April 30 - Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph R. Donovan sampled beef imported from the United States and spoke to the media at AEON's American beef promotion event at the Shinagawa Seaside Jusco store on April 30.

April 30 - On April 25, Ambassador Schieffer enjoyed a preview and participated in the opening ceremony of the "Perry and Harris" exhibit at the Edo-Tokyo Museum. The exhibit, which runs April 26-June 22, showcases many of the finest historical artifacts and artworks related to the early days of the U.S.-Japan bilateral relationship.

April 28 - The State Department issued a Travel Alert on April 25 to update U.S. citizens about security issues in China. [Details]

April 28 - Department of State Near Eastern Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent Patton and representatives from 14 other countries participated in a meeting in Tokyo of the G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) Initiative. BMENA is a cooperative effort to strenghten freedom, democracy, and prosperity. DAS Patton also held a round table with Japanese journalists during his April 23-26 visit to Japan. [State Department BMENA website]

April 25 - The White House Press Secretary issued a statement on April 24 regarding the administration's briefing of select Congressional committees noting as follows: "Until Sept. 6, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities." [Full text]

April 21 - U.S. Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer addressed the Life Sciences Summit at the Tokyo Prince Hotel. In his speech, the Ambassador discussed the benefits of biotechnology. At the same time, he noted the resistance to many of the advances made by science in agriculture - including in Japan. [Transcript]

April 18 - The United States and Korea announced an agreement in Seoul to fully reopen South Korea's market to U.S. beef exports consistent with international standards and World Animal Health Organization (OIE) guidelines. In her statement, United States Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab welcomed the news, adding, "I hope South Korea's leadership on this issue will convince leaders in Japan, Taiwan, China and other markets still maintaining unscientific, unreasonable restrictions on U.S. beef and beef products to take a hard look at this issue, consider the benefits for their consumers, and follow South Korea's lead in reopening their markets based on internationally recognized scientific guidelines and standards." [Statement] [Fact Sheet]

April 18 - Andrew G. Oosterbaan, Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Department of Justice, met with Diet members, Japanese government officials, and the media to explain why the massive growth in the terrible crime of child pornography, more appropriately called "child sex abuse images," should be a major concern for our governments. Oosterbaan visited Japan April 14-18, and also attended the G-8 Roma/Lyon Group meetings. ["American View" article discussing child pornography problem]

April 17 - The Spring 2008 issue of the Embassy's "American View" magazine is now on-line, featuring an interview about stopping school bullying with Dr. Dorothy Espelage, a professor at the University of Illinois. In the second of a two-part series, Embassy officer Scott Hansen continues discussion of human trafficking, including the terrible crime of child pornography. Then, the magazine looks at the U.S. government's encouragement of volunteer efforts, including volunteer spirit in the Embassy.

April 17 - President Bush, discussing climate change on April 16 in the Rose Garden of the White House, said, "we've pursued a series of policies aimed at encouraging the rise of innovative as well as more cost-effective clean energy technologies that can help America and developing nations reduce greenhouse gases, reduce our dependence on oil, and keep our economies vibrant and strong for decades to come." [President's remarks] [White House Fact Sheet]

April 16 - The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Association of South East Asian Nations are working in partnership to create an automated system to drastically reduce the time for shipping documents to move through customs in Southeast Asia. Supported by a $7.9 million USAID investment over five years, the new system is expected to be in operation by 2012. [More]

April 15 - Through President Bush's direction to the Secretary of Agriculture on April 14, an estimated $200 million in emergency food aid will be made available through the U.S. Agency for International Development to address the impact of rising commodity prices on U.S. emergency food aid programs, and to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere. [More]

April 11 - Dr. Richard Spinrad, Assistant Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, visited Japan April 8-11 for the Oceans 2008 conference in Kobe and bilateral consultations in Tokyo. On April 11 at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, he briefed the media on NOAA's scientific collaboration with Japan, and on its innovative climate research tools, such as CarbonTracker, a system to keep track of carbon dioxide uptake and release at the Earth's surface over time.

April 8 - U.S. Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer delivered remarks on "The United States and Japan in a Globalized Economy" at the Yomiuri International Economic Society on April 4 in Osaka. He noted, "For much of Japanese history, Osaka and the greater Kansai region have been at the center of the Japanese economy."

April 7 - Henrietta H. Fore, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance & USAID Administrator, visited Tokyo April 4-7 to participate in the G-8 Development Ministers' Meeting. The Meeting's Chair's Summary stated that, "... we emphasize that economic growth must be at the heart of any successful strategy for reducing poverty, achieving the MDGs (Millenium Development Goals) and enabling developing countries to become self-reliant."

April 7 - With the aim of increasing cooperation in the international fight against child pornography, Ambassador Schieffer met with Keiko Chiba, Chair of the Democratic Party of Japan's project team to consider revision to the law against child pornography, and other DPJ Diet members on April 2. [Ambassador's op-ed in the Daily Yomiuri]

April 3 - The Embassy issued a statement regarding the murder of Mr. Masaaki Takahashi in Yokosuka City today in which U.S. Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer expressed his deep condolences and called Mr. Takahashi's brutal murder "a shock and outrage to all those who believe in a civilized society," and pledged that the Embassy "will cooperate in any way possible with Japanese authorities so that the murderer of Mr. Takahashi can be brought to justice." Ambassador Schieffer also met today with Yokosuka Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya and Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura regarding the case.

April 2 - The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption entered into force on April 1 in the United States. The Hague Convention establishes international norms and procedures for processing intercountry adoption cases involving more than 70 Convention member countries, and mandates safeguards to protect the interests of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents. [Media Note]

April 1 - Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, Prop Station Chairperson Nami Takenaka, Ambassador Schieffer, U.S. Department of Defense Computer/Electronic Accommodation Program Director Dinah F.B. Cohen, and New Komeito President Akihiro Ota joined hands March 24 at the opening ceremony of the 2008 International Symposium on Realizing a Universal Society. The aim of the symposium, jointly held by Prop Station and Yomiuri Shimbun, was to promote building a society so that everyone can fully participate regardless of age, gender, or type of disability.

April 1 - The U.S. National Park Service forecasts peak bloom for 2008 from March 27-April 3 for cherry trees on the National Mall in Washington, DC. On March 28, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced enhancements to visitor services for the more than one million visitors expected for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The plantings of cherry trees originated in 1912 as gift of friendship to the United States from the people of Japan. [More history]

April 1 - Treasury Department Under Secretary for International Affairs David H. McCormick addressed the Japan Society in New York on March 27 on "U.S.-Japan Relations: An Essential Bond in a Changing World." He noted that "the U.S. and Japan share a unique responsibility for maintaining and strengthening the global trade and financial system," and called for "committed, comprehensive, and energetic cooperation" to realize this goal.