Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Kashiwano Public School in Chofu City has initiated a program to raise awareness of Saudi Arabian culture as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government led exchange program in which 2,300 schools were involved in preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

In 2016, senior officials from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Japan visited the school and cultural events were held to share the cultures of the two countries as the city of Chofu was a host city for Saudi Arabia.

Masaomi Asano, the principal of the school, presented Arab News Japan with a photo album of this meeting.

The fifth- and sixth-grade children of the school shared traditions, such as a lesson on the koto, a traditional stringed instrument. Other children donned samurai costumes from the Shinsengumi clan in front of the delegation.

Saudi Embassy staff shared a lesson in Arabic calligraphy, while the school’s cook prepared Halal chicken dishes for the children.

A teacher of the 6th grade students showed some of the 500 Saudi flags that the children had made. He added that the FIFA World Cup was another opportunity for the children to support the Saudi soccer team.

According to the school principal, the school program started in 2016 and continued until 2019, when COVID-19 hit. “We are hoping to create ICT environment and interact with Saudi students online.”

Another evocation of the Middle East was visible in the school. As the children exited their classrooms, they passed by a photo from the Olympic games that demonstrated solidarity and fraternity when Qatari high-jumpers Mutaz Barshim and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi decided to share the gold medal.

A child who wrote a comment on the two golds medalists told Arab News Japan: “When I was watching the Olympics on TV, I thought sports were amazing because people from various countries could cooperate and recognize each other in the Games.”

The school program has been promoted by Tokyo Metropolitan Government as part of their ‘Global Friendship Project’ to develop a sense of international understanding, and to learn about different cultures and to accept the diversity of the world.