Japan Crown Prince, Crown Princess Call On Paraguayan President

Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko paid a courtesy call on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena at the Lopez Palace in Asuncion, the South American country’s capital, on Thursday. The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, now on an official visit to Paraguay, shook hands with Pena and his wife in front of the palace, and the four held talks inside. Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko then attended a luncheon hosted by the president at the palace. In an address, Crown Prince Akishino referred to the support Japan received from Paraguay after the March 2011 giant earthquake and tsunami in the Asian country’s Tohoku northeastern region. Noting that this year marks the 90th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Paraguay, he said that he hopes exchanges and cooperation between the two countries will deepen further. In the afternoon, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko visited a cultural center in the capital, viewing pottery and embroidery made using Paraguay’s traditional techniques. They then visited Nihon Gakko, a private school on the outskirts of Asuncion that provides Japanese-style education, and interacted with students, including doing origami, the traditional Japanese art of folding paper into shapes. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]