Japan
Hungary, Japan sign cooperation agreements in medicine, education, sports
Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler paid a three-day official visit to Japan, where he signed cooperation agreements in education, medical research, and sports, the minister told MTI by phone on Wednesday.
Kásler has held talks with the minister of health, labour and welfare, and that of education, culture, sports, science and technology. The ministers said that
bilateral ties have blossomed in recent years and pledged to widen cooperation further.
Hungary will continue to support the studies of Japanese students in Hungary through grants, Kásler said. The ministers agreed to boost the teaching of the Japanese and Hungarian languages in each other’s countries. They also pledged to conduct joint research of rare diseases, as well as genomics and proteomics, he said.
In sports, Hungary and Japan will prepare jointly for the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, and Hungarian athletes will have an opportunity to train there, Kásler said.
The two countries are holding a cultural year, mutually focusing on each other’s cultures, Kásler noted. Japanese star conductor and composer Ken’ichiro Kobayashi has composed a piece combining motifs of Hungarian and Japanese folk music and performed it with the Hungarian MÁV Symphonic Orchestra, Kásler noted. Crown Prince Akishino also attended the event, Kásler said.
Journey to Japan through Japanese tea and taste
The Embassy of Japan in Hungary held a business event on 14th May in collaboration with Japanese Airlines and JTB Hungary, titled ‘Journey to Japan through Japanese tea and taste’.
The purpose of this event was, on one hand, to make Japanese tea ceremony, that is known in the World as Japan’s cultural tradition, and Japanese tea itself, of which consumption roots back to the daily life of Japanese people, widely known among Hungarians and to deepen Hungarian people’s understanding about Japanese culture.
The other purpose of the event was to provide opportunity for people to have an insight into Japan’s attractiveness and, in consequence of it, to make them consider a trip to Japan.
Japanese Ambassador to Hungary, Sato Kuni mentioned in her welcome notes, that Crown Prince Naruhito ascended the throne as the new emperor on 1st May, which means the begginning of a new era, called ‘Reiwa’. The meaning of this expression is that culture is born and flourished in an environment where people are in ‘Beautiful Harmony’.
The year 2019 is not only the beginning of Reiwa Era, but also a commemorative year for the 150th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Japan.
Japan is proud of not only its abundant cultural traditions, like Japanese tea culture, which the guests could get a glimpse of at the event due to the expressive presentation of Toshio Hayashi, tea ceremony lecturer and Balázs Nagy, owner of Teavolution Budapest, but also of its pop culture, starting the line with manga and anime, which appeal to several people around the world. Due to such attractions of Japan, the number of foreign tourists travelling there broke records for 5 years in succession, in 2017, 28,7 million tourists visited Japan.
Markku Hasegawa, assistant sales manager of Japan Airlines Helsinki Office empasized that it is worth to visit Japan in any time of the year and experience the unique ‘Omotenashi’ culture of Japanese people, which is often translated as ‘Hospitality’. He also added that within Japan, tourists can travel to big cities with express trains or with domestic flights, however JAL provides flights from Helsinki, which is the fastest connection from Budapest, to several destionations in Japan, like Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
Japanese tourism sector, due to the Rugby World Cup and Summer Olypmic Games, are expecting a significantly bigger number of tourists in 2019 and in 2020, and also taking into account that many of them might extend their short visit at the aforementioned events to a domestic trip all around Japan.
Karolina Simon, manager of outbound department at JTB Hungary, which company is operating in Hungary from 1998, mentioned in her presentation that their Budapest office is supporting, among many other travel possibilities, the outbound travels to these sport events for groups as well as for individuals.
“We hope that many people from Hungary, of which economy is growing intesively, will have interest in Japanese culture as well as in visiting Japan in the near future”, added Ambassador Sato at the end of her speech.
Hungarian Export Promotion Agency opens office in Tokyo
The Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) opened an office in Tokyo on Monday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade state secretary Levente Magyar told MTI by phone from Japan on Tuesday.
Magyar said he had met with representatives of Japanese companies that plan investments worth “several hundred billion forints” in Hungary. The companies include ones in the automotive sector and in renewable energy, he added.
