Celebrating 15 years of MEXT alumni with a feast

A reception was held by Japan’s ambassador to encourage students to study in Japan.

ISLAMABAD: The Ambassador of Japan Chihiro Atsumi hosted an exquisite lunch reception at his residence here on Sunday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP). The anniversary was held to honour Pakistani scholars who have returned from Japan and students leaving for Japan on scholarships this year.

Addressing the guests, the Japanese ambassador said, “We want to encourage brilliant students to build their careers by studying in Japanese universities. And what better way to do it than by giving them the opportunity to meet with MEXT scholars here today.”

The reception consisted of Pakistani students who have returned after staying in Japan for two weeks on the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youth Program (JENESYS), along with five students from National University of Modern Languages (NUML) who have been selected for the Japanese Learners Program.

As the NUML students are expected to leave for Japan by March this year, they were conversing eagerly with returning scholars about their experiences. The five selected NUML students are presently studying Japanese language at the institution.

An impressive gathering of students conversed with embassy officials in Japanese and comfortably had Japanese food using chopsticks. Delectable food was spread across the table in neat flat plates and a selection of Pakistani items such as curries, rice and barbeque were also served.

Two types of sushi, hand-made bite-size tuna, salmon, squid and maki-sushi were served with a dip. Shinjo, minced fish and shrimp with mixed vegetables, was a hit. Other dishes such as cooked egg served on a bed of sticky rice wrapped with seaweed were a delight to have.

As the menu was carefully planned by the ambassador himself, he had brought world renowned chef Tetsuya Wakuda to overlook the kitchen staff. Wakuda has been the embassy’s head chef for the past two years. Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that Japanese food is very expensive in Pakistan as its ingredients are hard to get. “There are many ingredients that we have to import from Thailand if they’re not available in Pakistan,” he said, “We had to order special salmon, tuna fish and prawns for
the event.”

Talking to The Express Tribune, a student of NUML, Sundus Munawar said, “Japanese cartoons, music, weddings and Tokyo’s street-fashion inspired me to learn this language. I can’t wait to go to Japan.” Ali Ahmed, another student impersonating as a character from Japanese comics said, “My entire look is inspired by Japanese comic characters”.

Other students, Mehreen Fatima Ashfaq and Sana Zuberi said that Japanese comics and cartoon culture is gaining popularity amongst youngsters in Pakistan. They said anime such as “Death-note” are watched by a number of young people now.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st,  2011.