Famous Japanese table tennis player Ai Fukuhara and pop star
Noriko Sakai on Thursday were named good-will ambassadors of the
2007 Japan-China Culture and Sports Exchange Year.
Fukuhara and Sakai will take part in almost all of important
activities of the exchange year, which aims to enhance
understanding between Japanese and Chinese people, especially the
youth of the two countries, and to boost bilateral exchanges, said
officials from the Japanese executive committee of the exchange
year.
Under the theme "bringing forth a new image of Japan and the
Japanese people to the new Chinese generation," Fukuhara and Sakai
were selected because of their image and popularity in China, the
committee said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met the two good-will
ambassadors in his official residence earlier in the day,
encouraging them to work to fulfill their honorable mission.
He said that he is also willing to work with the two to boost
bilateral exchanges between Japan and China.
Sakai has been popular in China and other Asian countries since
late 1990s. She distributed her music CDs, hosted personal concerts
and has featured in quite a few TV advertisements in China.
According to a survey in 2006, Sakai tops the list of Chinese
people's most favorite Japanese female stars.
Fukuhara, fluent in Chinese, has been receiving professional
training in China since her kindergarten years. In 2005, she became
the first foreigner to play China's domestic table tennis
tournament and was also selected "one of the eight world table
tennis beauties" by an influential Chinese website.
(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2007)
