Consul General of Japan in Jeddah Izuru Shimmura held a reception at his residence on Feb. 16 to celebrate the birthday of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on the occasion of his 63rd birthday. The reception was attended by officials, diplomats, businessmen and friends from Saudi Arabia. At the outset of the reception, the national anthems of Japan and Saudi Arabia were played, followed by a speech by Shimmura in which he welcomed the guests and conveyed to them the warm gratitude of IWAI Fumio, ambassador of Japan to Saudi Arabia. Shimmura expressed his wishes for the development of bilateral relations between Japan and the Kingdom under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and through the relationship between the Saudi royal family and the Japanese imperial family. He also announced that the Consulate-General of Japan in Jeddah has engaged in various activities to further familiarize the people of Jeddah with Japan, and will hold a four-day Japanese cultural festival from March 1-4 in cooperation with Hayy Jameel in Jeddah, inviting those interested in Japan and its culture to enjoy a wide range of Japanese cultural attractions such as movies, tea ceremony, music and Japanese food. Shimmura said that Jeddah is the second largest economic city in Saudi Arabia, and is extremely important for the relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia, with many Japanese companies and Japanese residents in Jeddah active in their respective fields. He referred to the recent cooperation with Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in holding a lecture on smart cities and confirmed Japanese companies’ readiness to expand their activities in other areas such as solar power generation, water and sewage facilities and entertainment sectors. He also said that the Consulate-General of Japan in Jeddah, together with Ambassador Iwai and the Embassy of Japan in Riyadh, will do their utmost to further strengthen ties between Japan and Saudi Arabia with the support of the Saudi government and Jeddah business community. The consul general said that in his capacity as the first representative of the government of Japan to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he would continue to work to strengthen relations between Islamic countries and Japan. The reception was attended by more than 200 guests as well as by three Japanese restaurants in Jeddah promoting a variety of Japanese dishes such as sushi.