Saudi and Japanese officials gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to celebrate Arab-Japanese relations during Eid Al-Fitr. Dr. Nasser Al-Omaim, director of the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, highlighted the institute’s role in teaching Arabic and presenting the Arabic Islamic culture in a correct manner, in addition to supporting relations between Arab and Islamic countries with Japan.
Al-Omaim also praised the Japanese foreign minister, Taro Kono, for his efforts in strengthening Saudi-Japanese relations, which culminated in King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Japan in March 2017, as well as the launch of the Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030.
Al-Omaim, a native Saudi Arabian, studied economics in the US and was made director of the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo on June 4, 2014.
Since then, he has been present at many cultural events that were significant in bridging gaps between the two nations. He chaired many discussions at the institute that educated people on Arabic countries and their achievements.
He was rewarded for his efforts in extending a helpful hand toward Saudi students in Japan by the Saudi Consulate there this June.
On his days off, the institute’s principal is a philanthropist who spends his time visiting schools in Japan and helping children during environmental education sessions.
The Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo was founded in 1982 as a branch of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Tokyo, in an effort to promote cultural exchange between Arab countries and Japan, to offer Arabic courses to those who wish to learn the language and to be a hub of information on Arabic Islamic culture.
The institute is in Tokyo’s Minato-ku prefecture and is supervised by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.