Tokyo meets the world: Serbia

For me, becoming ambassador meant coming back to Japan after 10 years [away]. I arrived during Covid, which was of course an incredibly challenging time. But it allowed me to see Japan in a completely different setting: to get a perspective of the city not overwhelmed with people, noise or pollution.

 [Being here during the pandemic] gave me a more intimate, calmer, unobstructed view of Japan. I travelled to places including Kyoto, where I’ve been many times, but this was something completely different from the overtourism we’re seeing now as [a result of] Japan’s popularity abroad.

Another interesting thing has been the way the country has changed. I last left Japan in August 2011, after the Tohoku earthquake, when Tokyo was already bidding for the Olympics. Coming back, I’ve seen the redevelopment of Tokyo, with projects like the moving of the fish market. That impressed me, because it was a clear example of all the engineering and infrastructure projects that Japan is doing quite efficiently and well. And when I went to Fukushima, I saw the recovery of that area, which reinforced this image. I’m impressed by how Japan reconstructs after something that happens and, let’s say, constructs for the future. This is one of the very strong points of Japan.

Well, Takanawa is my neighbourhood. [Serbia previously] had its embassy in Gotenyama, so not far away, but I always lived in Takanawa. When I was back in Serbia, I heard about our Embassy relocating [to Takanawa], but I was surprised to find that it's on the very same path where I used to walk when I lived here before. Now, walking around the neighbourhood, I see many small shops and other businesses like second-hand furniture shops and little bakeries that I recognise and used to go to. This impresses me, because Japan and especially Tokyo is so dynamic and always changing, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that my neighbourhood is still very much lively but preserved.

Of course, I was a lot younger when I [lived in Tokyo] last time, so I used to go to places like Shibuya, Harajuku and Nakameguro. I now have a nine-year-old daughter, and those are still the neighbourhoods that attract young people, because they have a certain energy and they're so diverse.

Even though Shibuya has been redeveloped and changed, it’s still quite easy to go there and do things. My daughter does a lot of sports, and sometimes it's challenging in Tokyo to find space where you can do skateboarding, for example, but we found one in Miyashita Park. It’s nice how the [new parts of the neighbourhood] incorporate places that allow people to gather and do activities like sports.

Also, we’re often exploring the city by trying to find vegetarian restaurants, since my husband is vegetarian. This can be a bit challenging, but it’s also an aspect in which you see how Japan has changed [over the past decade]: there are more diverse options available, not only in food and drink but in terms of things like design, too. The restaurant closest to us here in Takanawa is vegan, so sometimes you can find those places just by walking around your neighbourhood. You notice how people’s awareness of different lifestyles has increased, which is a global trend and applies to Serbia as well. It allows a wider range of people to enjoy Japan.

There isn’t a Serbian restaurant in Tokyo right now, but we make an effort to promote Serbian cuisine and the flavours of Serbia. My assistant has her own channel where she teaches people to cook Serbian food. We’ve also paired with businesses to produce [pre-cooked] Serbian dishes such as mućkalica [meat and vegetable stew]. In addition, a small cake shop called Figuier in Abiko, Chiba bakes Serbian biscuits according to our recipes.

As for imported products, we have Ajvar [a condiment made from bell peppers], which comes in spicy and mild versions and is very popular. You can eat it as such or put it on bread, rice, whatever you want. Berries are another imported item, including frozen raspberries and sour cherries.

We also import wines. One special project that we’re very proud of – an initiative to celebrate the 140th anniversary of friendship between Japan and Serbia in 2022 – was to import wine from a renowned winery in Serbia and have a special label for the anniversary with artwork by a Japanese artist called Okabe Shiryu.

Promoting our wines is important to us because while everyone knows about certain European, South African, Australian or Californian wines, Serbia also has a long history of winemaking and is highly rated for its production, with a good climate [and terroir]. Some Serbian grape varieties are up to a thousand years old. But there was an interruption in promoting our wine during the Yugoslav period, so we have some catching up to do. Serbian wines aren’t sold in supermarkets in Tokyo, but they’re available online.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we had a lockdown in our capital – a measure that wasn’t too popular among the public. This has to do with the fact that quality of life in Serbia is very much about people-to-people relationships, which, as we’ve learned after the pandemic, are important for treating isolation and loneliness.

What proved important at the time was digital technology promoting connections among people, including in terms of public services. We had an at the time unprecedented project for the digitalisation of culture, and figured out [new ways of] connecting communities and having a beneficial impact on society.

Using digital technology for public services is something that we came to be very proud of. The World Bank’s 2023 ranking placed us 11th in the world for digital governance, and fourth in Europe. This is something that can be used to improve quality of life and infrastructure as well, and is an example of the positive side of digitalisation.

Serbia is going to have a national pavilion – something that we’re optimistic about and think is a good opportunity both for showcasing Serbia in Japan and for our relations. Our pavilion won’t be the largest at the Expo, but it’ll represent a floating forest and will promote sustainability in line with the ongoing efforts of the global community. Serbia Day [at the Expo] will be September 15 2025. 

One important aspect of presenting ourselves at the Expo is that Belgrade will in 2027 host the specialised Expo, ‘Play for Humanity: Music and Sports for All’. Since we won the hosting rights, we readapted our concept design [for the Expo 2025 pavilion], and hope our pavilion will also connect with our event. 

In preparation for the Expo [in 2027], Serbia is trying to promote its image internationally by hosting a number of events, including one for the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence. This has prompted us to invest a lot into infrastructure, rethink cities and promote good initiatives.

I’m very much involved with promoting the SDG of gender equality here in Japan. We support all the activities that aim to improve the participation of women in decision-making processes at all levels, be it in politics or the economy, and I myself mentor women in the business world.

Just a few weeks ago we had a get-together with university students to have an open discussion about gender equality in Japan and to hear from successful women in business, to learn how things actually work and what more can be done. Serbia itself has done a lot; we score highly in international rankings [for gender equality]. In our new government, around a third [of the cabinet ministers] are women, and they have positions that deal with energy, economy, mining, EU integration, science, innovation – sectors that have an important impact on the country. Our [former] prime minister, who was in her third term, moved to become speaker of the parliament. The governors of the bank of Serbia and our constitutional court are traditionally women. 

In Serbia, legislated quotas have improved the situation. For all elections, parliamentary and local, at least 40 percent of candidates must be female, and our current parliament is 38 percent female. This figure always changes, but one thing is certain: women tend to have a strong enough voice in Serbian society to be recognised as leaders.

I think Japan would be a good place to introduce such quotas, given that Japan very much cares about legal frameworks and citizens understand how these are set up to improve quality of life. [Improving gender equality] would be the most important road to take for Japan, and I know there are a lot of actions and initiatives in place to make it happen. Instruments such as quotas can speed up this process.