News

The NCCJ in cooperation with Innovation Norway is establishing a Business Internship Program in partnership with The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises (NHO) who welcomes the program and encourages their member companies to take advantage of the program.

On an official visit to Nagoya on 15-16 March, Ambassador Arne Walther met with Governor Hideaki Ohmura of Aichi Prefecture and Mayor of Nagoya Mr. Takashi Kawamura. Accompanied by Embassy Science and Technology Adviser Mr. Svein Grandum, he also visited Mitsubishi Materials Corporation’s polysilicon plant at Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and the University of Nagoya.

On March 16, Ambassador Arne Walther and Science and Technology Adviser Svein Grandum visited visited the polysilicon plant of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) in Mie Prefecture.

The 33rd edition of the Norwegian Ambassador’s cup race took place on the 11th of March at Kakenoue Cross-country course in Minami Uonuma City.

Ambassador Arne Walther and the Ambassadors of Denmark, Finland and Sweden paid an official visit to Okinawa on 15-17 February 2012 to acquaint themselves with the current political situation, including the issue of US military bases in Okinawa, as well as with the unique culture of the Ryuku Islands, and to visit the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.

The Norway-Japan Society offers up to two study grants of JPY200,000 for the year 2012. Applicants are to be 20 years old of age and above. Applicants must also be either Japanese who will be studying in Norway or Norwegian staying in Japan to study, for the period of 1 month to 1 year in the study year 2012.

On Saturday 11 February Chitose City staged the 36th edition of the Chitose Holmenkollen ski race. Some 420 skiers competed in the 33km, 8 km and 4km races. On a crisp winter’s day with minus 8 degrees the conditions were excellent and the competition went smoothly.

During his visit to Kyushu 20-24 January, Ambassador Arne Walther was informed of local and regional developments in meetings with Dr. Ikuo Kabashima, Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, and Vice Mayor Kiyoshi Nishijiima in Kumamoto and with Mayor Tomihisa Taue in Nagasaki. The energy situation in the prefecture following the nuclear problems at Fukushima and the Norwegian welfare-state model were main items discussed. Also highlighted were the good bilateral relations between Norway and Japan along with Team Norway support to recovery efforts in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake and...

The President and CEO of Kommunalbanken, Mr. Peter Skouen, returned to Tokyo to give a presentation of the Bank’s position and operations to representatives of Japanese banks, shareholder institutions and others at a well-attended seminar in the Embassy’s Arctic Hall on 24 January.

Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, commented “Norway has today been victim of a double attack. First a bomb attack on the government offices in the centre of Oslo and secondly on the summer camp of the Labour youth movement. These are horrific and tragic attacks that we condemn in the strongest possible terms”.