By RONISH KUMAR

Team Fiji KIZUNA with Fiji’s ambassador to Japan Isikeli Mataitoga (standing sixth from right)

(The writer is a journalism student at the University of the South Pacific and was a member of Fiji’s contingent to Japan)

Fiji’s Embassy in Japan is pushing the idea of reciprocating the KIZUNA project.
The project came to an official closing in Tokyo last Friday with respective embassies getting together to farewell their students.
Fiji’s Ambassador to Japan, Isikeli Mataitoga said they have raised the idea of taking local students to Fiji.
“If the KIZUNA project is such a success then alternatively Japan should take students to Fiji,” Mr Mataitoga said.
“This project is a blessing. We should take the local students to Fiji and show them the way we live and our hospitality. Investing in people to people relations is very important.”
He said through this project the students were building relations that never existed before and move Japanese now know about Fiji’s culture.
Meanwhile, Mr Mataitoga hopes that the 22 students from Fiji would have had learned about the Japanese people and culture.
Ren Slatter who is part of Fiji’s group said she had learned a lot.
“I have learned how to move on and how important it is to do so and also to treasure life because it’s the only one you’ve got,” she said.
“We should always respect nature and all its forces, take heed of warnings, expect the worse and hope for the best.”