On 31st January 2022, a ceremony to inaugurate a Japanese Language Laboratory was held at the Department of Language, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. Prof. (Mrs.) G.A.S Ginigaddara, Vice Chancellor, Prof. D.T. Mendis, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ven. Prof. Olaganwatte Chandasiri Thero, the Head of the Department of Languages, among other high faculty members were present from Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, while Mr. KAWAKAMI Takayuki, Counsellor, represented the Embassy of Japan on behalf of H.E. MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka.

The Japanese Language Laboratory was established by the support of the Government of Japan under its Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects, through which a total sum of 12 million Rupees was provided. This project supports the students to learn Japanese language most effectively with the innovative method called “Active Learning” (group work on hexagon desk) with advanced features including computer-assisted teaching and web-based learning. The project also provides new textbooks published by Japan Foundation, as well as a full set of educational equipment and supplies, placing Rajarata University of Sri Lanka as a leading hub of Japanese Language Education in Sri Lanka.

The opening ceremony was organized with special programmes, in the warm ambience of enthusiastic welcoming, including presentation on the future plan of Japanese language, singing performance by the students, and the book launch on the “Guide to Japanese Literature”.

In this important juncture of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Sri Lanka, the significance of learning Japanese language has been further amplifying as a vital means to fortify the foundation of the two countries in diversified areas.

Prof. G.A.S. Ginigaddara, Vice Chancellor, emphasized the historic significance of inaugurating the Japanese Language Laboratory on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and expressed her firm commitment to promote Japanese language education in Rajarata University of Sri Lanka while concurrently developing the specified skills of the students in order to cater to the local community.

Reciprocating best wishes, Mr. KAWAKAMI Takayuki, on behalf of Ambassador MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, stated that “learning Japanese language shall provide greater access to the wealth of scholarship accumulated in Japan, which has millennia-old history not unlike this great city of Anuradhapura, and the opening of this Japanese Language Laboratory shall stand as a landmark event, symbolizing a vital seed for re-shaping our promising future, in ever-enlarging cycle of our time-tested friendship.”