He noted that more than
160 Japanese-owned companies operate in Hungary, employing tens of thousands of people.
Magyar said Asia was the largest export market for Hungarian food products and Hungary wanted to further improve relations and expand existing cooperations. He added that talks were underway with large Japanese food users, for instance with restaurant chains that would buy large amounts of Hungarian raw materials. This would seriously help Hungarian producers and also processing companies, he added.
He also said that
Japanese-Hungarian diplomatic links were 150 years old this year and to mark the anniversary, concerts, exhibitions and presentations were held in the two capitals.
The 10 most renowned Japanese Sake producers visited Hungary – Read more HERE
Connected by a fish – Get to know Hungary’s new partner in Japan
When you think of Japan, the first city that comes to your mind is probably Tokyo. But what if we told you that Hungary has set foot in a similarly vibrant Japanese city called Koriyama? The Embassy of Japan, JETRO and the city of Koriyama organised an event to promote this new and exciting partnership.
Koriyama is a city of circa 340,000 inhabitants found in the Fukushima Prefecture. It is considered to be a core city and functions as the commercial centre of the prefecture. Even though it is quite far from Hungary, the two regions have some common aspects – as Masato Shinagawa, the mayor of the city highlighted.
The main similarity is carp production. Koriyama is the biggest carp producer in Japan, and the fish has a similarly important culture in Hungary.
“There is an inseparable connection between the water and the fish. We wish that this will be true for the relationship between Koriyama and Budapest” expressed the mayor.
The partnership started in 2015, when the Hungarian Ambassador to Japan visited the city. Then, in the February of 2016, a delegation came to Hungary in order to get familiar with the region. Among others, they learned about carp and curly-haired hog (mangalica) farming and Hungarian viniculture.
In 2017, the Hungarian Kaláka band performed in Koriyama, while the city celebrated Hungarian Days last year to popularise our culture. Hungarian swimmers also got the opportunity to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the city.
Furthermore, both nations have exquisite cuisines. And the hosts knew that they can get to our heart through our stomach…Accordingly, the menu was truly extraordinary and put together using ingredients from Koriyama.
It featured quiche with mozzarella, soy bean and edamame jam; granola bars with different seeds; purple sweet potato waffle with green soy bean; chicken karaage marinated in koji-soy sauce served with miso bean; cold fish soup with carp ball and miso-sourdough bread with different jam variations.
It turned out that another similarity lies in the love for making food through fermentation. Moreover, we got to learn about Japanese sake, Daruma figures and different ways of using soy bean, which is considered to be one of the healthiest foods in the world.
The city of Koriyama also has a diverse touristic scene and is happy to welcome visitors from all over the world 🙂
[button link=”https://www.kanko-koriyama.gr.jp/Templates/Files/pamphlet/2018/guide_en.pdf” type=”big” color=”lightblue” newwindow=”yes”] Koriyama City Guide[/button]
Featured image: Wiki Commons By 藍原あおい
Nobu – The tasty form of self-gifting in Budapest
By now, after a number of visits to Nobu (each one more enchanting than the last), we have learned that to set foot inside downtown sushi restaurants means to instantly leave behind all the noise and worry of the outside world. Unique flavours, first-rate dishes, and a world-class service combine here to present guests with a remarkably pampering experience that exceeds all culinary boundaries.
Funzine: “The last time we had the good fortune to eat at Nobu, we tried their eight-course lunch special, the Nobu Bento Box. Although the taste of their heavenly Alaskan black cod still pops up in our dreams every now and then, this time around we wanted to bite into something else – and we let our waiter choose our dishes for us.”
While waiting for our order, we set our eyes upon the sushi chefs working tirelessly and with a masterful ease behind the counter of the open kitchen: their experienced and rapid movements evoked silent admiration from us. It is hard to believe that these exquisite dishes, presented with so much care, can be prepared so effortlessly. Finally, our waiter appeared with our surprise order: a rich selection of dishes composed mainly of Nobu’s winter specialties.
The first item on our list was the Yellowtail Sashimi, a cold delicacy with a hot aftertaste, courtesy of the accompanying jalapeno slices.
