Addis Abeba / Ethiopia

Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia 2,400 meters above sea level, is a beautiful town with deep green eucalyptus trees and a mild climate. The capital has a history of only a hundred years or so. The people who are said to be the offspring of Sheba and who have a history of three thousand years, are very proud of their country which is the oldest in Africa. On the negative side, their fierce pride may have been responsible for war, internal strife, and starvation and its cover-up in this country.

Japan and Ethiopia have had a long friendly relationship. Ethiopia is the first independent country in Africa that established diplomatic relations with Japan under the Japan-Ethiopia commerce and friendship treaty concluded in 1930. In the 1960s, Japan's Crown Prince (now Emperor) and Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie I made official visits to each other's country. Ethiopia is known among the Japanese as a country that has turned out marathon runners such as Biqila Abebe, who was the gold medalist in the Rome and Tokyo Olympics decades ago and, more recently, Roba, who won the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics.

Ethiopia has great future possibilities. The recent building boom (it takes a half year to build a one-story building) and the rapid proliferation of taxis may be the harbinger of the development of this country.

Ethiopia was annexed to Italy in 1936 but won independence in 1941. The photo shows the memorial for Ethiopians who died in the battle with the Mussolini army of Italy. The memorial is commonly known as Siddist Kilos. This is Churchill Road overlooking the municipal office of Addis Abeba. This is part of the largest African market known as Merkat. This is the Statue of Menelik II. In the 19th century, he unified a nation that has developed into Ethiopia today and designated Addis Abeba as its capital. This is the statue of a lion beside the National Theater. It was built in November 1955 in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of Haile Selassie I. The lion is the symbol of the Ethiopian emperor. This is the tower built in April 1940 to commemorate the victory over the Mussolini army. The hour hand of the clock in the upper part points to eleven, the time of liberation. This is one of the buildings symbolizing the town. It is tenanted by the National Bank of Ethiopia and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Sheraton Hotel changed the image of Addis Abeba. This is a world apart from its surroundings. It is valued as a place where employees assigned to the town can relieve their stress.

The Addis Abeba representative office was opened in 1956. The present Addis Abeba office covers not only Ethiopia but also the neighboring Eritrea and Djibouti.

Since October 1996, the office has been staffed with only one employee from Japan (and one worker for telecommunication engineering work and the manager of the Nairobi branch doubling as the supervisor of this office) and 13 local employees. The main items handled by the office are construction machines, vehicles such as trucks, and telecommunication projects. Hoping to cover the East African region with a limited staff efficiently, the employees at the Addis Abeba office, either sent from Japan or locally hired, three employees assigned to the Nairobi branch and one employee assigned to the Kampala branch are trying to go beyond the existing areas of business to handle a larger variety of items by contributing their expertise to the overall operation.

(According to a legend, Ethiopia's first emperor is Menelik I, who was born to Ethiopia's queen Sheba and Jerusalem's king Solomon around 1000 B.C..)