IJA Bounenkai End of Year Party 2023 | Photo Gallery
On 30th November the IJA members and friends joined our annual Bounenkai End of the Year Party which was hosted at one of the most popular and authentic Japanese restaurants in Dublin – Daruma.












On 30th November the IJA members and friends joined our annual Bounenkai End of the Year Party which was hosted at one of the most popular and authentic Japanese restaurants in Dublin – Daruma.
On 11th October, Ireland Japan Association and Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce (IJCC) invited their members to participate in the business seminar ‘Preparing for the next world EXPO in Osaka, Japan’ which was hosted in Dublin by the IJA and IJCC member PwC Ireland.
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Catherine Grennell-Whyte, IJA Chairperson and Dominic Keogh, IJCC Director
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The panel of guest speakers included H.E. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, Yushi Tanaka, Executive Advisor to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo, John Concannon, Director General, Global Ireland, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Brian O’Brien, Commissioner General for EXPO Osaka, The Department of Foreign Affairs.
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From left: Yushi Tanaka, Executive Advisor to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo; John Concannon, Director General, Global Ireland, Department of Foreign Affairs; H.E. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland; Brian O’Brien, Commissioner General for EXPO Osaka, The Department of Foreign Affairs, and moderator Dominic Keogh, IJCC Director.
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Our guest speakers discussed Global Ireland strategy, reviewed the experience at Expo Dubai 2020, and introduced Expo Osaka 2025 sharing the latest information on the Irish Pavilion. Conversations were moderated by Dominic Keogh, IJCC Director. Presentations and discussions were followed by networking opportunities.
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We would like to thank our partners – Dominic Keogh and his team at the IJCC, and our wonderful hosts – Mary Honohan and her team at PwC Ireland for all their support and work to make this event such a great success.
(Please click on the image to enlarge it!)
Photos: IJA Council and IJCC archive
The IJA Annual Golf Outing 2023 tournament took place on 4th September at the beautiful Foxrock Golf Club, Dublin.
We would like to thank all the teams who supported us and participated in the tournament this year, and we send special congratulations to the winners – Bank of Ireland FDI team – who came first and won the IJA Ishikawa Cup in 2023!
Many thanks to all participants of the tournament this year: Bank of Ireland, Cpl Resources, Dillon Eustace, ElectroRoute, Mitsubishi Electric and Suntory.
A very special thanks goes to our tournament sponsors – K&L Gates Ireland.
We would like to thank IJA Council members and event team who helped to organise this event: Stephen Mullin and Catherine Grennell-Whyte.
We would like to thank our prize sponsors, the IJA Council and Finnair/ATTS, our hosts and team at the Foxrock Golf Club for all the help and support before and during our event, and last but not least – all our event participants who joined us on this day and made it such a great success.
We are looking forward to our Golf Outing 2024 tournament next year!
Dr. and Mrs. Ushioda Scholarship was established in 2019 in honour of Dr. and Mrs. Ushioda’s major contribution to the development of the Ireland Japan Association and Ireland-Japan relations, and to underpin the association’s strong commitment to supporting Japanese studies in Ireland.
In 2023, the scholarship was awarded to Ben Murphy, studying Japanese Language at University of Limerick. Ben will be travelling to Japan for an exchange year at Waseda University, Tokyo.
From left: Mrs. Yoshiko Ushioda, IJA founder member and Scholarship Patron, H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, and Ben Murphy, Univeristy of Limerick & Ushioda Scholarship winner in 2023.
The small but heartwarming award ceremony of the scholarship took place on 30th August 2023 at the beautiful offices of the IJA Patron Member – ElectroRoute. Ben was greeted and congratulated by Mrs. Yoshiko Ushioda, IJA founder member and Scholarship Patron, Ms. Tsugumi Yamamoto, IJA Vice-Chaiperson, Ms. Paula Kelly, IJA Council and Scholarship coordinator, and Mr. Donal Flyn, CFO, Managing Director of Finance & Operation at ElectroRoute.
H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland and Ms. Keiko Nakata, Embassy of Japan in Ireland, were the special invited guests at this event. Ambassador dedicated well wishes and words of encouragement to Ben as he is preparing to travel to Japan for his year abroad.