It was followed up by one of the highlights of our lunch: Seabass Sashimi with dried red miso and yuzu-flavoured olive oil. The discreet taste of seabass was amazingly complemented by the miso’s crunchiness and the pleasant citrusy taste of the olive oil.
Besides comprising of three completely different flavours, the platter also gave place to three different colours: The neatly ordered white fish, the red miso, and the yellow olive oil resulted in a composition almost too beautiful to destroy by our hunger. However, once we mustered up the courage to dig into the phenomenally delicious dish, it was impossible for us to stop – it’s not like we wanted to.
We mustn’t forget about Nobu’s Hungarian specialty, the foie gras salmon nigiri which is a great example of how well national cuisines as distant from each other as Hungarian and Japanese can work together to create something truly sublime.
While Nobu Budapest has the foie gras delicacy to its name, the Las Vegas venue’s staple (also available here) is shrimp tempura with asparagus. The sushi is coated in spicy tuna cream, which gives the tiny finger food a vivid reddish colour. The asparagus, ensconced inside the sushi, lends the meal a nice crispness, which makes it a light and playful hunger buster. Next off, we had seared scallop with jalapeno dressing and crispy Brussels sprouts, whose taste was as mesmerizing as its texture. The scallop’s characteristic flavour was even further accentuated by the hot jalapeno dressing, but the dish wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting without the potato chips-like freshness of the leafy green vegetable.
Hamburgers are probably not the first thing that come to your mind when thinking about staple Nobu dishes, but since the restaurant chain is known for its inventiveness, we should not be surprised by the fact that they do in fact prepare one of the city’s best burgers.
What Nobu’s wagyu burgers lack in size, they more than make up for in flavours: in addition to the luscious beef patty, there’s a layer of truffle and a sauce seasoned with a number of spices, ready to amaze your taste buds.
To end our lavish lunch on a sweet note, we called on the winter dessert menu of Nobu for help. Out of the long list of saccharine treats, we picked the hedonisticsounding apple crumble served with cinnamon ice cream. The combination of the warm apple and the freezing ice cream proved to be a perfect closure to our daytime culinary outing. And although our holiday cheer will come to pass like most other things in life, it’s highly unlikely that our enthusiasm for Nobu’s dishes will ever diminish; a meal here is worth a hundred holiday feasts.
Featured image: www.facebook.com/NobuBudapest
Nissan expanding business service center in Budapest
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is expanding its single European business and financial service center in Budapest, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign affairs and trade minister, told a press conference on Tuesday.
“Hungary has won the investment, against major regional competition, by one of the world’s most innovative automotive companies,” the minister said.
Szijjártó said Nissan would be in Budapest for the long haul and headcount at the Budapest center would soon top 70.
Accounting and billing activities of Nissan European factories and its high value-added functions will be seen to in Budapest, he added.
Featured image: MTI
The 10 most renowned Japanese Sake producers visited Hungary
The Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association popularise their national drink with the help of a tour through Central-Europe. Their first stop was Budapest where the Embassy of Japan provided the venue for the event.
The aim is to break into the Central-European market
If somebody talks about Japan and alcohol, the first word that comes to everybody’s mind is Sake. The island nation is very proud of their rice wine, which is more than understandable since its flavour and preparation is unique in the world. Though many think about Sake as a spirit drink, in fact,
it is a kind of wine containing 15-20 pc of alcohol.
Thus, in Hungary, it competes with local wines, not with the famous palinka.
The Embassy of Japan in Budapest hosted a Sake Tasting Evening on Monday in its ceremonial hall where the opening speech was held by Mr Takehiko Wajima, the counsellor of the Embassy. He welcomed representatives of the media, the CEOs of Hungarian beverage companies and thanked the delegates of the 10 Japanese Sake producers for travelling so much to show their products.
He was followed by Mr Yoshiro Okamoto, deputy chairman of the Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association. He said that they are on a Central-European tour for the first time and they came to Budapest to popularise Sake. Furthermore, he added that each company took 3-4 kinds of Sake with them aiming to break into the Hungarian market. Mr Okamoto emphasised that this chain of events is important because in 2019
Budapest and Tokyo will celebrate the 150th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relationships.
