica-Japan Relations Bolstered By Olympic Good Deed

The act of kindness by Japanese volunteer Tijana Stojkovic towards Olympic Gold Medallist, Hansle Parchment, has reinforced the good bilateral relations between Jamaica and Japan.

Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, His Excellency Masaya Fujiwara, made this remark during an interview with JIS News.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Ms. Stojkovic gave the athlete taxi fare to get to the track and field stadium to compete in the final, after he accidentally boarded the bus to the aquatic venue.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, in collaboration with the Embassy of Jamaica in Japan, recently invited Ms. Stojkovic and a guest to an all-expense-paid trip to Jamaica during a virtual ceremony to announce the offer. The proposal includes a stay at the Diamond Club Butler Service Presidential suite at the Royalton Negril Resort and Spa and the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall, Montego Bay.

Ambassador Fujiwara, who attended the virtual ceremony said that the Government of Japan is delighted that the story was shown to people around the world.

“We are very thankful for Mr. Parchment who shared his personal experience with Tijana through his SNS (social networking service) account. These acts together certainly can reinforce our good traditional bilateral relationship,” he said

The Ambassador also thanked Minister Bartlett for inviting the volunteer to Jamaica and said that the Embassy of Japan in Jamaica is looking forward to the visit by the Japanese volunteer.

“We are very much looking forward to Ms. Tijana’s visit to Jamaica. Our Embassy welcomes her … . I understand that Ms. Tijani is very happy to accept this invitation and once the date is determined, we would like to welcome her when she comes to Kingston.”

The Ambassador said that the Japanese community in Jamaica is also very happy, and that Ms. Stojkovic’s visit to the country is very timely and an opportunity “to strengthen the people-to-people contact through this Tokyo Olympic games” and other areas of culture.