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【Photo Diary】(2) My 600th Overseas Trip: Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia

Published on October 27, 2025

I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my 10-day, three-nation tour which brought me to Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia from September 15 to 24, 2025, in my capacity as honorary chair of The Nippon Foundation.

[September 17, Brussels, Belgium]

Photo of Yohei Sasakawa. — With the weather in Brussels colder than I had expected, I bought a knit cap.

[September 17, London, the United Kingdom]

Photo of Yohei Sasakawa. — Speaking at an event held at the Japanese embassy in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (GBSF).

GBSF seeks to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the U.K. and Japan through financial support for activities in a number of fields, including arts and culture, humanities and social issues, Japanese language, sport and education, science and technology, and medicine and health.

Photo of event attendees at Japanese embassy. — Some 130 people involved in Japan-U.K. relations joined the event, at which

I called for future-oriented Japan-U.K. relations through further promoting political, diplomatic and national security exchanges as well as private-level interactions.

Photo of Hiroshi Suzuki and Yohei Sasakawa. — Acting on behalf of then Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Ambassador to the United Kingdom Hiroshi Suzuki (second from right) presents the certificate of commendation to new GBSF Chair Paul Madden (third from right), who served as U.K. Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2021.

On the far left is former chair the Earl of St. Andrews who

agreed to remain involved with the foundation as a patron.

Photo of Chairperson Elisabeth Nilsson and Yohei Sasakawa. — With Chairperson Elisabeth Nilsson of the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, who flew from Sweden to attend the event.

Photo of St. Andrews and Yohei Sasakawa. — With the Earl of St. Andrews, who served as GBSF chair for 20 years until May 2025.

Photo of fellows and alumni who studied at the World Maritime University and Yohei Sasakawa. — With 13 fellows and alumni who studied at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Sweden and the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta under the Sasakawa fellowship program.

Since the 1980s, The Nippon Foundation has given fellowships to some 1,900 maritime experts from about 185 countries who studied at WMU, IMLI and other international institutions.

Photo of Daniel Levy and Yohei Sasakawa. — With Mr. Daniel Levy, a British–Israeli political analyst and president of the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP).

We exchanged views on ways of further strengthening interactions among Japan, the U.S. and Israel as well as on the conflicts in Gaza and other international issues.

Photo of students and Yohei Sasakawa. — With three Japanese students (third to fifth from left) who are studying at British universities under the Sasakawa fellowship program.

(To be continued)

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【Photo Diary】(1) My 600th Overseas Trip: Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia

October 27, 2025

I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my 10-day, three-nation tour which brought me to Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia from September 15 to 24, 2025, in my capacity as honorary chair of The Nippon Foundation. In Brussels, I met with General Secretary David Edwards of Education International (EI), one of the world's largest teachers' organizations, to ask EI to

【Photo Diary】(3) My 600th Overseas Trip: Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia

October 28, 2025

I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my 10-day, three-nation tour which brought me to Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia from September 15 to 24, 2025, in my capacity as honorary chair of The Nippon Foundation. [September 19, Istanbul, Turkey]Getting cakes during a three-hour stopover in Istanbul en route from London to Moscow. [September 20, Moscow, Russia]Visit