Students perform a Japanese love song.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) hosted a Japanese Cultural Day where participants were exposed to cultural diversity of Japan in a bid to boost Kenya-Japan relations. The event held on Thursday, July 6, 2018, was organized by Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and supported by Aviva Technologies Limited.
The audience was treated to top notch presentations about Japan, Japanese pop song, dance, documentary film and animation movie, Japanese games and traditional clothes.
Asuka Mizuguchi, the Coordinator of the event who is also an intern at JICA’s AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project Office said, the initiative was aimed at bringing people together through cultural education which is the heart of strong collaborations and everlasting bond.
“Most people usually assume that I am Chinese and I therefore started this initiative with the support of JICA and JKUAT to educate people on our culture in Japan to strengthen our bond because a soft connection is the heart of a stronger collaboration,” said Asuka.
JKUAT Students playing a Japanese game
Mr. Christopher Maitai, Chief Executive Officer, Aviva Technologies Limited said that having taken his post graduate studies in Japan, the main aim of the sponsorship was to strengthen Kenya / Japanese ties while also focusing on building capacity and strengthening Japanese language classes being offered in JKUAT at the School of Communications and Development Studies.
“Sponsoring the event helps Kenyans in JKUAT to connect with Japanese people and their culture. It is also a people-to-people relationship. I’m encouraged to see Kenyan students interact healthily with their Japanese counterparts,” Maitai concluded.