On Friday, the Embassy of Japan in Ashgabat held an official reception in honor of the birthday of Emperor Naruhito at the "Yyldyz" hotel.

Naruhito is the 126th Emperor of Japan. On February 23, His Majesty turns 63 years old.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Turkmenistan Hiroyuki Yamamoto in his speech noted that relations between Japan and Turkmenistan are developing steadily in a wide range of areas. Japan intends to further promote exchanges in various fields, including within the framework of the "Central Asia + Japan" Dialogue, and continue cooperation with Turkmenistan for the sake of peace and stability in the Central Asian region.

The Ambassador also reminded that last year the Embassy of Japan in Turkmenistan organized many cultural events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. For example, the Japanese festival Matsuri 30 and the concert of Japanese drums Wadaiko 30 Finale were held in Turkmenabat, Mary and Ashgabat. He also noted events of political importance, when in September last year, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited Japan to attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe. In December, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov visited Japan and took part in the 9th meeting of foreign ministers within the framework of the "Central Asia + Japan" Dialogue in Tokyo.

In the trade and economic sphere, the work of the Turkmen-Japanese Committee for Economic Cooperation and the activities of Japanese companies in Turkmenistan were outlined.

Within the framework of the reception, Japanese companies such as Itochu Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Sumitomo Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Toyota organized exhibitions to present their activities.

During the reception, the guests were offered national dishes of Japanese cuisine: soup with wheat flour noodles "Udon" and Japanese rice dessert "Mochi".

A Japanese martial art known as Budo was also demonstrated. It developed from the mental and spiritual preparation used by the samurai.