10 March
Monday marks the eighth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan. A concert was held in the Egyptian capital Cairo to commemorate the victims of the disaster.
Saturday's event was planned and organized by the Japanese embassy in Cairo and a local Japanese association. Japanese language students and Japanese residents of Egypt took part. After observing a moment of silence, 13 groups took to the stage.
Students of the Japanese language department of Aswan University in southern Egypt sang a song by the Japanese pop group AKB48 titled "365 nichi no Kamihikouki," or "Paper Plane for 365 Days." A senior student said in Japanese that people in Egypt are rooting for the people of the affected areas. Other groups sang "Hana wa Saku," or "Flowers Will Bloom," a song to encourage rebuilding efforts in the affected areas.
"Furusato," or "Hometown," was also sung. Kai Nemoto, who represents a Japanese chorus group in Cairo, said they feel for the people of the affected areas, even eight years after the disaster.—NHK
