Japan to grant $66,216 for improving Japanese Cultural Center

Japan has decided to extend grant assistance worth $66,216 or Tk 69 lakh to the Japanese Universities Alumni Association in Bangladesh (JUAAB) for improving the facilities of Japanese Cultural Center.

Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori signed the grant contract for the project at his office in presence of Professor Dr MAM Yahia Khandoker, president of JUAAB, and its senior executive members.

JUAAB is the association of the people who obtained their bachelor's, master's or PhD degrees from Japanese universities established in 2000 on the historical occasion of the 30th anniversary of Japan's diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

The association has been fostering friendship between the people of Bangladesh and Japan by facilitating academic exchanges, socio-cultural understanding and promoting mutual appreciation of the two nation's heritage.

JUAAB is operating a Japanese Language School, a premier Japanese language school in the country, since 2001. The organisation also has an Ikebana School in operation.

Since 2002, JUAAB is organising Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in cooperation with Japan Foundation and Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh.

Moreover, JUAAB has been organising Japanese Language Speech Contest every year since 2008, under the financial support from The Japan Foundation.

The association presently has more than 700 members.