Tokyo meets the world: Colombia

Before we moved to Japan, both my wife and I were mainly expecting the country in general and Tokyo in particular to be very modern. But we’ve found that there’s a different side too: the traditional side that links with Japanese culture, religion, nature and the environment. That was our first big surprise.

As for the Japanese people and society, we didn’t really know what to expect. I’ll give you one example: When I became director of the coffee federation, I was invited to have lunch at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Bogota. To tell you the truth, I was late. [My host] was very kind and understanding, but impressed upon me something I really respect now: the importance of being punctual. Many of the customs in Japan that seem somehow formal are key to life here, and as Latin people it has been very nice to adopt some of these customs into our life. I think Colombia can also benefit from some of these values.

Well…[laughs]. No, there’s some truth to that. When I arrived in Japan, I decided we would start working at 9am [at the coffee federation]. That sounds unremarkable now, but at the time, because of the effects of the March 2011 earthquake, people were coming in at 10.30 – I guess because there were all sorts of difficulties, energy-saving concerns and so on. But that means you just come in, have your coffee and then it’s already lunchtime and you haven’t done anything! So we stuck with 9am. The day does start early in Colombia, and when I was at university we had some 7am classes. We start early and work quite long hours. In the countryside, people work in the fields from very early in the morning.

That’s changed over the years, mostly because of my family. I have two kids; my son is 11 and my daughter is 9, and when they were younger I used to go to parks with them. When we lived in Minami-Azabu I’d go to Arisugawa Park. Now though, I like to explore the city with my wife – just park the car at some station and walk around, discovering new things. The nice thing about Tokyo is that you never get bored since there’s always something interesting to discover, whether it’s little shops and restaurants or temples you didn’t know about. Tokyo is so big and you can never check out everything, but I’m just trying to keep exploring and enjoy everything the city has to offer.

I think Japan and Japanese society have become more open to the outside world, especially since 2013, when Tokyo won the right to host the Olympics. I’ve been seeing a steady rise in that sort of interest, but with Covid we’ve also seen how many things have still stayed the same.

When I started at the coffee federation, it was celebrating 50 years in Japan and I had to prepare a reunion for the industry. I was going to send out invitations and just thought people could reply by email. But that was a big no-no, we needed to use these fax reply sheets that are so common in Japan. I was like ‘Fax, really?’. Change in Japan tends to take time, but I think the Olympics and Covid have accelerated many changes that otherwise might have been more difficult [to enact].

I think these Games were very particular, obviously due to the pandemic and the [one-year] postponement, but once everything settles down, I think we’ll see people taking more interest in other countries as a result. When I went to the Olympic Village, despite all the restrictions, I was happy to see how some families with kids who wanted to interact with athletes from abroad were visiting.

The hope was that the Games would expand horizons in society, and like the Olympics back in 1964 present a new face of Japan. I think hosting the Games successfully under these difficult circumstances will in the future be seen as a very brave decision – the correct decision. It was a difficult decision, but one with a significant impact on the world, and one that for Japanese society will be a good demonstration of the fact that things can be accomplished even in challenging times like these.

Coffee is obviously Colombia’s most recognised product in Japan, but we also export high-quality cacao. Both have become established in the market for premium foodstuffs in Japan, where quality-conscious people like their coffee and cacao to be from a specific region. Some companies that carry Colombian cacao include Cacao Hunters in Tokyo Station, a collaboration between a Japanese expert and a Colombian entrepreneur who also used to work for the coffee federation.

Other options include Maison Cacao, who run projects with communities in Colombia and have shops in Tokyo Station and Kamakura. As for coffee, we’re grateful to the coffee industry in Japan because they use a lot of Colombian coffee, and we have great partners such as Lohas Beans Coffee in Aoyama, who offer quality coffee along with other Colombian products.

The Colombian flower industry cares a lot about sustainability and labour conditions. Most of the workers are women, who often support their families with their income. The industry was originally developed mainly to serve the US market, but we’ve also started exporting to Europe and Asia. Logistics is the tricky part; because of the distance you have to transport by plane and there are no direct flights from Colombia to Japan, even for cargo.

Some years ago, the Colombian government and the private sector joined forces to promote Colombian flowers in Japan, and now about 70 percent of the carnations sold here are from Colombia. With flowers, it’s a bit tricky to gain recognition for their origin since people don’t really feel the need to ask when they buy them. [To overcome that] we are trying to tell the story of where the flowers come from and to raise awareness of how buying Colombian flowers can contribute to sustainability and to the income of important groups in our society.

Sure, it’s common to talk about the SDGs nowadays, but Colombia actually took the initiative in forming policies geared towards these goals already a decade ago. Our government was active in formulating what we now know as the SDGs. That’s an important contribution and one that’s compatible with our longstanding commitment to multilateralism and development. In terms of the environment, Colombia is promoting and supporting the goal – shared by Japan – of working towards a decarbonised society. A large part of the Amazon basin is in Colombia, and together with our neighbours we are working to take care of the entire region, not only the part within our own territory. 

Another contribution worth noting is our stance on migration, especially our commitment to migrants from [neighbouring] Venezuela. Colombia is a small-to-medium-sized country, a developing country, but we have sought to show solidarity, openness and generosity in coping with [the Venezuelan refugee crisis].

While [migration] is a difficult issue for many countries around the world, I think Colombia has done the right thing in acting with solidarity and generosity with regard to the almost two million people who have arrived in our country from Venezuela. That is a significant number, considering that the population of Colombia is 45 million. We have sought to receive these people in the best possible way, provide them with temporary protection and an opportunity to, over ten years, to acquire a resident visa while be part of our social welfare network.

More recently, Colombia also opened its doors to people fleeing the situation in Afghanistan, some of whom are currently staying in Colombia at least temporarily. Under difficult circumstances, I think we have shown that it’s possible to do the right thing [with regard to immigration]. Interview by Masashi Takahashi.