February signals the arrival of spring in Japan, and words such as “Risshu” (First Day of Spring), or “Hatsune” (the first calls of the Japanese Nightingale), are words that every Japanese knows. The warbling of the Nightingale makes one unconsciously want to say “We were waiting for you”.

While we were waiting for the beautiful voice of the Nightingale, COVID-19 descending upon us again, forcing APIC to postpone its planned February Lecture Meeting Regarding Global Issues. Due to the seriousness of this wave, the government has decided to extend the State of Emergency until March 7th, 2021.

APIC will not slack on its mission to protect the health and safety of the Xavier High School exchange students still at Sophia University during this wave of COVID-19.

APIC cannot say with certainty what will become of its planned upcoming events; how-ever, it is going forward with planning its budget for programs in the upcoming year (March 7th 2021 to June 2022). We are aware that it is the foundation’s responsibility to continually revise the key points of our programs. The island nations of the Pacific and Car-ibbean, which are our main partners, have very strict border controls in place, but Microne-sia has received the support of the United States to receive the vaccine and vaccinations ap-pear to be rolling out. Vaccinations in Japan are also finally on the brink of getting under way.

It is still going to take a while for COVID-19 to come under control, and the world must come together to fight this virus in order to bring back peace of mind to all.

APIC will continue to keep looking into the future and maintain its energy through the up-coming times. We ask for your continued support throughout.