Therefore, Japan tries to pay particular attention to Hungary.
Sake can be consumed even with traditional Hungarian dishes
The English brochure of the Association was presented by Mrs Hiromi Iuchi, leader of the Overseas Operation Division. She emphasised that though many think about Sake as a spirit drink, in fact, it is a kind of wine. After she presented the different kinds of sake she added that
the fewer parts of the rice a producer uses during making the drink the more expensive it becomes.
Interestingly, Sake should be stored in cool, dark places around 5-10 ℃. Consuming is optimal from a wine glass.
Before the tasting started chef Mrs Maki Stevenson, leader of the Culinary Institute of Europe presented the side dishes which were prepared for the sake. She said that they
combined elements of the Hungarian and the Japanese kitchen.
As a result, they mixed Hungarian lángos, meatloaf, pastry with chicken liver, and pumpkin leaves with goat cheese and Japanese ingredients.
In the final, but probably most awaited part of the event guests could taste 30-40 types of Sake among which there were lighter and stronger ones, as well. Furthermore, not only cheaper Sakes could be tried out but also representatives of the medium and premium categories. And, of course, all the delegates of the different companies were smiling a lot besides being always kind and helpful. ARIGATO!
For further information about Sake, please visit: http://japansake.or.jp/sake/english/howto/
The names of the companies being present at the event:
Dewazakura Sake Brewery Co., Ltd
Obata Sake Brewery
Maruyama Brewing Co., Ltd
Tentaka Shuzo Co., Ltd
AOKI-Brewing Co., Ltd
Maruishi Jozo Co., Ltd
Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten Ltd.
Ozeki Corporation
Sawanotsuru Co., Ltd
Akashi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd
Photos: Alpár Kató
Japan’s Bridgestone to launch investment project in North Hungary
Japanese tyre-maker Bridgestone will launch another project in Tatabánya, in northern Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on Monday.
The project aims to create a 10,000sqm warehousing facility at a cost of 9.2 billion forints (EUR 23.3m), to which the Hungarian government will provide a grant of 826 million forints.
The new facility will create 100 new jobs.
For that matter, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also met Ichiro Matsui, the governor of Osaka, for talks in Budapest on Monday.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that the Hungarian government seeks to build closer economic ties with Japan, and noted that in 2019 the two countries will celebrate the 150th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
Osaka could play a crucial role in the modernisation of the Hungarian economy, as a city hosting companies with the most modern technologies, the ministry said.
At the meeting, Szijjártó expressed his sympathy over the natural disaster that has recently hit the Japanese city.
Featured image: MTI
Conference on the economic partnership agreement between the EU and Japan held in Budapest
“Rapid and comprehensive changes are going on within global politics and the global economy; old friendships are being broken and alliances of interests that previously seemed unlikely are coming into being. In such a turbulent period, it is in the interests of both the European Union and Hungary to forge alliances”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday in Budapest at a conference on the economic partnership agreement between the European Union and Japan.
According to the Minister, the free trade agreement is also important because in addition to being the world’s third largest economy, Japan is also one of the flagships of the new, innovative global economic era, adding that the treaty will enable the establishment of a bloc that provides one quarter of the world’s GDP.
Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the fact that the European Union is facing security, political and economic challenges. “With the exit of Great Britain it will be the first time in the history of the European Union that the number of member states is decreasing, and the community’s economic performance will be reduced by 14 percent”, he noted.
“The European Union has been unable to conclude a free trade agreement that has been fully implemented since 2011”, the Minister recalled, warning that the continent will fall behind its competitors unless it can speed-up decision-making.
“From a Hungarian perspective, the bilateral agreement will help to further increase our trade turnover with Japan, which already exceeded 2 billion euros last year”, Mr. Szijjártó said.
“As a small and open economy with a great deal of creativity and which is capable of renewal, it is in Hungary’s interests for trade to be free and fair, and available to everyone with equal conditions”, he pointed out.
