Latest news with #OsakaKansaiExpo
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Tohoku Kizuna Festival coming to Osaka Kansai Expo in mid-June
Hundreds of dancers from northeastern Japan will descend on the Osaka Kansai Expo site in mid-June to showcase the flavor of the Tohoku region's biggest summer festive event. It will be the first time for the Tohoku Kizuna Festival to be held outside of the six prefectural capitals that make up the Tohoku region. The executive committee chaired by Sendai Mayor Kazuko Kori announced the outline of the parade on May 13. Approximately 550 people from the six prefectures will take part. The parade will be held twice daily on June 14 and 15 at the 'Matsuri' outdoor event plaza for about 50 minutes each time. The Tohoku Kizuna Matsuri was first held in 2017 by incorporating the Tohoku Rokkonsai Festival that started in 2011 to repose the souls of the nearly 20,000 people who perished in the Great East Japan Earthquake and related tsunami disaster and to pray for recovery of the region. The festival has been held in rotation once a year in each of the six capital cities. Last year, when it was held in Sendai, a record 572,000 people attended. This year, for the first time, the festival will be held outside of the six cities. It will feature participants from the Aomori Nebuta Festival; Akita Kanto Festival; Morioka Sansa Odori Festival; Yamagata Hanagasa Festival; Sendai Tanabata Festival; and Fukushima Waraji Festival. The Sendai Tanabata Festival will feature Suzume-odori dance. From June 13 to 15, tourist information and traditional craft workshops will be available at the venue. 'We hope that the expo will be an opportunity to learn more about the Tohoku region and promote its charms,' said an executive committee official.
Asahi Shimbun
6 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Montenegrin leader impresses Ishiba with Japanese fluency
In a rare and symbolic display of international diplomacy, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic held a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in fluent Japanese at his office in Tokyo on May 28. Spajic impressed his Japanese counterpart and officials by conducting the meeting and subsequent luncheon entirely in Japanese. 'Our two countries share values such as the rule of law, democracy, multilateralism, peace and prosperity,' he said. 'We fully support Japan's vision of a free and open international order.' As a scholarship recipient of the Japanese government, he studied at Saitama University, according to the Foreign Ministry. Spajic's visit coincides with the Balkan country's National Day celebration at the Osaka Kansai Expo. 'This is a meeting that will go down in history,' Ishiba said, noting the rarity of a foreign head of state engaging in direct dialogue in Japanese. The two leaders agreed to enhance bilateral relations between their countries, including Japan's lifting of short-visit visa requirements from Montenegro starting this autumn. 'Your experience studying in Japan provides a truly encouraging foundation for further developing the relationship between our two nations,' Ishiba added. He also expressed his support for Montenegro's continued efforts to join the European Union.
Asahi Shimbun
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Princess Aiko to make 1st official visit overseas this autumn
Hotel officials welcome Princess Aiko on May 18 during her first visit to Ishikawa Prefecture after the 2024 earthquake. (Koichi Ueda) Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, will make her first official visit overseas this fall. The Imperial Household Agency announced May 23 that Aiko will visit the Southeast Asian nation in November for celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. Agency officials said Laos had invited Aiko, 23, and she will take part in a range of anniversary events. She will likely meet Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, agency officials said. Japan maintains good relations with Laos, a socialist nation in the Indochina Peninsula. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made Laos one of his stops last October on his first overseas visit after taking office. Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone visited Japan in January. Aiko graduated from Gakushuin University in Tokyo in spring 2024 and has been working at the Japanese Red Cross Society. She has also been immersed in various official duties as an adult member of the imperial household, including observing a national sports competition in Saga Prefecture and visiting the Osaka Kansai Expo earlier this month. On May 18 and 19, she made her first visit to a disaster-stricken area, going to the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture which was hit by a magnitude-7.6 earthquake on New Year's Day 2024. She has also been active in international goodwill events, such as inviting diplomats in Japan to the Shinhama Kamoba (Shinhama Imperial Wild Duck Preserve) in Chiba Prefecture in February. She also attended a banquet at the Imperial Palace for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in March. The last time an imperial household member made an official visit to Laos was 2012 when Aiko's father went when he was still crown prince. Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko have also visited Laos.
