By Rafa Akter
June 2026
On June 26, 2026, IRSA hosted a visit to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tokyo with Professor Lamont. The Dutch embassy in Tokyo is located in Shibakoen, Minato-ku, a highly international, cosmopolitan, and affluent city in Tokyo.
The event was successfully held with a warm welcome from Mr. Sebastiaan Den Bak, the Education and Science Counselor in Japan. Mr. Sebastiaan Den Bak delivered an insightful presentation on the culture of the Netherlands and further details on Japan-Netherlands diplomatic relations.
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, and The Hague serves administrative roles, such as the supreme court, the seat of parliament, and the residence of the monarch. It is a geographically low-lying state, and one-third of its territory sits below sea level. Due to its disadvantaged topography along the North Sea, it has a long history of creating “polders”, low-lying tracts of land that use artificial drainage to protect the country from flooding. Relating to such circumstances, there is a prevalent Dutch saying: “The Lord has created the world, and the Dutch created the Netherlands”.
Japan and the Netherlands have maintained a strong diplomatic alliance for 425 years, and their relations started in the early 1600s. The current diplomatic ties are focused on joint security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, high-tech trade, and economic resilience. Interestingly, there are a few words that have been introduced by the Dutch, indicating that not every katakana Japanese word originated in English but also in Dutch. For instance, alcohol (アルコール), beer (ビル), tinctuur (チンキ), mes (メス), thermometer (タルモメータル), telescoop (English : telescope) (テレスコップ) etc.
The diplomatic relations of Japan and the Netherlands are built on trust and investment for the long term, and the Dutch diplomats reside and serve in their roles for 2-3 years, sometimes 4-6 years. Currently, there are 50 employees in the Dutch embassy. Among them, 15 are diplomats, and 35 are local staff, with the majority of them being bilingual and bicultural Japanese individuals. Furthermore, the embassy offers a more international environment and hosts social activities such as Pilates, yoga, and taekwondo, as well as cultural events at Minato Performance, the cultural event hosted in the heart of Minato city. Mr. Sebastiaan further mentions a healthier work-life balance in the Netherlands and a lot of opportunities for remote work. He advises students to gain intercultural experience, take internship opportunities, invest time in professional networks, literature, and listening to podcasts to deepen their knowledge.
Overall, it was an engaging discussion with Mr. Sebastiaan Den Bak. At the end of the discussion, he took pictures with Professor Lamont and the IRSA members altogether, which is displayed at the beginning of this article. Later, we waved goodbye and explored the beautiful neighbourhood.
