Today my private trip to discover the Spirit of Japan comes to an end. I want to thank Japan and the Japanese people for receiving me with the all honors and respect due an emissary of a sovereign nation. Given the timing of my journey–arriving in Tokyo shortly after ISIL published its declaration of war against Japan in Dabig, the Islamic State’s magazine of record–I was especially honored to be invited to speak at a Japanese conference on terrorism about the issues affecting the current conflict in the Middle East and its effects on the Assyrian people. I especially want to thank the various Japanese National Agency elements and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for meeting with me privately to discuss these issues and to explore possible courses of action needed to bring peace to the region. All involved were motivated in their efforts to begin the process of forging an enduring but, more importantly, an equal partnership to restore hope to the embattled Assyrian nation and its people as they work toward fulfilling our collective vision of bringing peace and prosperity to the Assyrian homeland. Most of all I want to thank the leadership of The Nippon Foundation, with whom I discussed the means by which displaced Assyrian people and refugees can gain the support of non-government organizations operating in Iraq and Syria, and how the Assyrian nation can apply for grants and support from various private organizations in Japan and around the world.
