Ambassador KITAOKA made his 11th (final) official visit to Tartu, the center of the Southern Estonia (2nd (final) Instalment: farewell to the President of Estonia and the Rector of Tartu University)

On 30th October, Ambassador Hajime KITAOKA made his 11th (final) official visit to Tartu, the center of the Southern Estonia.
After attending “Cyber Battle of Estonia 2021”, he left the Sports Hall of Tartu University and moved to its main building to bid farewell to the Rector, Prof. Toomas ASSER.
He was welcomed at the entrance by Karin-san, the wife of the Rector and Ms. Sirje ÜPRUS, the Chief of the Protocol of the University, and was guided into the Rector’s room.
The Ambassador noticed something is different in the waiting space leading to the Rector’s room, where is heavily guarded by uniformed personnel.
At the moment of entering into the Rector’s room, the Ambassador discovered the reason.
He was welcomed not only by the Rector, but also by the President of the Republic of Estonia, H.E. Mr. Alar KARIS!
Actually, the President once worked as the Rector of Tartu University, so he kindly attended the Ambassadors farewell, with the thoughtful arrangement by Prof. ASSER, the present Rector.
The farewell ceremony started with the Rector’s gratitude to the Ambassador for promoting the relationship between the Tartu City, the Tartu University and Japan, and the Commendation and the Decoration were handed over to the Ambassador.
It was followed by the signing ceremony on the guest book by the Ambassador.
The President asked the Ambassador “how many times did you visit Tartu?”.
The Ambassador responded “11 times to the City and 6 times to the University”.
The friendly conversation followed by the President, the Rector with his wife, and the Ambassador, sitting on the sofa for 30 minutes.
The Ambassador said to the President “your predecessor Ms. KALJULAID visited Japan to participate in the Enthronement Ceremony of the Japanese Emperor, and the Tokyo Olympics, and made a great contribution to the friendship between Estonia and Japan. I sincerely wish that you could also visit Japan. For example, in 2025, Osaka-Kansai Expo is scheduled to take place. If Estonia’s participation is officially confirmed, this Expo could be a very good chance for you to visit Japan”.
And the President responded saying “I have already visited Japan some times when I was the Rector of Tartu University. Since Japan is an important partner for Estonia, I really want to visit Japan as the President”.
On the occasion of bidding farewell to the Rector, the Ambassador could meet the President as well!
It was indeed a pleasant surprise and made this occasion truly a wonderful occasion to mark the end of the Ambassador’s diplomatic activities in Estonia!
He would like to express his sincerest gratitude to the Rector and his wife for their thoughtful arrangement, and to the President for sparing his precious time.
The Ambassador’s final visit to Tartu was completed.
In twilight, he left this historical city, which has filled him with so many beautiful memories, and headed for Tallinn.