The Minister said he hoped the trade war that has broken out between the United Sates, the European Union and China will be resolved peacefully, through agreements, as soon as possible.
“In the Hungarian economy, the export to GDP ratio is 90 percent. 70 percent of exports are destined for the European Union, following which the United States and China are the 2nd and 3rd most important target countries for Hungarian exports”, he explained.
Japanese Ambassador Sato Kuni said that without the support of European citizens and enterprises the free trade agreement between her country and the European Union could not have come about.
According to the Ambassador, the treaty facilitates the economic growth of both the EU and Japan, in addition to which it will also have a positive effect on the development of trade relations and on social prosperity.
Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Japan,
she noted, adding that she expects bilateral relations to continue to improve in future.
New battery production plant to be constructed in Miskolc
Japanese battery manufacturing specialist GS Yuasa is constructing its first factory in Europe in Miskolc’s southern industrial park; the foundation stone of the new facility, which will be completed by 2019, was laid on Wednesday.
At the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told reporters: “The Government is assisting the 8.8 billion forint (EUR 28 million) project with non-returnable funding of 465 million forints; the new plant will employ over fifty people”.
“The 170 Japanese companies operating in Hungary employ some 25 thousand people, and Japan is the third largest investor in Hungary from outside Europe”, he added.
The Minister spoke about the fact that this latest investment is also proof that the world’s automotive industry is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, in view of the fact that electromobility, self-driven cars and environmentally friendly technologies are no longer the future, but the present. “The automotive industry revolution is happening before our very eyes; many important and significant investments have arrived in Hungary and will continue to do so”, he said.
“Nobody disputes the fact that during the traditional era of the automotive industry Hungary grew to become one of the bastions of European car manufacturing; last year the performance of the automotive industry broke all previous national economic records exceeding 8 trillion forints (EUR 25.6 bn), with 175 thousand people employed within the sector, the competitiveness of which is indicated by the fact that 92 percent of automotive industry products are exported”, he explained.
Mr. Szijjártó told the press that the Czech Republic and Germany had also been in competition for the Japanese company’s investment.
“The batteries produced here, which apply innovative technologies, will ensure that we are also a determining part of the new automotive industry era; most of the products manufactured in Miskolc will be sold abroad to Europe’s largest and strongest car manufacturers”, he stated.
President and CEO of GS Yuasa Osama Murao explained that in the first phase a 60 thousand square metre (650 thousand square foot) production hall will be constructed, which can later be expanded into a 140 thousand square metre facility. The plant in Miskolc will produce Lithium batteries of the kind also used in electric and hybrid cars. Miskolc will be the only location outside Japan where such batteries are manufactured, he added.
With relation to Miskolc, the location chosen by the company for the plant, the company director said the city has a well-organised infrastructure, the local professionals are well-trained, and the city also supported the development project. The climate change that has been occurring in recent years has necessitated the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, and this has also posed new challenges for the automotive industry, he explained.
Japanese Ambassador to Hungary H.E. Kuni Sato, the region’s Member of Parliament Katalin Csöbör and Mayor of Miskolc Ákos Kriza all praised the significance of the investment and spoke about the fact that this too indicates that Miskolc is the region’s most rapidly developing centre of industry.
GS Yuasa Corporation, which manufactures various batteries, chargers and other electric equipment employs some 15 thousand people in 17 countries and realised 3 billion dollars in turnover during the business year ending in March 2017.
The Kyoto-based company’s Hungarian subsidiary, GS Yuasa Hungary Limited, was registered on 30 October 2017.
featured image: kormany.hu
The Hungarian State Opera kicks off its 10th tour around Japan
For a whole month, audiences at 20 different venues can enjoy two full-scale productions given by the company featuring internationally acclaimed soloists Edita Gruberová, Erika Miklósa and Andrea Rost. On 25 November 2017, the Hungarian State Opera kicks off its tenth tour around Japan. The final part of the tour will offer orchestra concerts with appearance by pianist Ingrid Fujiko Hemming.
A touring group of 150 artists sets off for Japan for the tenth time, after having already given 200 performances and 20 concerts in the island country. This year, the institution’s Japanese patron, Masayuki Kobayashi has set his eye on two different productions, therefore, the set of Lucia di Lammermoor will be shipped over, with Die Fledermaus also returning to Japan after 16 years.
