Internationally-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa will lead three productions of the opera Madam Butterfly from Oct. 1, as part of the China-Japan Culture Year marking the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties of the two countries.
The culture year held in China and Japan is co-sponsored by the two governments.
Chinese Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng said Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges had developed well. So far, there had been 152 and 140 events held respectively in Japan and China, and eight events spanning both countries.
Sun said the Chinese Ministry of Culture (MOC) would grant awards to five Japanese people and one Japanese organization, to honor their contributions to Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges. The award had been given to only 17 international friends and organizations, of whom Japan took the largest proportion.
Sun hoped the two peoples, especially the younger generation, would pass on the friendship for generations.
Seiji Ozawa, who was born in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, and has visited China many times since October 1976, said, "I hope music can express my feelings for China."
Chinese Vice-Minister of Culture Zhou Heping will visit Japan with a government delegation for a series of celebrations, during which the China Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Peking opera and acrobatic troupes will stage performances.
(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2002)
