A female will be heading the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Samoa, for the first time, after 34 years of establishment.
Yumiko Asakuma the new Resident Representative, arrived in the country earlier this month. This was confirmed in a statement issued JICA.
She transitioned into her new role on 1st May 2022, taking over from her predecessor Mr. Akihiko Hoshino.
“Prior to being appointed to JICA Samoa, she recently completed a 3 year and 3 months assignment to JICA Nepal as Chief Representative.
Ms. Asakuma was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, before moving to Tokyo after graduation. She worked as an underwriting administrative staff and a retail business analyst for a security firm, before joining JICA in 1993.
“Since then, she worked in various Technical Cooperation Projects, including Development Studies, and Grant Aid Projects of Social Economic Development in JICA Headquarters. In addition, she has experience working in JICA Overseas Offices including Nepal, Bhutan and India, as well as Domestic Offices in Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.”
In the upcoming weeks, Ms. Asakuma will pay courtesy visits to all counterpart Offices. She looks forward to helping further develop, and strengthen strong ties between the two countries.
“I am excited to be in Samoa, a beautiful country in the South Pacific, and to be working for the development of Samoa and contributing to further enhance the friendship and partnership between Samoa and Japan.” Ms. Asakuma
