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On April 7, the Hanami Festival being an interesting part of the Japanese culture was celebrated, where the sakuras blossom, symbolizing the Armenian-Japanese friendship. Hanami is a bright festival admiring the beauty of the blossomed sakura flowers. The Japanese celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm, keep dreams and admire the beauty of the blossomed cherry tree.

The members of Armenia-Japan Friendship Group, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Armenia Masanori Fukushima, representatives of the NA Staff, journalists and other invitees took part in the event.

Welcoming the attendees, the Head of the NA Armenia-Japan Friendship Group Babken Tunyan underlined that Armenia greatly highlights the deepening and strengthening of Armenian-Japanese relations in many spheres. “Taking the advantage I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Japan for the continuous support shown to Armenia during these years. Japan is a very important partner for Armenia, they are not simply words,” Babken Tunyan said.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Armenia Masanori Fukushima gave a speech in Armenian. The Ambassador congratulated Armenian women and girls on the occasion of Motherhood and Beauty Day, wishing them happiness, health and success. The Ambassador thanked the organizers of the festival for traditionally celebrating the holiday in the NA park. “This festival is of particular importance, because sakuras brought from Japan were planted in the park of the National Assembly as a symbol of friendship between our countries. These beautiful trees grow and bloom year after year just as the Armenian-Japanese relations,” Masanori Fukushima said.

Japanese cherry trees, symbolizing the land of the rising sun, were planted in the parliament park in May 2015 as a sign of friendly relations between the two nations. That year marked the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Founding President of the Armenian-Japanese Scientific and Cultural Union Arumenia-Nippon Anna Vardanyan noted that celebrating Hanami in the NA park has indeed become a tradition, which this year coincided with the bright Armenian holiday- the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary.

Anna Vardanyan touched upon the work done by the center last year, noting that that year was the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Japan. The centre organized various events, published books in the Armenian and English languages. One of the printed books is “Armenian-Japanese Sketches”, which opens new, interesting pages about the centuries-old friendship between the two peoples. The book was published in English.

The Honorary President of Armenia-Japan Scientific and Cultural Union Arumenia-Nippon, the Head of Department of Middle East and Africa of the Foreign Ministry Arsen Arakelyan referred to the Hanami Council, which in Japan is a good opportunity to communicate with each other, make friends, contemplate and send good words to each other, enjoying the awakening of spring and the beauty of nature. “We and the Japanese people are united by a very important circumstance: those peoples who respect and highlight their own historical and cultural intellectual heritage always have a future,” Arsen Arakelyan concluded.

The Head of Department of the Asian and Pacific Countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Suren Baghdasaryan touched upon the Armenian-Japanese intergovernmental relations and noted that the relations between the two countries have an important place in Armenia’s foreign policy, being one of the priorities in the Asia-Pacific region. According to him, the technical and economic support provided by Japan to Armenia in recent decades has promoted the increase of the capabilities of our country.

The event was concluded with beautiful performances by the students of Hikari scientific-educational-cultural centre. The children played Armenian and Japanese traditional music with national instruments, and the sakuras were decorated with crane-origamis, symbolizing peace.