Yasuo Inadome, Board spokesman of Japan Club Düsseldorf, shares insights on the club’s history, its contributions to the Japanese community in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), and the enduring Japanese-German relationship.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Japan Club Düsseldorf. Can you share the club’s growth story and how it has evolved over the years? How is the club celebrating this significant milestone?
The Japan Club Düsseldorf e. V. was established 1964 as an organization of Japanese citizen in Düsseldorf and its surroundings in the area of North Rhine Westphalia so that we can celebrate the 60th anniversary this year. In the year of establishment 1964 only 683 individuals and 63 Japanese companies in Düsseldorf had a membership of the new organization. In the peak year 1994 around 6.700 individuals and 397 Japanese companies belonged to the Japan Club Düsseldorf.
Today more than 630 Japanese companies are located in Düsseldorf and the area North Rhine-Westphalia. About 8.000 Japanese are living in the capital city of the state North Rhine-Westphalia but in this state more than 14.000 Japanese. Today the Düsseldorf and the neighbor sites are one of the greatest Japanese centers in Europe.
The first contact of the Japanese with Düsseldorf developed already at the beginning of 50 years in the 20th century. There were Japanese businessmen who should purchase industrial equipment in the greatest industrial area in Germany Ruhr. These Japanese businessmen are obligated to bring important machines and instruments from Germany to Japan in order to recover the Japanese heavy industry like Steel and iron industry, Mechanical engineering or Chemical industry which was destroyed during the second World War. During their activity in the area Ruhr, the first Japanese in Germany found out their best business base in Düsseldorf because Düsseldorf is looked upon as the working table in front of the Ruhr industrial area. In the 60 years many Japanese companies recognized the big advantage of Düsseldorf and established their subsidiaries on the Rhine. In this process many Japanese Organizations were established in Düsseldorf. The Japan Club Düsseldorf, the German-Japanese society on the Lower Rhine 1964, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Düsseldorf 1966, the Consulate General of Japan in Düsseldorf 1967 and the International Japanese School of Düsseldorf 1971. It was the history of Japanese society in Düsseldorf.
Today the Düsseldorf and the neighbor sites are one of the greatest Japanese centers in Europe.
Yasuo Inadome, Board Spokesman of Japan Club Düsseldorf
What types of members are most represented in the Japan Club Düsseldorf, and how does the club support their networking and professional development?
The Japan Club Düsseldorf now has around 2.900 individuals and around 210 Japanese companies as members. The most individual members are the Japanese who were sent to Germany by their companies. They are members of subsidiaries of Japanese companies in Germany and Europe. Most of them are located in Düsseldorf but also in neighbor cities like Neuss, Willich, Krefeld, Ratingen, Meerbusch, Mönchengladbach, Duisburg, Kleve or Köln. It is one of the most important targets of the Japan Club Düsseldorf to support the Japanese citizens. They can expect professional help for house-hunting in the Düsseldorf area or for the best communications with each other through the network of Japan Club.
Can you highlight key events organized by the Japan Club Düsseldorf and their impact on promoting Japanese culture, fostering Japanese-German friendship, and networking?
The highlight event which is organized by the Japan Club is of course “Japan Tag (Japan Day)“ on the Rhine. The Japan Tag will be held at the end of May or the beginning of June every year. It is the greatest event for performance and promotion of Japanese culture and tradition. Every year more than 600,000 people come to Düsseldorf from all over the world in order to visit Japan Tag.
Also the German-Japanese new year festival which is organized by the Japan Club Düsseldorf in collaboration with the German-Japanese society on the Lower Rhine is contributing to the promotion of German-Japanese friendship.
What advice would you give to Japanese individuals moving to Düsseldorf or Germany for the first time to help them make the most of their experience?
If Japanese individuals come from Japan and move to Germany or Düsseldorf, the Japan Club Düsseldorf will advise them how they can enjoy the life of Germany.
If Japanese individuals come from Japan and move to Germany or Düsseldorf, the Japan Club Düsseldorf will advise them how they can enjoy the life of Germany.
Germany is really a beautiful country with a big culture and tradition. The German nation has the same sense of value as Japanese nations. That is to say, virtue in Germany like diligence, punctuality, honesty or cleanliness can be viewed as virtue also in Japan. And Vice in Japan is also vice in Germany. Through this same sense of value the German and Japanese can understand each other very well although the base of the culture of the both nations is different. The Japan Club is advising the Japanese citizens in Germany to enjoy the life and culture of Germany, to enjoy German music, to find German friends, to visit many beautiful cities in Germany, to visit German museums, to learn German language and to be integrated in German society.
What are the Japan Club Düsseldorf’s future plans, and how do you see its role evolving with the growing Japanese community in Europe?
It is one of our most important targets to contribute to the development of German-Japanese friendship. We will continue our contribution also in the future. The Japan Club Düsseldorf was born as a society of Japanese in Germany. But this society is not an organization only for Japanese. Every nation from around the world can belong to this society in Düsseldorf. The Japan Club is always open to the whole world. And an important matter for the future. The Japan Club Düsseldorf is a society for the friendship between Germany and Japan. In the future it will be more important to think over not only a binational relationship but also the relationship between Japan and the European Union too because Germany is a big leader of the European Union.
