This was Ripken's third trip as a Public Diplomacy Envoy. He travelled to China in 2007 and to Nicaragua in 2008. A 2008 trip to South Africa, was scrapped because of scheduling issues.

Cal Ripken Jr. took a message of hope and perseverance to Japanese children affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The Hall of Fame infielder...put on a baseball clinic in Ofunato, Japan, as part of a nine-day mission as a sports diplomat on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

Hu said the two sides should expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and use the occasion of celebrating the 40th anniversary of normalizing ties to develop a long-term plan for exchanges in the areas of youth, young cadres, culture, tourism, media and local governments so as to improve mutual understanding and friendly feelings between the two peoples.

Almost four years have passed since I began cultural diplomacy through anime...I have given lectures at universities and appearing as a guest at Japanese pop events. I have noticed the government's policy toward such overseas events seems to have changed..

From Nov. 8-16, Ripken will take participate in a diplomatic mission through Japan, where he will conduct baseball and softball clinics in Tokyo, Takarazuka and Kyoto. Officially, Ripken will be functioning as a U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy, a State Department position that allows him to assume role of sports diplomat.

“We communicate through baseball,” Ripken said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Japan loves their baseball, maybe equally as much or more than we do..." This will be Ripken’s third trip as a Public Diplomacy Envoy. He traveled to China in 2007 and to Nicaragua in 2008.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Ripken Baseball Inc. announced today that Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Public Diplomacy Envoy Cal Ripken, Jr. and Major League Baseball standout Brady Anderson, a former center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, will travel to Japan November 8-16, 2011 as sports diplomats.

The meeting is a symbol of Japan’s increasing involvement in the Eurasian region, which has occurred through various means such as trade, defence initiatives and implementations of soft power.