Hello Everyone!

My name is Tian Yuan and I am the new Chinese CIR. The Chinese characters for my name are 田 (family name) & 原 (first name). In Japanese, 田原 (Tahara) is a common family name, so people often call me ‘Tahara” instead of Tian Yuan or Den Gen!

My first trip to Japan was in October 2007 when I studied abroad at Chiba University for 1 year. I had a great time at Chiba University as I really enjoyed the international atmosphere at the university and made many friends from Japan as well as from other countries. One of the things that encouraged me to seriously think of a career in international exchanges was the “China-Japan-South Korea Junior Sports Competition” held in August 2008 in Chiba. I helped as a volunteer interpreter at the event and the experience made me interested in exchanges among Asian countries, especially, the exchanges among the youth; I hope to continue working in this area in future too.

When I started working in China, I got an opportunity to be involved in exchanges with Ishikawa Prefecture and visited Ishikawa for the first time in August 2010 as a part of Shonen no Tsubasa Youth Exchange Programme. My first impression of Ishikawa was that of a place of peace and tranquility. Ishikawa reminds me of my hometown because both the places have a very nice blend of history and modernity, which makes me feel at home when I am in Ishikawa.

A brief word about my hometown. I come from Nanjing City in the Jiangsu Province which is famous for Yangtze River among many other things. Jiangsu Province has a total of 13 cities including Nanjing and each of these cities is unique in its own way. I would very much like the people of Ishikawa to come and visit my home province.

I will be spending my next 10 months in Ishikawa and I am looking forward to visiting as many places as I can in Ishikawa during my stay. I am also looking forward to my exchanges with people of Ishikawa and I hope that next 10 months will bring me many wonderful memories.

The friendly ties between Ishikawa and Jiangsu go back 35 years and these friendly ties have brought me to Ishikawa. I hope to do my best and contribute to the mutual benefit and positive exchanges.