These productions – one directed by the youthful Máté Szabó, and the other by the veteran Miklós Szinetár) will feature stars joining the opera’s own forces, with Edita Gruberová and Erika Miklósa in the role of Lucia, and Andrea Rost as both Lucia and Rosalinda. The performances are conducted by János Kovács, Peter Valentovič and principal music director Balázs Kocsár.
Johann Strauss Jr.: Die Fledermaus
25 October: Mito – with Andrea Rost and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
27 October: Nerima – with Gertrúd Wittinger and Tibor Szabbanos; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
28 October: Omiya – with Andrea Rost and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
29 October: Niigata – with Adrienn Miksch and Tibor Szabbanos; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
31 October: Morioka – with Gertrúd Wittinger and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
3 November: Maebashi – with Adrienn Miksch and Tibor Szabbanos; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
4 November: Fuchu – with Andrea Rost and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
5 November: Yokosuka – with Gertrúd Wittinger and Tibor Szabbanos; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
10 November: Tokyo – with Adrienn Miksch and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
13 November: Kanazawa – with Gertrúd Wittinger and Tibor Szabbanos; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
14 November: Tsu – with Adrienn Miksch and János Kovácsházi; conducted by János Kovács
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
6 November: Musashino – with Erika Miklósa and Mihály Kálmándy; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
7 November: Matsudo – with Erika Miklósa and Zoltán Kelemen; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
9 November: Tokyo – with Edita Gruberová and Mihály Kálmándy; conducted by Peter Valentovič
11 November: Tokyo – with Andrea Rost and Zoltán Kelemen; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
12 November: Osaka – with Edita Gruberová and Mihály Kálmándy; conducted by Peter Valentovič
25 November: Fukuoka – with Andrea Rost and Mihály Kálmándy; conducted by Balázs Kocsár
16 November: Nagoya – with Edita Gruberová and Zoltán Kelemen; conducted by Peter Valentovič
At the end of the Hungarian State Opera’s 18-performance tour, additional musicians – as is now customary – will be joining the rest of the ensemble in Japan for five symphonic concerts in different cities around the country. The programme will feature music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Johann Strauss and Liszt.
30 October: Seitoku University – Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven; conducted by János Kovács
18 November: Niigata / 21 November: Tokyo / 23 November: Akita – Strauss, Liszt, Beethoven; featuring Ingrid Fujiko Hemming (piano), conducted by Mario Košik
20 November: Tokyo – Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven; conducted by János Kovács
Photos: opera.hu
Budapest among the fastest developing tourist destinations
Mastercard published the top travel destinations this year as well. Bangkok, London, and Paris are the top three, and, while Budapest is not among the top 10 in terms of the number of tourists, it placed quite well on another list. Index reports that Budapest is the fifth destination among the fastest developing European cities, ahead of Moscow and Berlin.
Mastercard compiles a list each year of the 132 most visited cities in the world, based on how many tourists visited the given city and how much they’ve spent there. The latest publication contains some predictions regarding the growth in the number of tourists and transit visitors, which will provide a better understanding of why people travel and how much they spend during their travels.
In the case of all 10 most popular big cities, the number of international tourists booking hotels has grown in 2016.
According to the 2017 predictions, further growth is to be expected, except for New York, where a slight fallback is forecasted.
The biggest growth will be noted in the case of Tokyo, where the visiting rate may grow by 12.2 percent.
The list of the most popular cities in terms of expenditures of international overnight guests looks a lot different. Tourists spend most nights in Dubai, and at the bottom of the TOP 10 list is Barcelona. The latter is not in the top 10 list based on the number of tourists.
It is also revealed what tourists spend most during their stay in the 20 most popular cities:
Provisions, restaurants, food: Seoul: 47%, Istanbul 33.6%, Prague 29.3%
Shopping: London: 46.7%, Osaka: 43.4%, Tokyo: 43.1%
Lodging: Paris: 44.8%, Milan: 40.4%, Rome: 40.4%.