Asahi Shimbun
23-05-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
A boozy waltz: Sake brewed to world-class orchestral track
Hiroshi Sakurai, chairperson of Asahi Shuzo Co., and Philipp Gardie, vice president of the Austrian Federal Institute of Industry, with bottles of 'Dassai — Composing the Future' on May 22 in Osaka. (Akina Nishi) OSAKA—Renowned Dassai sake maker Asahi Shuzo Co. and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber unveiled a collaborative brew at the Osaka Kansai Expo's Austria Pavilion on May 22. The sake 'Dassai — Composing the Future" features the pavilion's theme in its name as a literal interpretation of it, with the collaborators adding the unconventional step of playing music performed by the leading orchestras of both countries in the sake's fermentation tank for about 40 days. Production began in the summer of 2023 at the suggestion of the Austrian side. Johann Strauss II's 'Lagoon-Waltz' was selected as the specific piece and was performed by members of the Vienna Philharmonic, the world's most prestigious orchestra, and the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra in separate recording sessions. The recordings were then combined into a single track for Asahi Shuzo to play as brewers worked on the sake that was completed in March. According to the brewer based in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, having it on loop was not a gimmick. The sound wavelengths from the waltz were enough to vibrate the tank, facilitating the release of dissolved gas and changing the yeast's behavior throughout the fermentation process. A representative of the company said, 'The sake tastes very rounded and soft after 40 days of listening to the music around the clock.' Hiroshi Sakurai, the company's chairperson, said, 'When we received the proposal, we were beyond thrilled. We have been working hard to produce good sake, and it shows in the taste.' Philipp Gardie, vice president of the Austrian Federal Institute of Industry, attended the unveiling ceremony and said the beverage represents music and sake well, the two being embedded in the culture and values of both countries. Limited to 8,000 bottles, this rendition of Dassai is now available at the Austrian pavilion as well as department stores in the Kansai region until Oct. 13, the expo's last day. Each bottle is 720 ml and costs 8,000 yen ($56). It can also be found in Austria and certain parts of Europe.
Asahi Shimbun
20-05-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Emperor bonds with Bulgarian president over yogurt memories
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, left, visits Emperor Naruhito on May 19 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (Provided by the Imperial Household Agency) Emperor Naruhito shared nostalgic memories about yogurt and the cultural ties between their respective countries as he met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on May 19 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Radev was in Japan to attend Bulgaria's National Day celebration at the Osaka Kansai Expo the previous day. During the meeting, Radev mentioned a visit by Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun--Naruhito's grandparents--to the Bulgarian Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka Expo, according to the Imperial Household Agency. He noted that the couple tasted Bulgarian yogurt at the event, which helped popularize the country's signature dairy product in Japan. In response, Naruhito recalled a fond childhood memory, sharing that his parents had been gifted yogurt starter culture, which sparked his fascination as a child. "I found it very interesting that if you left a little bit each time, it would grow again and again," he said. The conversation also touched on the design of the Bulgarian Pavilion at the 1970 Expo. Naruhito remarked that he remembered it being shaped to represent the mountains of Bulgaria. Impressed, Radev responded that the mountains are one of Bulgaria's sources of national pride. Given the emperor's known passion for mountain climbing, the president expressed hope that Naruhito and Empress Masako might one day visit Bulgaria, saying he would be delighted to guide them through the country's mountainous landscapes and scenic highland lakes. Naruhito's conversation with Radev marked one of the emperor's meetings with world leaders who are visiting Japan for their countries' national days at the six-month expo, which runs through Oct. 13. Earlier that day, the emperor also met with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics.
