15th Japan Cup organized at Equestrian Club in Riyadh

RIYADH — The 15th Japan Cup was held last weekend at King Abdulaziz Horse Race Course in Janadriyah to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Equestrian Club organized the race in cooperation with the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Norihiro Okuda, ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, attended the awarding ceremony. Dr. Toru Anzai, auditor of JRA, and Shiro Ando, chief technical advisor of the International Department of JRA, visited the Kingdom to attend the event. Dr. Anzai and Ambassador Okuda presented the cup to the winner. The Embassy of Japan highly appreciated the long-standing exchanges between the JRA and the Riyadh Equestrian Club as a token of the friendship between the two countries, both of which are proud of their traditions in equine affairs. The Embassy also organized a cultural booth on the occasion to introduce Japanese calligraphy (Shodo) and Japanese paper folding (Origami). Family visitors to the Japan Cup enjoyed Japanese traditional culture where they also learned to write their name in Japanese (Katakana) and make figures of horse and other animals by folding a sheet of paper. — SG