The less amount spent on public transport is in London (4.3%), Singapore (4.6%) and Hong Kong (4.6%).
Just as in Kuala Lumpur, 92.2 is the percentage of tourists visiting Budapest for personal reasons. Budapest placed 39th with its 3.7 million tourists, which is a lot behind Vienna (6.42 million) or Prague (6.11 million). However, with a 5.8 percent rise, Budapest is the fifth among the fastest developing destinations in Europe.
[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/budapest-turn-wealthy-tourists-instead-party-tourists/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] A new strategy was drawn up to make Budapest more popular among wealthier tourists[/button]
The yearly growth rate of the Hungarian capital city is 8.6 percent, which is ahead of Moscow, Berlin, and Amsterdam.
The busiest touristic season in Budapest is the end of the summer.
In 2016, tourists have spent more than 1 billion USD in Budapest altogether, mostly for provisions (34.1%), and least for public transport (6.2%). The second biggest expenditure is represented by shopping (23%), followed lodgings (14.8%) and by other services (13.2%).
featured image: László Cseke
Ce: bm
Fujitsu and Hungarian biometrics corporation BioSec join forces for secure future
Fujitsu has entered a partnership agreement with Hungarian biometrics corporation, BioSec Group Ltd., aiming to bring the new generation of security technology to the EMEIA region. The partnership focuses on BioSec’s palm vein recognition based security solutions, which will be available in the Fujitsu product portfolio, including BioSec’s physical access control-, IT security- and stadium security solutions.
Part of the agreement is that Fujitsu will sell BioSec solutions in the EMEIA region, where there is a significant interest for innovative high security technology, such as biometrics, which provides a convenient alternative for passwords, PIN codes, keys, cards and tokens, just to mention a few. The magic behind biometrics is that it is something the user is, therefore people do not have to remember complicated passwords or searching for keys and access cards all the time.
According to BioSec, the future’s security is in our hands, more precisely in our veins, as our vein pattern is an absolutely unique physical characteristics, which provides a perfect “material” for secure authentication. “As people are getting more familiar with biometric solutions, they see that there is great difference between technologies. Even fingerprint recognition is the most widely adopted technology currently, it is not necessarily the most secure one. There is no 100% security solution of course, but palm vein recognition is quite close to it.”
BioSec has been developing biometric solutions based on Fujitsu’s PalmSecure™ technology for almost a decade, combining high security with convenience. This is also confirmed by worldwide references, such as a European soccer arena, where BioSec’s stadium security concept proved to be the Formula 1 of biometrics. Despite large numbers of people of different ages and abilities, the BioSec system has shown that high security should not compromise user experience, providing secure, fast and easy to use security solutions for more than 100 000 users at the arena. The company says the situation is the same, whether it is a high security premise, ATM, computer, hospital or any other place, involving one person or a million – they are ready to secure and ease people’s life within a blink of an eye.
Japanese win first two golds in world judo championships
The first two events of the World Judo Champioships ended with Japanese victories in Budapest on Monday.
The medal fights were watched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the honorary president of the International Judo Federation, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Results:
Men, 60 kg:
1. Naohisa Takato (JPN)
2. Orhan Safarov (AZE)
3. Ganbatyn Boldbaatar (MGL)
Diyorbek Urozboev (UZB)
Women, 48 kg:
1. Funa Tonaki (JPN)
2. Munkhbatyn Urantsetseg (MGL)
3. Ami Kondo (JPN)
Galbadrakhyn Otgontsetseg (KAZ)
The Japanese prince and princess visits Hungary
According to nepszava.hu, Japanese Prince Akisino and his daughter, Princess Mako came to Hungary as part of a private visit. The princess recently became world-famous when she stated that she was ready to give up her title so that she could be with her lover, a person of no rank.
Prince Akisino, the second-born child of Emperor Akihito, and Princess Mako are currently on a private visit in Hungary. As part of their visit between the 18th and 22nd of August, they visited the Museum of Ethnography last Saturday. The director of the museum, Lajos Kemecsi gave the prince and the museologist princess a tour of the place.
