On Wednesday, April 11, at 4:00 p.m. for about 15 minutes, 17 panelists of the 25th Plenary Session of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON), which was held on Tuesday, April 10, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the start of the courtesy call, Japan Panel Chair Mr. Minoru Makihara and U.S. Panel Chair Mr. Thierry Porte presented Prime Minister Noda with the Joint Statement that has been adopted by CULCON to Prime Minister Noda.
   
   
2. Mr. Makihara reported that in course of the discussion of the Plenary Session, taking into account the drop of the number of Japanese students studying in the U.S., the CULCON recognized that public, private and academic sectors should endeavor to increase the number of students studying abroad in both Japan and the U.S. . He added CULCON proposed initiatives in the field of educational exchanges, art and culture exchanges, intellectual exchanges and grass-root exchanges.
   
   
3. In response, Prime Minister Noda noted the reaffirmed importance of the Japan-U.S. Alliance following the support received from the United States after the Great East Japan Earthquake last year, and stated that cultural and person-to-person exchanges were thought to be a pillar for the deepening of this Alliance alongside security and economic activities. He further stated that he hoped to continue initiatives to energize Japan-U.S. exchanges.