Kerry schools urged to teach Japanese as Astellas turns sod on Tralee expansion

Japanese ambassador to Ireland Norio Maruyama was in Kerry for a sod-turning ceremony at Kerry Technology Park for the new €330m Astellas pharmaceutical plant

At the sod-turning in Kerry Technology Park were, from left, IDA chief executive Michael Lohan; Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney; and Hideki Shima, chief manufacturing officer at Astellas. Picture: Domnick Walsh

The Japanese ambassador to Ireland has called on primary and secondary schools in Kerry to teach the Japanese language and for Kerry people to speak "a little bit of Japanese" to make even more sustainable the already more than three decades of happy marriage between company and community in the county.

Ambassador Norio Maruyama was speaking at MTU Tralee following a sod-turning ceremony at the adjoining Kerry Technology Park for the largest single foreign direct investment ever in Kerry at one time — the new €330m Astellas pharmaceutical plant.