The official announcement of the imperial court didn’t include details about the visit, but it stated that Prince Akisino is interested in Hungarian stock-farming, while her daughter is interested in fine arts. This is not surprising considering that the prince is doing research on the domestication of livestock, and the princess is currently doing her Ph.D. studies in art and museology.
24.hu writes that following their Saturday trip to the Museum of Ethnography, they visited Bugac on Sunday, where they observed a Hungarian mangalica (curly-haired hog), and other animals.
Featured image: MTI
ce: ZsK
Members of Japan’s Imperial Family visit Hungary
Japanese Prince Akisino, the youngest son of Emperor Akihito, visits Hungary on Thursday. The trip has been announced the last week, and the Japanese media also reported on the event.
According to the statement, Akisino will be staying in Hungary until August 23; her daughter, Princess Mako, joins him on Friday.
The visit is all the more interesting because the Japanese imperial house is undergoing an important change. Prince Akisino’s father, the now 83-year-old Emperor Akihito, retires next year, after which his firstborn son, Prince Naruhito, takes the throne.
The program of the trip was not detailed by the Imperial Court, but it turned out that the two Japanese dignitaries were interested in Hungarian animal breeding and fine arts.
Prince Akisino, a doctor of natural sciences currently, researching domestication of livestock, while his 25-year-old daughter, Mako, holds PhD in the field of art and museology.
Accordingly, they visit pig farms and other animal husbandry sites, but they also visit Hungary’s major fine arts museums.
Members of the imperial family have long been interested in Hungary.
Sources indicated that the Japanese dignitaries are especially interested in various Hungarian pig (probably the mangalica breed – products made from mangalica has become very popular among Japanese consumers lately) and dog breeds.
Due to the unofficial nature of the trip, neither the Prince nor the Princess meet Hungarian government officials during their stay in Hungary.
Photo: hungarianambiance.com
Hungary’s foreign minister in Japan talks on expanding food exports, autos investments
Tokyo, February 14 (MTI) – Hungary’s foreign and trade minister has agreed with Japanese counterparts on expanding Hungarian food exports to Japan and on investments in Hungary’s autos industry.
Péter Szijjártó told MTI by phone on the second day of his official visit to Tokyo that Japan is not only Asia’s biggest investor in Hungary but also an important export market for Hungary. It imports premium products such as Herend porcelain and is Hungary’s second most important export market in Asia.
Among the agreements, Szijjártó highlighted one on launching the export of wild boar meat.
The minister also met officials from Japan Auto Parts Industries, the chief executive of Suzuki, as well as representatives from Toyota and Bridgestone. He said that Tuesday’s talks would result in new investments arriving in Hungary, adding that the deals would be inked at a later point in time.
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Photo: MTI
Hungary’s foreign minister visits Japan
Tokyo, February 13 (MTI) – Japan has now become Hungary’s leading Asian investor, the Hungarian foreign minister told MTI by phone on Monday, the first day of his official visit to Japan.
Péter Szijjártó said that 151 Japanese companies employ a total 31,000 people in Hungary, and noted that seven of those businesses have been included in the government’s strategic partnership programme. The 151 firms have invested a combined 4.4 billion dollars in Hungary, he added.
Concerning his talks, Szijjártó said that agreements had been signed with four further companies which would invest 26 billion forints (EUR 84m) in Hungary and create 400 jobs. Two of the investors are active in the automotive sector, one in the food industry and another in the hotel industry, he said.
Hungarian foreign minister with his Japanese conterpart, photo: Japan’s Foreign Ministry
He noted that in central Europe, Hungary is a top exporter to Japan with bilateral trade exceeding 2 billion dollars. This is why the Hungarian government promotes, in accord with the Japanese government, that the EU should conclude a free trade agreement with that country, Szijjártó added.
He said that an agreement was also reached on strengthening cooperation between the Visegrad Four grouping and Japan, a priority for Hungary during its V4 presidency starting in July.
Current political issues were also discussed, Szijjártó said, adding that the Hungarian and Japanese side both resolutely condemn North Korea’s recent ballistic missile test which fundamentally threatens regional security.
Photo: MTI