On 15 November 2011, a delegation of senior managers from West Japan Railway Company (WJRC), accompanied by representatives of the JR Group in Paris on a study trip across Europe, visited the UIC Headquarters in Paris with the objective to learn more about UIC, its mission, activities and more specifically about communications and lobbying activities.

The WJRC delegation was led by Mr Atsushi Sugioka, Deputy Senior General Manager of Corporate Planning Headquarters. Mr Tsuyoshi Kitagawa, Corporate Communications Department Manager, presented the current profile and activities of West Japan Railway Company and then focused on communications activities.

The delegation was welcomed on behalf of the UIC Director-General by Vincent Vu, Director for Institutional Relations and UIC Coordinator for UIC Asia, and Paul Véron, Director of Communications, UIC Coordinator for the Middle-East together with Didier Hérouin, who has recently joined the UIC Communications Department.

This meeting provided an opportunity for rich exchange with the Japanese delegation on the organisation and efficiency of communications activities.