ISLAMABAD: The Japan Festival 2019 featured a variety of cultural activities for students at the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) on Thursday.

The one-day event was inaugurated by Japanese Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda and Numl Rector retired Maj Gen Mohammad Jaffar. Numl Director General Brig Mohammad Jaffar, guests from the Japanese embassy and a large number of students also attended the ceremony.

Ambassador Matsuda said that since Japan and Pakistan share many cultural similarities, these festivities will provide a window of opportunity for the Pakistani people to discover many facets of Japanese culture and its age-old traditions.

The event began with the Japanese Language Speech Contest among students of Japanese language department at Numl and was followed by cultural performances including a kendo demonstration, Taiko performance, karate and judo demonstrations, a ninja performance, an origami workshop and bonsai and ikebana demonstrations.

A robotic performance by the National University of Science and Technology’s robotics department also entertained viewers.

Visitors were also treated to delicious Japanese cuisine, such as tempura and sushi.

Ambassador Matsuda said Japan is relaxing its terms for work visas for 10 countries, including Pakistan.

Both countries are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2022 and have very warm bilateral relations, he said, adding that Japan has a rich history and Pakistani students are taking interest in Japan’s culture, which is good for the future of both countries.

He also said that Numl is playing pivotal role in promoting Japanese language and culture in Pakistan and the embassy and the university will work together to further promote bilateral relations.

“I am learning Japanese at Numl and I wanted to see and observe Japanese culture. Today I am witnessing Japanese cultural and history programmes here and it will help me learn more about Japanese society,” Jibran Zafar, a student in the Japanese diploma 2 programme who came third in the speech contest, said.

Another student, Waqas Sami, also said he was happy to see Japanese cultural events take place at the university.

A statement from the Japanese embassy said that as part of the activities organised to celebrate A Month of Japanese Culture, a photography exhibition titled Japan through the Lens of Pakistani Photographers will open Nov 21 at the National Art Gallery.

Japanese films such as Grave of the Fireflies, His Master’s Voice and Samurai Cat will also be screened at the Islamabad Club on Nov 22, 27 and 28, as part of the Islamabad Art Festival organised by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. And on Nov 24, the PNCA auditorium will host ‘Nihon Unplugged — Cultural Music Performance’, featuring local and Japanese musicians.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2019