(Press Release) - On 14th and 15th February, the Japanese cultural event, the 5th “Japan Day”

is taking place at Sharjah Hall, of the University of Khartoum, and Spark City Hall, Burri, respectively. Japan Day is co-organized by the Embassy of Japan in Sudan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Sudan Office, and the Institute of African and Asian Studies (IAAS) of the University of Khartoum. The 1st day was attended by H.E. Dr. Musa Karama, Minister for Industry, Dr. Adil Ali Al Hussein, Secretary of scientific Affairs, representing the Vice Chancellor of University of Khartoum, Prof Mohamed Al Amin Abomanga, from the Institute of African and Asian Studies (IAAS), University of Khartoum. From Japanese side, H.E. Mr. Hideki Ito, Ambassador of Japan to Sudan and Mr. Hiromi Motomura, Chief Representative of JICA Sudan Office attended.
The 1st day (14th February) started with the opening remarks by Mr. Hiromi Motomura, Dr. Adil Ali, and Prof Abomanga, respectively. Mr. Motomura expressed his gratitude for the convening of Japan day 2018, which he described as an annual cultural event bringing together the Japanese JICA volunteers working in Sudan and the Sudanese nationals appreciating the Japanese culture. Dr. Ali, meanwhile, thanked the Embassy of Japan for the general efforts made in the fields of scientific research, cultural relations, and training in Sudan, and expressed his hope that IAAS and its students will help in advancing the relations between Sudan and Japan even further. Prof. Abomanga wished all the participants in Japan Day a successful event and hoped that the IAAS students of the Japanese language will be a source of pride for the University of Khartoum in particular, and for Sudan in general.
Then the audience witnessed the handing-out of certificates for the graduates of the Japanese Language Course and the winners of the Speech contest in Cairo. Subsequently, Dr. Al Sadig Agabna, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Environmental Studies of the University of Khartoum -who is a former postgraduate student in Japan delivered a lecture about Japan, describing his experience and reflections about the country.
After these inside segments, the celebration moved to the outside of Sharjah Hall where Sudanese students of Japanese language performed a cultural dance performance which is called “Soran Bushi”. Afterwards, Dr. Mona Mahmoud, Director of IAAS expressed her gratitude for the fruitful relation between 
IAAS, the Embassy of Japan, and JICA.
The highlight of the 1st day celebrations was the Japanese speech contest, in which 8 Sudanese students participated and showed the results of their hard work in their study of Japanese language. The award was given to Ms. Marwa Omer, who is thus to travel to Kenya to participate in a speech contest which will take place there.
The 1st Day celebrations finished with the closing remarks by the Coordinator of the Japanese Language Course at the Institute of African and Asian Studies, Dr. Ismail Hussein Fadl, in which he expressed his contentment that the efforts made by all the involved parties succeeded in strengthening the level of the Japanese language students.
The 2nd day is to take place today (15th February) at Spark City Hall, from 3 pm to 8 pm. It includes Japanese cultural performances such as dance performances, Japanese martial arts demonstrations, singing Japanese songs, Japanese calligraphy displays and Costume play show by both Sudanese fans of Japanese culture and Japanese expats in Sudan. It also includes exhibition booths which represent various aspects of Japanese culture as well as the ones which introduce the activities of JICA volunteers and Japanese NGOs.