Diana Farah

Bridging the cultural gap between Japanese expats and UAE nationals is becoming easier thanks to the growing popularity of the UAE-Japan Cultural Center in Dubai.

Naoko Kishida, director and founder of the non-profit center, said about 3,000 Japanese are residing in the UAE.

The center gives Japanese and Emirati students a taste of their respective cultures. “The teachers suggest what they’d like their students to learn in terms of language and culture, and that’s how the courses are created,” Kishida told Arab News. 

On average, most Japanese residents in the UAE spend two to three years in the country, she said. “The people come and go. This is why I prefer to keep the courses provided at the center simple and brief,” she added.

Teachers at the center work on a part-time basis and are usually university students. Mahra Al-Mansouri, an Emirati graphic design student at Zayed University, teaches henna art to Japanese residents interested in Arabic art and design. 

“I’ve been interested in Japanese culture from a young age,” Al-Mansouri told Arab News.

“When I joined the Japanese club at university, I came across the UAE-Japan Cultural Center and found a job opportunity that allowed me to interact more often with Japanese people.”

The classes are offered at the Dubai Women’s Association twice a week. Kishida said some classes are also offered at the Sharjah Art Foundation.

She added that she wants to expand the center, and is aiming to establish a library of books and documents about Japanese and Arab culture.

The center provides students with the opportunity to go on various field trips throughout the UAE, to give them an in-depth glimpse of the country’s culture.

Kishida, who is married to an Emirati and has been living in the UAE since 1990, said raising five children in public school in Umm Al-Quwain inspired her to give back to the community, which is why she started the center.