Bhubaneswar: The Anthropology department of Utkal University here celebrated ‘A Day With Japan’ recently.

The event was celebrated under the Japanese Language Pilot Project (JLPP), sources said.

Since the academic year 2015-16, the Japanese language pilot project (JLPP) has been offering elementary level Japanese language course to interested students, research scholars and faculty members of Utkal University and interested candidates from outside too.

This course aims at enabling students to gain primary knowledge about Japanese language and society.

The event ‘A Day With Japan’ commenced with the welcome address and introduction of the guests by Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patra, coordinator, JLPP followed by the address of Dr. Kanhu Ch. Satpathy, HoD, Anthropology.

Nishtha Ahuja, a research scholar and visiting faculty of Delhi University, was the main attraction of the programme. She taught Japanese at Utkal University for two weeks and narrated her experience in Odisha before the participants.

Professor Nabin K. Panda, Mentor, JLPP and HoD, Asian Studies Department, University of Delhi, also gave a presentation on Japanese language.

‘Japan is the Ram Rajya of the contemporary world with zero tolerance towards crime’ said Palak Tripathy, an Indian Diaspora residing in Japan.

Tripathy joined the event through video conference and shared his valuable insight of Japanese language.

Chief guest Swaraj Mishra, posted at the Tokyo Branch of State Bank of India (SBI), shared his personal experience about Japan.

Activities like screening of Japanese Pop songs, performance of special ‘Bon Odori’ dance, origami crafting, lesson on the use of chopsticks and traditional Japanese game Fukuwarai were the main attraction of the event.