Japanese Envoy Visits Islamic Boarding School In S Sumatra's Ogan Ilir

PALEMBANG, S Sumatra, July 11 (Antara) - Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masafumi Ishii visited Al Ittifaqiah Islamic boarding school in Ogan Ilir district, South Sumatra province, on Monday. The visit coincided with the commemoration of the Islamic boarding school's 50th anniversary. The ambassador said he was moved by the students of the Islamic boarding school who greeted him by waving Indonesian and Japanese flags they made themselves. Japan and Indonesia have established longstanding ties since the start of the 20th century when several Japanese people began to reside in the South Sumatra provincial capital of Palembang, he said. In addition, during the era of Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, Japan built a bridge called AMPERA as a token of close relationship between the two countries, he said. While in South Sumatra, the Japanese ambassador also visited the graves of Japanese soldiers killed in the World War Two and the Indonesian war of independence. He said he was highly moved by the fact that the graves are still well maintained, suggesting that relations between Japan and Indonesia remain close. Since 2004, the Japanese government has invited a total of teachers of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools to teach in Japan, he said. Al-Ittifaqiah Islamic boarding school was the first to receive an invitation from the Japanese government to send teachers to Japan, he said.