Talking during the opening ceremony, Komano thanked the Iranian people for sympathizing with the quake-stricken people of Fukushima after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.
Iran and Japan have rich cultures, and cultural and artistic exchanges can pave the path for developing mutual understanding between the two nations, he added.
Ambassador Komano expressed hope that the Iranian people would during the while that these cultural events are held manage to get better acquainted with the Japanese arts and culture.
The Japanese envoy reiterated, “Iran and Japan have strong traditional arts and cultures.”
Managing Director of the forum Majid Sarsangi in his lecture to the ceremony welcomed expansion of relations between Tehran and Tokyo in various fields particularity in the field of culture.
“Iran and Japan have good potentials for development of cultural cooperation,” he added.
Japanese traditional tea ceremony and calligraphy are part of the programs introduced during the week-long festival.
The Japanese embassy has also mounted photo exhibitions and displayed children's paintings on Japan's disaster-stricken areas of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japanese flower arrangement performances, Ikebana, has been presented along with different workshops.
Iran welcomed Japan's cultural week to introduce the arts and culture of the Asian country in the cities of Tehran and Isfahan.
Iran's historical city of Isfahan opened its Japanese cultural festival during a ceremony held at the Museum of Contemporary Arts. Japan's Ambassador to Tehran Kinichi Komano, Isfahan Governor General Ali-Reza Zaker-Isfahani attended the event along with a number of officials, and Iranian and Japanese artists on January 19, 2012.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan-Iran Cultural Agreement concluded in 1957 with cultural exchanges commemorating the 50th anniversary of this agreement from November 2008 to November 2009 in both countries.
Two Iran Culture Weeks were organized by the Embassy of Iran in Tokyo, one in July 1997, and the other in May 2003.
The first and second Japan Culture Week and Month in Tehran were organized by the Embassy of Japan in Tehran respectively in October 1998, and October 1999. A project to introduce Japanese culture in Iran was also held in February 2003.
'The Glory of Persia' exhibiting was held one after the other in Tokyo, Aichi, Hokkaido, Fukuoka, and Osaka, from August 2006 to September 2007. The history of Persia dating back about 7,000 years ago was introduced through an exhibit of approximately 200 pieces, mostly from the National Museum of Iran.
The year 2009 was the 80th anniversary of the opening of Japan-Iran diplomatic relations.
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Publish Date: 26 January 2012 - 03:32
Tehran, Jan 6, IRNA – Japan’s cultural week start working at Iranian Artists Forum in the presence of Japan's ambassador to Iran Kinichi Komano and some Iranian officials on Wednesday evening.