India has become synonymous with its curry in Japan, with every corner in the capital city of Tokyo boosting of at least one Indian restaurant, Kaoru Miyamoto, director-general of Japan Foundation said in Guwahati on November 15.
“In Japan, India is famous for its curries. People like it. It is amazing to see how every corner has an Indian restaurant,” he said. Even restaurants owned by people from Nepal and Bangladesh serve Indian food and pass off themselves as Indian restaurants, he added.
Besides the cuisine, people of Japan also associate India with the IT sector, Miyamoto said, adding that a large Indian population works in Japan.
He informed that to introduce Japanese culture and language further to the people of India, especially the Northeast region, the Japan Foundation is conducting a ‘Japan Caravan’ in Guwahati for the first time.
In Guwahati to inaugurate a Japanese film festival as the last leg of the caravan on November 15, Miyamoto said, “Northeast India is important for Japan, and the two countries have an ‘Act East Forum’ to strengthen this relation. We are focusing on the region and the caravan is a part of it.”
As part of the caravan since last week, sessions to introduce the people of Guwahati to culture and language of Japan were conducted at leading universities of the city, a cultural day on Japan was organised, and universities of Japan held an informative seminar on education opportunities in Japan.
Miyamoto said the students of Guwahati have shown interest in animation-related opportunities in Japan and the Japan Foundation could facilitate in connecting them with educational institutions in this sector.
During the film festival, organised in association with PVR Cinemas, eight latest films of Japan will be screened over three days.
The Japan film festival is being organised in total of seven cities, including Guwahati, this year.
