04.05.2026 : Sato Hitomi pays courtesy call on Governor; discusses enhancing academic and cultural cooperation
Fluent Hindi-speaking Sato Hitomi appointed as Japan’s Consul General in Mumbai
Sato Hitomi pays courtesy call on Governor; discusses enhancing academic and cultural cooperation
Mrs. Sato Hitomi, the newly appointed Consul General of Japan in Mumbai, who studied Hindi in Allahabad and speaks the language fluently, paid a courtesy call on Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Lok Bhavan in Mumbai on Monday (May 4).
Hitomi has pursued education in India for two years and has served for a total of nine and a half years at the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi. She mentioned that after Hindi, she plans to learn Marathi soon.
She noted that since both languages use the Devanagari script, learning Marathi would be relatively easy for her. On this occasion, she also shared that Prof. Akira Takahashi of Osaka University has compiled an extensive Marathi–Japanese dictionary of about 1,500 pages.
Hitomi informed the Governor that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan, and various commemorative events will be organized. She added that cooperation between Maharashtra and Japan is already ongoing in infrastructure sectors such as metro rail, bullet trains, and expressways, and will be further expanded into education, sports, culture, and other fields.
She also mentioned that cooperation between Wakayama Prefecture in Japan and Maharashtra is already in place, and that an academic conference will be organized in Mumbai this November. In the field of skill development, Japan is supporting Maharashtra, with Toyota working with industrial training institutes in the state.
Hitomi expressed satisfaction over the steadily increasing number of Indian tourists visiting Japan.
Welcoming the new Consul General to Maharashtra, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma urged her to enhance academic collaboration at the university level during her tenure.
He noted that Savitribai Phule Pune University already has a Japanese language department, and a similar department has recently been started at a university in Nagpur.
The Governor also expressed hope that cultural programmes would be organized with the support of the South Central Zone Cultural Centre to mark the 75th anniversary of India–Japan relations.
He suggested promoting translations of Japanese literature, short stories, and poetry into Marathi, and vice versa. He further proposed instituting gold medals, supported by Japanese companies in the state, to honor outstanding translators.
The Governor added that if Marathi language classes are started at the Japanese Consulate, universities in the state would facilitate teaching support.
He observed that Japanese consumer brands such as Panasonic, Hitachi, and Daikin have been present in India for so long that they are often perceived as Indian brands.
Following the transfer of the previous Consul General Yagi Koji, who had been serving in Mumbai for the past three years, Sato Hitomi has been appointed to the position.
The meeting was also attended by Japan’s Consul in Mumbai Shimada Megumi, the Governor’s Secretary Dr. Prashant Narnaware, and Joint Secretary S. Ramamurthy.