Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is in the U.S. this week for a tightly packed visit that will focus largely on the strong ties between the U.S. and its closest Asian ally. (...)This visit should help with the latter goal as Abe will have a summit with Obama and a state dinner at the White House with 300 guests. Image is important to the Abe administration, and it'll be on display during this U.S. visit, says Shihoko Goto, an Asia specialist with the Woodrow Wilson Center. 

Tags: japan, united states, shinzo abe, obama, public diplomacy, diplomatic visit

Becoming a father was a prime motivator for Randy Berry to accept what's sure to be a controversial new role at the State Department. Berry, 50, is the U.S. special envoy for the human rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons, the first such post ever created by a nation, according to the State Department. In that trailblazing role, he said he has an opportunity to help his two children grow up in a world more accepting than the one he was born into.

Tags: united states, lgbt, public diplomacy, us state department, secretary of state john kerry, diplomatic envoy

International aid agencies and governments mobilized on Sunday to respond to the earthquake in Nepal, saying they faced challenges in getting assistance to the country and distributing it amid the widespread devastation there. In the aftermath of the disaster, which has killed more than 2,400 people, injured 5,900 and left many more homeless, development workers said that continued aftershocks, a crippled transport network and the loss of power in parts of the country had made it tough to search for survivors and distribute much-needed supplies.

Tags: nepal, earthquake, international aid, aid agencies, development

The lecture at UNAM was packed with about 500 students, with many people standing. Around the end of the lecture, I invited Hitomi to the stage and with her spoke to the audience about why maid cafes have become one of the icons of Japan’s pop culture and why they attract foreign visitors.In a nutshell, these cafes seriously entertain their customers by providing them with an experience which is completely different from their daily lives.

Tags: mexico, maid culture, Cultural Diplomacy, japan, art, japanese artists, exchange, public diplomacy

Cinema Organization of Iran Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi said that Fajr International Film Festival helps Iran improve public diplomacy in the world. He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the international section of the 33rd edition of the festival held at Tehran’s Mellat Cinema Complex on Saturday.

Tags: fajr festival, film festival, Cultural Diplomacy, public diplomacy, iran, tehran

A senior Iranian official says Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen and its prevention of the delivery of the Islamic Republic’s humanitarian aid to the war-wracked country will not go unanswered. “We consider all options for helping the Yemeni people and immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid and transfer of the injured,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday.

Tags: iran, yemen, saudi arabia, international aid, humanitarian aid, united nations, iran's foreign ministry

On the last day of her South America trip, President Park Geun-hye met with around 2-hundred Korean emigrants in Sao Paulo, an economic hub in Brazil, the seventh largest economy in the world.  More than 50-thousand Koreans call the city home, making it the largest Korean community in Brazil.

Tags: south america, four nation tour, president park, brazil, korea, diasporas, public diplomacy

International aid groups and governments have escalated efforts to dispatch rescuers and supplies to earthquake-hit Nepal, but severed communications and landslides in the Himalayan nation posed formidable challenges to the relief effort.

Tags: nepal, earthquake, international aid, humanitarian aid, germany, britain, rescue teams, united states, australia