Congratulations on the opening of the 21st Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Various kinds of LGBT films are being made throughout the world, but they almost never reach the general public in Japan. The situation is so bad that if your heart is set on seeing one, you have no choice but to import the DVD yourself and watch it in English. That’s why I cannot praise enough the importance of this festival or the precious contribution it makes to Japan year after year by never failing to bring to us a rich variety of LGBT films. Thank you for all you have done in the past. I hope we can all continue to enjoy the festival long into the future.