Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura (third from right) poses with (from left) Toshihiro Suzuki, chairman of the Ehime Prefectural Assembly; Junzo Yamamoto, chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission and minister of state for Disaster Management; Foreign Minister Taro Kono; Diet member Takumi Ihara; and Panamanian Ambassador Ritter Nobel Diaz Gomez before breaking open a sake barrel at a reception co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the governor of Ehime Prefecture at Iikura Guest House on Feb. 19. |  YOSHIAKI MIURA
Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura (third from right) poses with (from left) Toshihiro Suzuki, chairman of the Ehime Prefectural Assembly; Junzo Yamamoto, chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission and minister of state for Disaster Management; Foreign Minister Taro Kono; Diet member Takumi Ihara; and Panamanian Ambassador Ritter Nobel Diaz Gomez before breaking open a sake barrel at a reception co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the governor of Ehime Prefecture at Iikura Guest House on Feb. 19. | YOSHIAKI MIURA


Kuwaiti Ambassador Hasan Mohammad Zaman (center) poses with Justice Minister and Chief Secretary of the Japan-Kuwait Parliamentary Friendship League Takashi Yamashita (left) and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenji Yamada during a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate the 58th national day and 28th independence anniversary of Kuwait at the Palace Hotel Tokyo on Feb. 25. |  YOSHIAKI MIURA
Kuwaiti Ambassador Hasan Mohammad Zaman (center) poses with Justice Minister and Chief Secretary of the Japan-Kuwait Parliamentary Friendship League Takashi Yamashita (left) and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenji Yamada during a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate the 58th national day and 28th independence anniversary of Kuwait at the Palace Hotel Tokyo on Feb. 25. | YOSHIAKI MIURA


Ian Maidin, Brunei charge d'affaires ad interim (left), shakes hands with Masataka Fujita, secretary general of the ASEAN-Japan Centre, during a reception to celebrate Brunei Darussalam's 35th national day at the ASEAN-Japan Centre on Feb. 28. |  YOSHIAKI MIURA
Ian Maidin, Brunei charge d'affaires ad interim (left), shakes hands with Masataka Fujita, secretary general of the ASEAN-Japan Centre, during a reception to celebrate Brunei Darussalam's 35th national day at the ASEAN-Japan Centre on Feb. 28. | YOSHIAKI MIURA