Introducing the Greek Ambassador to Japan and his take on the SDGs.
We had the great honour of interviewing the Greek Ambassador to Japan, his excellency Constantin Cakioussis this month. It was an insightful interview and we hope you enjoy the read as much as we enjoyed interviewing the ambassador.
Q1: What was your first encounter with Japan?
My first encounter with Japan was when I was at the age of eight. It was at a Primary School in Belgium, I was gifted a book called Taro-san as a prize. And the book was about Japan and it was translated into French. Of course, I read it and that was the first encounter and when my admiration towards Japan started growing.
And my second encounter came three years later when I joined the Judo club. So, in that sense, Japan has always been present in one way or the other. When I came here and it felt like I was trying to find all those things I have read about and dreamed about. I am also a fan of Akira Kurosawa.
Q2: Greece was one of the very first countries to accept the invitation from Japan to participate in Expo2025 which will be held from April to October 2025 in Yumeshima, Osaka. Looks like Greece has a great relationship with Japan. Could you tell us more about the relationship between Japan and Greece?
The two countries are bound by so many things. The only thing that separates them is distance. But on the other hand, we have so many things in common.
Greece has sea power, meaning that the most important asset, is seapower and its merchant marine. And Japan also has sea power. So we belong to a small club of sea powers. Secondly, we have a similar economic system. We both have free economies and we believe in free trade and regulated international trade.
Furthermore, now we have the European Partnership Agreement and the European Strategic Agreement and that binds us even more. That creates frameworks of cooperation, which does represent challenges, but also opportunities. We have a lot that binds us together.
This is why we were one of the very first countries to support Japan’s bid for Expo2025. Also, Greece has been trading for over 5000 years, so we know something about it. Trading places like Expos are a natural place for us to be.
Q3: The theme for Osaka Expo2025 is the Sustainable Development Goals. I know there are 3 more years to go, but do you already have any plans and projects planned for the Expo2025?
Greece has not yet decided on the specific themes we would like to showcase at the Expo2025. Generally speaking, Greece is at the forefront of achieving sustainable development goals. First of all, we have to create sustainable development in our own country, especially now that the Mediterranean is a very fragile environment and Greece and the neighbouring countries have been hit by forest fires.
This creates special challenges to maintain an environment that let’s say can regenerate and can survive this kind of fire.
Q4: Could you tell us the main social issue in Greece?
Well, when I think of my country I can think of two social issues. The first one is the current pandemic. This has really marred our planet. Lockdowns and special measures of social distancing. And what is even worse is the fact that we cannot travel.
Travelling and tourism are not just economic functions. They have a function of getting people together, getting people to understand each other.
The other social problem that we are trying to solve is the refugee crisis.
Greece is at the edge of the European Union. It’s one of the gates to enter. It has been heavily solicited, if not pushed to accept and let through many refugees. Refugees are people with rights.
There are people who have seen their livelihoods destroyed and they are entitled to protection. What they are not entitled to be instrumentalized for international political games. Greece is trying to extend the protection for the refugees as much as possible and at the same time, Greece is calling for international cooperation.
So for me, that’s the second social issue we’re facing.
Q5: What kind of action is the youth taking to solve these social problems or to achieve the SDGs?
In Greece, the youth is always caught between pursuing old-style careers and trying to open new paths. The youth is responding to many challenges the country is trying to solve. I mean, we have an interesting return to do duty to the land. We have younger people from the town, townsfolk going back to the countryside. To try to develop new methods and to try to develop new products. We have a big community of Engineers working on trying to promote research and develop new products and new ways of producing, which is more important.
So the youth has to be involved in these social causes. It’s not that they are in front of the dilemma, but sometimes they don’t have another choice than to go forward and try to develop new things and the SDGs is an obvious way to go.
And let’s say by trying to develop a new let’s see life for themselves, they contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. So I would say that the success of the Sustainable Development Goals is that they go in the direction of life and development itself. So the youth, whether Greek or Japanese or others have to go that way. Because that’s where their livelihood would need to go. I mean, it’s not only because if they like it or because it’s fashionable or because it’s logical, but it’s they have to HAVE to do that.
Q6: What advice would you give to the younger generation?
The young generation should not look at our successes but should look at our failures. And ponder about it. Look at our failures and try to not repeat them. Try to correct them as much as you can. Because our failures have an impact on their own future. So I would say to the youth, look at us. Look where we have failed. Try to correct it.
Q7: What’s your message to the people watching this?
Well, the message is to keep your humanity and humanity means being together. And one of my compatriots, Aristotle said that a human being is a social animal, which means that a human being has to be in a group. Has to be in a society. So my message would be; Take every occasion to be with other people and Osaka Expo is such a place.
Q8: What’s your expectation for Osaka Expo2025?
My expectation from Osaka Expo is that it would give a boost to this getting together.
Q9: What would you like people to know about Greece?
I’m quoting one of my old ambassadors here. A Professor at the University of Sophia asked him when I was serving in Canada, how he would describe Greeks. And he said, look... Greeks have a dramatic sense of history. So to me, there is no better definition or profile of Greece than that.
It is what I call a very big, small country. I have to explain. Greece is one-third of Japan. It’s very small. It’s so much more isolated in small valleys and islands, and each community has its own identity.
So when you travel to Greece…you have so many dimensions that it makes it a big country. I mean it makes it a big country in time. You have antiquities from Paleolithic up to modern…modern buildings. So you have a continuous civilization.
You can travel through time. And at the same time, through space because of so many different environments and so many different social environments. If I put that in a nutshell, it would be Greece is a very big, small country inhabited by people who have a dramatic sense of history.
This is the end of the interview. If you wish to know more, stay tuned for the full interview on our YouTube Channel.
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