Japan Holds "ARIGATO in LONDON" at London County Hall

TOKYO, July 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- "ARIGATO in LONDON," an event to show Japan's gratitude for the worldwide help, assistance and courage given after the Great East Japan Earthquake and also to show how Japan is recovering from the disaster, will be held for 15 days from July 28 to August 11, 2012, at London County Hall.

During the event, a video will be shown to express "arigato" (meaning "thank you" in Japanese) in 83 languages toward the 163 countries and regions that offered to help after the disaster. Also a photo exhibition showing Japan working toward reconstruction will be held in cooperation with the Recovery Assistance Media Team and photographer Shinichi Sato.

Furthermore, on the terrace stage of County Hall, there will be, from time to time, traditional Japanese cultural performances such as Japanese dance, shamisen (three-stringed lute) and taiko (drum).

Community festival games such as ring toss and yo-yo fishing, reminiscent of the festivity of Japan's fete days, will be demonstrated. Handicrafts from across Japan will be put on sale and a sake bar will be opened in an effort to communicate Japanese culture to the rest of the world.

At an opening ceremony to be held at 12:00 a.m. on July 28, 2012, Executive Committee members Junko Koshino, designer, Hidetoshi Nakata, etc., will be present to talk about "ARIGATO in LONDON."

For details, please visit our website (http://arigato-in-london.jp/eng/).

-- About "ARIGATO in LONDON"
Date: July 28 to August 11, 2012
Venue: London County Hall

-- Executive Committee members:
Tadao Ando, architect
Junko Koshino, designer
Keisuke Sano, chairman, Japan Association in the UK
Naoko Takahashi, sportscaster, gold medalist of women's marathon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
Dai Tamesue, former Olympics track and field athlete
Hidetoshi Nakata, representative director of Take Action Foundation
Takaaki Hanaoka, Secretary General, Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the UK
Takeo Hirata, professor, Graduate School of Sports Sciences, Waseda University

--Supporters:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan
Japan Tourism Agency
Japan National Tourism Organization
Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectural Governments
Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the UK
Japan Association to the UK

Contact:
Nao Fukuda, Junko Shimaya
"ARIGATO in LONDON" PR Secretariat
Sunny Side Up Inc.
Tel: +81-3-6894-3200
Fax: +81-3-5413-3050
E-mail: media@arigato-in-london.jp