He said next year would mark the 40th anniversary of the presence of JICA volunteers in Ghana.

The Ambassador disclosed that 2017 would also mark 90 years since Dr Noguchi arrived in the country.

Mr Yoshimura, who was speaking during a reception at his residence in Accra to mark the 83rd birthday of the Emperor of Japan,  said he looked forward to next year with excitement.

The occasion, which is also known as Japanese National Day, was attended by Members of the Council of State, ministers of state, Members of Parliament and heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations, among other dignitaries.

He explained that he perceived 2017 would be even brighter for Japan-Ghana relationship, saying while 2017 would mark the 60th anniversary of the independence of Ghana, the year would also mark 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ghana.

President John Mahama

During his stay in Japan, Ambassador Yoshimura said,  President John Dramani Mahama and the First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, paid a call on their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Sharing the impressive ambience of the meeting at the Imperial Residence, he said President Mahama also held a bilateral meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, where the two leaders announced a joint statement.

The leaders stressed the importance of developing quality infrastructure in Ghana and promoting public health in line with universal health coverage, among other initiatives.

“Regarding the development of infrastructure in Ghana, the Japanese Prime Minister pledged the construction of a new bridge across the Volta River as part of the Eastern Corridor Project to be financed by a concessional loan,” the ambassador added.

In showing commitment to enhancing the public health sector, the ambassador said the Japanese and Ghanaian governments signed the exchange of notes for the construction of a research centre for infectious diseases at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

He said he was glad to announce that the two projects being implemented by JICA were currently on target.

The ambassador also announced that the Japanese Yen Loan which had been suspended for 15 years since Ghana signed up to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 2001 had now resumed.

TICAD VI

After President Mahama’s visit to Japan in May, the ambassador said, another bilateral summit was held between President Mahama and Prime Minister Abe in Nairobi in August, during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), which was the first-ever TICAD summit meeting to be held on the African continent.

At TICAD VI, he said, Prime Minister Abe announced that for a period of three years from 2016 to 2018, Japan would invest approximately US$30 billion under public-private partnership for the future of Africa through implementing measures centring on development of quality infrastructure, promoting resilient health systems and laying the foundations for peace and stability.

Nii Osah Mills

Responding to the speech by the ambassador, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills, said Ghana recognised the assistance by Japan with regard to the development of infrastructure, particularly the pledge to construct a new bridge across the Volta River, to ease the current volume of traffic on the Adomi Bridge.

He said the bridge provided a critical connection from the Eastern and Greater Accra regions to the Volta Region and beyond.

Nii Mills commended the government of Japan for the resumption of the Japanese Yen Loan and also expressed gratitude to Japan for remaining a true friend of Ghana, which was demonstrated through the supportive role it had played and continued to play in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy.