Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Tokyo, SANA- Tokyo University for Foreign Studies, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Japan, and with the participation of a jury from Syria, organized a reading competition in Arabic, as Japanese students studying Arabic competed to read literary texts by Syrian poets and writers.
Thirty-nine students from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies participated in the online competition, and they recited poetic texts for the poets Zaki Consul, Nizar Qabbani, Suleiman al-Issa and Badawi Al-Jabal.
Academic Coordinator of Arabic Studies at the University of Tokyo ,Dr. Hiroyuki Aoyama, said in a statement to SANA, that the competition aim is to overcome linguistic weaknesses for students of foreign languages, including Arabic, as students studying Arabic have a high ability to understand written grammar and texts, and therefore we found that reading aloud in front of the audience is the best way for using the Arabic language to solve this problem.
He indicated that texts from Syrian literature were selected to highlight the positive image of Syria, which is reflected in many aspects, such as culture, civilization and literature.
For his part, Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Syria Mr. Hirofumi Miyake, affirmed that this competition is a good opportunity to boost relations between Syria and Japan.
Head of Japanese Language Department at Damascus University Dr. Nahid Mera’ai said that the participation of this large number of Japanese students is evidence of interest in Syrian culture, adding that this competition would be an opportunity for them to improve interest in Arab culture and a way of cooperation in the future.
MHD Ibrahim
