SIGN UP FOR OUR 
Source: MEP
In late January 2014, Ambassador Mamoru Shinohara was busy preparing for the Japanese Culture Month in Costa Rica, which started on February 6th and will continue through March 15th with many activities -including a cool anime film festival in San Ramon. Still, Ambassador Shinohara made time in his busy schedule to sign a funding commitment worth $104,600 to remodel the San Luis de Bolivar School in Grecia.
The generous financial assistance is part of the Assistance and Cooperation for Community Projects and Social Welfare Program of the State of Japan. With this diplomatic good faith gesture, the San Luis de Bolivar School will undergo a general remodeling that will include construction of two new classrooms to accommodate the growing number of students. Other aspects of the project include a covered hallway to be used by young students who live with disabilities.
Ambassador Shinohara visited the school in Grecia and was received by enthusiastic young Costa Ricans who were excited to learn that their multipurpose gymnasium space would undergo remodeling; after all, this is one of their favorite facilities of their school. Also present at the signing of the commitment were officials from the Ministry of Public Education and representatives from the local development association.
At the signing event, Ambassador Shinohara issued the following remarks:
“Japan, like Costa Rica, is a nation that recognizes the great value of education. The Japanese Embassy realizes the importance of adequate facilities so that students can learn in an optimal environment; for this reason, we made a decision to collaborate with this remodeling project, considering that some of the school improvements are urgently needed.”
Lately, the Embassy of Japan in Costa Rica has been very active in terms of direct assistance. Two of the aid projects recently reported by the Costa Rica Star include vehicle and equipment donations to the Ministry of the Environment, as well as a clean energy project in Guanacaste.
The City of Grecia is the seat of its eponymous canton, and it is known for its commitment to quality of life as well as for once being voted the cleanest municipality of Latin America. The Costa Rica Star was in this city covering the presidential and legislative elections of 2014, which are currently awaiting a runoff round of voting to determine the successor to President Laura Chinchilla.
Source: Ministry of Public Education Costa Rica
