The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the visit as part of a major cultural initiative in cooperation with the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) back in 1999.
“The Saudi youth delegation, including two GPYW officials, will visit Japan for 10 days,” said Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Endo on Thursday.
Endo, who hosted a send-off dinner reception for the delegation at his residence, said that the exchange program would strengthen relations between the two nations.
During their stay in Japan, the Saudi youngsters will visit the Imperial Palace, the Science Square in Tokyo and Japanese universities.
The 10-member delegation, he said, would also interact with students and teachers at the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, which is affiliated with the Riyadh-based Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University. They will also visit the Atomic Bomb Memorial Dome in Hiroshima besides other historic monuments, youth organizations, educational institutions and tourist attractions.
When asked about plans to organize a similar trip for Japanese youths to Saudi Arabia, Endo replied that the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was working on a plan to send a Japanese youth delegation to the Kingdom.
The visit of the Japanese delegation will coincide with the Janadriya festival, to be held early next year in Riyadh. Japan, he said, had been chosen as the guest country for the next edition of the premier culture and heritage festival in Saudi Arabia.
He pointed out that Japan would set up a huge pavilion on the Janadriya grounds, featuring several attractions like a wadaiko drum show, dance and musical performances based on ancient Japanese Iwami-Kagura myths and demonstrations of Kirie paper cutting arts.
This will be in addition to the visit of a group of Japanese professors, academics and staffers, who will participate in the next International Exhibition for Higher Education 2011.
Endo said that more than 300 students were currently on the rolls of different Japanese universities. Most of them are the recipients of scholarships provided by the King Abdullah Scholarship Program and are pursuing studies in the University of Tokyo, Waseda University and Tokai University, among others.