I have always wanted to explore and discover another culture and language. Studying Japanese in UL has granted me the opportunity to do so. Since my first class in Japanese, I have been captivated by Japan and its history and culture. I have met some of my closest friends, both Japanese and non-Japanese through my studies, and I hope to see them all in Japan when I complete my study abroad in Japanese at Waseda University in Tokyo!’ – Ben Murphy
We would like to thank Ms. Paula Kelly, IJA Council, and Barbara Geraghty, University of Limerick, for their support and assistance with the scholarship management and administration process this year.
Many thanks to Azumi Uchitani and her team at ElectroRoute for a very warm welcome, reception set up and looking after all the guests during this event.
Ireland Japan Association is delighted to welcome Tazaki Foods, the leading importer, developer and distributor of speciality Japanese food and beverage products in Europe, on board the IJA as a Corporate member, and is looking forward to a long lasting and successful cooperation.
Working in close partnership with a global network of suppliers, Tazaki Foods sources high quality, Japanese products that meet the evolving needs of the food service and retail industries. Harnessing its extensive knowledge and experience in the sector, the company also launched its own “Yutaka” range of Japanese food products in 1995. This ever-expanding range today includes ingredients for sushi, sauces, soups, rice, noodles, as well as easy-to-use meal kits. Yutaka continues to be the leading Japanese ingredient brand in many countries across Europe.
Tazaki Foods sees great potential in the Irish market, particularly in the aftermath of Brexit, and will be focusing greater resources here going forward to drive further expansion, both domestically and across the EU.
We are delighted to support the Ireland Japan Association and the important work it does in cultivating ties between the two countries. We very much look forward to meeting other members over the coming weeks and months.
Ireland Japan Association is delighted to welcome K&L Gates Ireland LLP, global law firm across five continents, on board the IJA as a Corporate member and is looking forward to a long lasting and successful cooperation.
At K&L Gates, we foster an inclusive and collaborative environment across our fully integrated global platform that enables us to diligently combine the knowledge and expertise of our lawyers and policy professionals to create teams that provide exceptional client solutions. We marry action with vision, success with dedication, method with passion, and innovation with creativity.Our firm is recognized consistently for providing clients with the most sophisticated solutions to legal challenges around the world.
The Ireland Japan Association is delighted to announce that in 2023 the Ushioda Scholarship is awarded to Ben Murphy, studying Japanese at University of Limerick. Ben will be travelling to Japan for an exchange year at Waseda University, Tokyo.
‘My name is Ben, and I have always wanted to explore and discover another culture and language. Studying Japanese in UL has granted me the opportunity to do so. Since my first class in Japanese, I have been captivated by Japan and its history and culture. I have met some of my closest friends, both Japanese and non-Japanese through my studies, and I hope to see them all in Japan when I complete my study abroad in Japanese at Waseda University in Tokyo!’ – Ben Murphy
We would like to thank Ms Paula Kelly, IJA Council, for her support and assistance with the scholarship management and administration process this year.
We are very happy to announce the winners of the annual JLTI Japanese Language Contest 2023. This year, the theme for contest was “Diving into the world of Japanese”, and organisers invited entries in the form of speech or Japanese language soundtrack videos which tie in with this theme.
The entries were evaluated on a variety of criteria such as language level and expression, creativity and performance. The judging panel took into account the language background and learning experience of the entrants which was documented through their application forms.
Open Category
Japanese Language Award: Marco Perez-McKay
Language Achievement Award: Nadia Lagrutta & Xiadani Ortega Ramirez
Special Mention Award: Maria Mardiki
6th Year
Japanese Language Award: Andy Yu
Language Achievement Award: Ben Whelan
Special Mention Award: Meenakshy Bino
Language Recognition Award: Weronika Strek
5th Year
Japanese Language Award: Stefanie Reji
Language Achievement Award: Aeryn Noble
Special Mention Award: Aimee Fanning
Language Recognition Award: Cáit Whitmore
We congratulate all the winners and would like to thank everyone for the participation this year! Each winner have received comments from the judges and a voucher that will allow them to purchase Japanese-related textbooks, books, manga, accessories, origami, etc. as prizes.
Japanese Language Contest in Ireland is organised by the Japanese Language Teachers in Ireland (JLTI) with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, Post-Primary Languages Ireland, and the Ireland Japan Association in order to encourage and promote Japanese education in Ireland.
From left: Verity Swan, Ireland Japan Association and Rotarian, Margaret Morley, Rotary Club District Governor and Rotarian with students of Dundalk Grammar School
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