YEREVAN. – An opening ceremony of the new building which housed the Armenian-Japanese scientific, educational and cultural Hikari center was held in Yerevan on Monday.

A delegation headed by Ambassador of Japan to Armenia (residence in Moscow) Chikahito Harada arrived in Yerevan to participate in the ceremony.

The word Hikari in Japanese means light. On this solemn day the building was decorated by hundreds of new kusudamas, symbolizing positive energy.

“Light and positive energy will help to create a bridge to strengthen relations between the two friendly nations,” said Karine Piliposyan, the head of the center.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Manasaryan, more than two decades have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the ties between the two countries have developed and strengthened.

An Armenian Embassy in Tokyo was established, Japanese Embassy will open in Yerevan next year which will give a new impetus to bilateral ties.

The students of the center introduced history of its creation and activities in Japanese language.

The center has courses of Japanese language, origami classes.