U.S. Ambassador Welcomes Youth from Tohoku Region; Group Meets with Justin Bieber, Nobuyuki Tsujii

May 18, 2011

On May 18, U.S. Ambassador John V. Roos welcomed a group of nine young people from towns in the Tohoku region to the Ambassador's Residence in Tokyo. Ambassador Roos said, "Today I had the opportunity to host a group of young people from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures to hear their stories, talk to them about the future, and see their inspiring resilience."

At the Residence, the Ambassador introduced the nine young people to visiting singer-songwriter Justin Bieber, who expressed his wish to show support and encouragement to the people of Japan who were affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11.

After speaking with Mr. Bieber, the young people from Tohoku attended a private piano concert by Nobuyuki Tsujii, the winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

The U.S. and Japan have established a Partnership for Reconstruction with the aim of helping Japan recover through the cooperation of Japanese and American businesses like Universal Music, Justin Bieber’s record label.

Ambassador Roos further commented that, "events like Justin Bieber's visit to Japan not only lift the spirits of young people in Japan but are an important contribution to the message to the world that Japan is safe to visit and open for business."