Japan registered a travel surplus of about US$10.6 billion in 2015, suggesting its growing competitiveness as an exporter of tourism. [...] The Japanese government launched its Visit Japan Campaign in 2003, which led to a steady increase in the number of foreign visitors. But to explain the rapid increase in inbound tourists in recent years, we need to focus on developments since 2013. 

The University of California is creating stronger bonds with Mexico. The UC-Mexico Initiative, housed at UC Riverside, is a priority UC President Janet Napolitano added to her agenda shortly after taking office three years ago. Since then, the entire UC system, including the 10 UC campuses, have been working with Mexican counterparts in the areas of environment, energy, arts and culture, education and health.

Elia Alberti beams at these words from his host “father,” Berkeley Police Chief Mike Meehan, who is sitting at his family’s dining room table. It has been nearly nine months since a then-16-year-old Alberti stepped off the plane from Milan, frantically plugging “the airline lost my luggage” into Google Translate. Misplaced bags and a tenuous grasp of the English language were only the first adventures that Alberti and his host family would tackle during the year to follow.

The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Kaoru Yoshimura, has inaugurated a Japanese language and cultural centre at the Mary Star of the Sea International School at Kasoa in the Central Region. [...] He noted that one important area of Japan’s diplomacy was cultural diplomacy in the form of cultural exchanges, which he said played an important role in bringing understanding and contributing to peace and security in the world.

The American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) College Student Foreign Policy Trip to Greece and Cyprus begins its eighth year as students from across the United States gathered for briefings in Washington before departing for Cyprus, June 17, 2016. The two-week program concludes when the students return from Athens, Greece, July 1, 2016. 

Chinese influence in Australia is growing across a broad front, from political donations to Confucius Institute teachings in primary schools and university institutes funded from Beijing. These continuing efforts to spread soft power have found a new friend, with an announcement that content from Chinese newspapers and wires will run in Australian media and on the Sky TV cable television channel.

The Reagan Library will welcome its newest exhibit next week, displaying works of art that until now have been seen only in embassies outside the United States. In its historic debut at the Reagan Library at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley, the Foundation for Arts and Preservation in Embassies will present its Original Print, Photography and Site-Specific collections from June 23 to Aug. 7.

A group of Chinese delegates are getting a taste of southern Alberta hospitality as they strengthen community ties with Lethbridge. The five-member delegation, accompanied by an interpreter and guide, arrived on Thursday from Anyang City, China, for a two-day visit to foster closer educational, cultural and economic relationships with the city. The delegates include high-ranking municipal and government officials as well as leaders of educational institutions.