The City of Culture in the capital was crowded on Sunday with hundreds of Tunisian families who came with their children to attend the Japan Festival in Tunisia, organized by the Embassy of Japan in Tunisia with partners.
During the opening ceremony, which featured a unique Japanese drumming performance that blended bright spring colors with the rhythms of the drums, performed by the band Wako Rising Sun, Japan’s Ambassador to Tunisia Takeshi Osuga said that celebrating on stage brings human beings closer together toward greater friendship and harmony.
He added that this event is a prelude to a number of events in which the two friendly countries are participating, including the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025, which will kick off next April, and the International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), which will be held in Yokohama in August.
It also sets the stage for a series of events to be organized to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2026.
The Japanese ambassador emphasized that this event, through its various branches such as tea ceremonies, kimono wearing, musical, film, theater and martial arts performances, paper folding workshops, and traditional games for children, which were accompanied by a large audience in front of the Opera House, offers a glimpse of Japan’s culture and arts.
The Japan Festival also featured martial arts demonstrations by Tunisians, and the Japanese film “Evil Doesn’t Exist” by Hama Guchi Ryosuke, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2023, was screened for the first time in North Africa.
The event was also an opportunity to familiarize the public with Japan’s tourist destination, and many young people were able to learn about study opportunities at Japanese universities.
In parallel to the artistic performances at the Opera Hall, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in the Young Creators Theater, under the title “Half a Century of Partnership and Friendship between Japan and Tunisia,” with traditional dance performances, speeches in Japanese by Tunisian students, and a performance of the traditional Japanese play “Momo Taro.”
The Tunisian-Japanese Friendship Association, the Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japanese university veterans, and a large number of young Tunisian volunteers also participated in the event.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Dhouha Talik – English: NejiMed)
