Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he aims to deepen tiesbetween his country and the 10 members of the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations through a new initiative of sending about 3,000 Japaneselanguage teachers to the region by 2020.
Speakingat a launching ceremony for the programme by the Japan Foundation onApril 16 in Tokyo , PM Abe said he hopes the younger generations inJapan and other Asian countries will build their bonds throughsympathy and friendship, sharing the same dreams for the future andbeginning the next stage in relations.
The programmeunder the foundation's newly launched Asia Center was made possiblefollowing a special summit in Tokyo last December between Abe andleaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
TheJapanese language teachers will be sent to high schools in the ASEANcountries, according to the body promoting international culturalexchanges of Japan.
A total of 30 billion JPY(roughly 294 million USD) will be allocated to the new project, whichwill also include supporting young artists in Asian countries,preserving cultural heritage sites in the region and promoting academicexchanges.-VNA