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A ceremony marking the completion of a project to renovate the judo and karate hall at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport took place at the institute. The project was implemented under the Japanese Government’s Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects programme.
The ceremony was attended by Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia, Yutaka Aoki; Arman Andrikyan, adviser to Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport; the institute’s Rector Tigran Simonyan; and members of the institute’s management, students and guests.
According to a statement from the Japanese Embassy, Japan provided a grant of US$91,088 to reconstruct and equip the judo and karate hall. Following reconstruction and renovation, the hall’s floor area has increased, allowing more people to train in improved conditions.
The ceremony began with Ambassador Aoki and Simonyan cutting the ribbon to officially open the renovated hall. This was followed by demonstrations in which judo and karate athletes showcased their skills and discipline.
Following the demonstrations, Simonyan and Ambassador Aoki delivered congratulatory remarks. Simonyan said the new hall would enable the institute to organise teaching more effectively. He stressed that the occasion created an educational bridge between Armenia and Japan and could also help develop shared interests and cooperation.
Ambassador Aoki explained that a judo or karate hall is called a “dojo” in Japanese. The word consists of two parts: “do”, meaning “way”, and “jo”, meaning “place”. A dojo is therefore a “place of the way”: a space not only for learning martial arts techniques but also for physical and mental development.
He expressed hope that the dojo would become another bridge between the two countries and help strengthen their friendship in the future.