Japan-China friendly cooperation is message Japan Pavilion tries to deliver
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Friendly cooperation between Japan and China is the most important message that the Japan Pavilion wants to deliver to visitors at the Shanghai Expo, said Noriyoshi Ehara, director of the pavilion.
"There are four messages that Japan has brought to the Expo. They are energy-savings and environmental protection, the natural and city landscapes of different seasons in Japan, the life of young people in Japan, and Japan-China friendly cooperation," Ehara said.
"The Japan-China friendly cooperation is the most important message we want to get across," Ehara told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Friday.
As Expo visitors, most of them Chinese, are queuing long hours for a chance to see the Japan Pavilion each day, Ehara said it was very rewarding for the pavilion staff to see that many Chinese are receiving this important message.
When entering the pavilion, images of ancient China's famed poet, Li Bai and Chinese monk Jianzhen, are shown on wall screens to visitors.
The poetry of Li Bai, who lived during China's Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D), is quite popular with the Japanese, while Jianzhen, also from the same dynasty, devoted himself to fostering friendly ties between the two countries by bringing Buddhism and ancient China's medical sciences to Japan.
Ehara said visitors were especially drawn to Japan's advanced technologies. A humanoid robot was playing the violin to entertain audiences. The tune being played was the well-known Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower.
The robot even waved his hand to the audience after the performance, which was rewarded by rounds of applause from visitors.
"In the relationship between humans and robots, the humans always play the leading role, while robots play supporting roles," Ehara said.
Also at the pavilion, the Japanese are displaying floorboards that can generate electricity when walked on, and a "Life Wall," an electronic wall that can function as a visual phone, HD-TV, clock and bookshelves.
"The attractiveness to visitors of our Japan Pavilion may be just because we are showing them the possibility of these technologies in real life in the future," Ehara said.
An opera performance, called The Fountain of Life, is the finale of the tour at the pavilion. It is also one more example of friendly cooperation between China and Japan. The opera, developed by both Chinese and Japanese directors and combining both China's Kunqu opera and Japan's Noh drama, reflects the two country's efforts in successfully saving one endangered bird, the crested ibis, after nearly 30 years of cooperation.
Ehara said it took at least three hours to get inside the Japan Pavilion, which so far has had more than 4 million visitors.
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