Four girls of famous Japanese band AKB48. At least two members of the band will take part in Kizuna Ekiden Hanoi 2018 - Run for Traffic Safety (Source: Osport.cn) Hanoi (VNA) – About 1,600 people from Vietnam, Japan and other countries will take part in Kizuna Ekiden Hanoi 2018 – Run for Traffic Safety held in Hanoi on November 18.
The event is organised annually with the aim of providing traffic safety knowledge, skills and abilities, and protecting children from traffic accidents.
This year’s event is part of activities to mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.
Among participants, there will be renowned faces, including at least two members of famous Japanese band AKB48, prestigious entrepreneurs, and athlete Yoshimi Ozaki - 2008 Tokyo marathon champion and 2009 world silver medallist.
According to the organising board, each member of a four-member team will run a distance of 3.4km in a relay race around Hoan Kiem lake.
Kizuna in Japanese means friendship, while Ekiden is relay. A sash called Tasuki is handed over from runner to runner to complete the race, thus it is billed as a symbol of unity and friendship.
The traffic death toll in Vietnam fell from 13,500 in 2010 to 9,000 in 2017. Losses caused by traffic accidents amount to 50 trillion VND (over 2.12 billion USD) each year, equivalent to 30 percent of budget spending on education, or 1. 5 million people going without income for the whole year.-VNA
VNA
