Governor Meets with the President of Chile

On February 26, Governor Koike met with Michelle Bachelet Jeria, the President of the Republic of Chile, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Governor Koike expressed her gratitude to President Bachelet for her endorsement of the “Tokyo 2020 Medal Project: Towards an Innovative Future for All”―an initiative to make Olympic medals from old consumer electronics―and contributing some old mobile phones for this cause. The governor told the president, “I hope that many Chilean athletes will come to Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Games and take back the medals (made from the mobile phones donated by the president).” Then, in reference to the “Global Friendship Project,” the Tokyo governor said, “Children at forty public schools in Tokyo are learning about Chilean history and culture. I hope you will have the opportunity to interact with children during your stay, as it is very valuable for our next generation to deepen knowledge on Chile.”

President Bachelet stated that “my visit to Japan will further deepen our bilateral exchanges in the fields of diplomacy, politics, economy, culture, and others.” She also touched on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two countries in the area of sport cooperation and expressed her hope that “there will be more active exchanges between Chilean and Japanese athletes.”