Japan to hold cultural festival in Iran

Japan is set to organize a cultural festival in Iran, says Japanese ambassador Kazutoshi Aikawa to Tehran.

The announcement was made in a meeting with the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeeli.

Aikawa said that the month-long festival will be simultaneously held in Tehran, in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, and on the Persian Gulf island of Kish.

He invited the Iranian culture minister to attend the opening ceremony of the festival.   

The cultural month is an attempt to expand political relations and mutual cooperation as the first necessary condition for initiating friendly relations between two nations.

“Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization and the Iranian cultural attaché in Tokyo have performed well in expanding cultural relations between Iran and Japan, and we hope that this good performance will help improve political and social relations between the countries,” Esmaeeli said in his speech.

On his part, Aikawa also said that there is a great cultural affinity between Iranians and Japanese, adding that Iranian movies have often been warmly received in Japan.

The festival is to be held in January 2023 with the exact running date yet to be announced.

MM/AG