Arab News Japan

RIYADH: The Japanese embassy in Saudi Arabia will host a two-day cultural event starting Nov. 17, in collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

The Japan Festival 2023 will give visitors and opportunity to experience Japanese culture. Some Japanese companies will also be exhibiting at the event as well, including Unicharm, Abdel Latif Jameel Motors, Manga Arabia, Mitsubishi Corp. and Toto. 

Every year, a Japanese movie is screened at the Japan Festival and this year is no different, with “Pop in Q” screening this year.

【Japan Festival Programs】✨🥋🇯🇵🪘✨
Stage Programs🕺 and Exhibition Booths🏠🚗List is out now. Check out and don’t miss it👀🇯🇵

🎫 Advanced registration is required. Register at https://t.co/rymc7vDvp1

※Diplomats and DQ residents are not required to register. pic.twitter.com/I1YSxqtTfm

— Embassy of Japan in KSA (@JapanEmbassyKSA) November 12, 2023

On stage, a performance of Japanese martial arts and traditional arts will be held. Also, visitors will be able to get their names written using Japanese calligraphy, and even try on Japanese traditional clothing.

The 14th Japanese speech contest will also be held during this event.

The contest targets non-native Japanese speaker, it is separated into two groups based on proficiency, beginner, and advance. Each time the contest has specific topics decided. For the beginners, it is “Deai (Encounter)”, as for the advanced group it is “What would you explain the difference and similarities between Japan and Saudi Arabia to Japanese tourists visiting Saudi Arabia.”

The last time this event was held, was in March of this year. The speech contest, had the largest number of contestants, reaching to 21 participants.