Greetings on the occasion of the second Okinawa International Movie Festival

The Okinawa International Movie Festival is the first Japanese movie festival to be staged in a resort location. The first Okinawa International Movie Festival, which was staged last year in Chatan, with the aims of boosting the development of the Japanese and overseas movie industries and related industries, and promoting industry and tourism in Okinawa, attracted 110,000 visitors over the course of four days and wound up as a huge success.

Prior to this second edition of the festival, the main venue for which is to be the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan, various countdown events are due to be held in and around Kokusaidori, the main street of Naha, and these are set to be even more exciting than they were last year.

Naha boasts numerous tourist attractions, including many unique cultural assets and places of interest, such as the ruins of Shuri Castle, which is a World Heritage site. Moreover, with our traditional performing arts such as Okinawan dancing and Eisa folk dancing held in high regard both at home and abroad, we take pride in our culture. I hope that the staging of this international movie festival, which is intended as a celebration of new movies and videos, will serve to convey the appeal of Naha both to the rest of Japan and to the wider world.

Okinawa’s economy (including its tourist industry) has been hugely affected by the worldwide economic downturn which began last year and by the swine flu epidemic. However, it is precisely in tough times like these that we most need to make an effort to put the sparkle back into people’s lives.

“Laugh and peace,” the theme of the festival, is significant in that it is a recipe for adding richness and vitality to people’s daily lives. I have high hopes that the staging of this festival—now an integral part of the life of the region—will also help to rejuvenate our cities’ shopping districts and downtown areas.

The tourism business ranks as Naha’s leading industry, and both its government and its people are striving to revitalize Naha as a beautiful island city for tourism exchange. We intend to continue to stage various events to attract visitors in collaboration with the relevant organizations, to create a safe and beautiful environment befitting a city for tourism exchange, and to work to promote tourism in harmony with the lives of the local people. I would thus like to ask for the cooperation and understanding of all concerned.

In conclusion, I would like to express my heartfelt respect for Yoshimoto Kogyo and the rest of the executive committee of the Okinawa International Movie Festival for their sterling efforts in staging this festival, and to express my hope that the festival will continue to develop in the future.