ITOHARA Yasue, a new government official seconded from Shimane Prefecture to the NEAR Secretariat, received a letter of appointment from Secretary-General LIM Byung-jin on April 9.

As a seconded officer in the Department of the International Cooperation of the NEAR Secretariat, Ms. Itohara will be in charge of liaison and coordination with the Japanese member regional governments, carrying out her duties in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, due to the local circumstances. Ms. Itohara has two years' worth of experience working at the Seoul office of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) and is expected to successfully carry out her assignments for the NEAR Secretariat. 

Meanwhile, KUBO Mitsuki, who served as the government official seconded from Japan to the NEAR Secretariat for the last two years since April 2022, completed her term of appointment as of March 2024. Mr. Lim delivered a letter of appreciation to Governor NITTA Hachiro of Toyama Prefecture for supporting NEAR. He also presented a letter of appreciation to Ms. Kubo, recognizing her hard work to develop the NEAR Secretariat's work over the last two years.