The Japanese ambassador to Spain, Kenji Hirata, his deputy, Naoki Tsukiyama, and the new Japanese consul in the Canary Islands, Takeshi Nakajima, visited PLOCAN’s terrestrial headquarters and the construction site of its marine platform in order to find out about the work that the Singular Scientific and Technological Facility does to attract researchers, projects and investment in the marine and maritime sector. The visit of the Japanese diplomats coincided with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Japanese fishing fleet in the Canary Islands.

The director of PLOCAN, Octavio Llinás, and the Head of Science and Technology, José Joaquín Hernández Brito, explained the strategy and objectives of PLOCAN, its scientific and technological capabilities, and its most relevant projects to the Japanese representatives. The gathering also served to deepen the relations that the Canary Islands, through PLOCAN, and the prefecture of Iwate in Japan have been maintaining since 2014 in order to establish synergies in R&D&I between their respective Test Beds, a programme that is being co-ordinated by Ayoze Castro from the Innovation Unit at PLOCAN.