Japan and ASEAN Celebrate 50 Years of Friendship

The Mission of Japan to ASEAN kicked off the onsite and virtual Golden Friendship Walk and Run 2023 on 5 November.

IDXChannel - In celebrating the 50th Year of ASEAN–Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the Mission of Japan to ASEAN kicked off the onsite and virtual Golden Friendship Walk and Run 2023 on 5 November.

The Golden Friendship Walk and Run 2023 commenced with opening remarks by Ambassador Kiya Masahiko of the Japan Mission to ASEAN.

“We are gathered here today to walk and run together. The Golden Friendship Walk and Run is one of the events where participants throughout ASEAN and beyond including Japan can join virtually to celebrate the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan cooperation," th Ambassador stated in a media release on Sunday (6/11/2023).

Deputy-Secretary General of ASEAN for Political-Security Community Michael Tene and JABOT – an ASEAN-Japan mascot – flagged off the walk and run event with a six-kilometre track along the main boulevard of Sudirman and the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Over a hundred people participated at the event including Permanent Representatives of the ASEAN Member States, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat staff, and representatives of Dialogue Partners. In addition, several private Japanese companies and the general public also took part.

To date, over 4,000 participants from ASEAN region, Timor Leste, and Japan has participated in the event. This number is expected to increase as registration through the official event page remainsopen until 15 November 2023.

The series of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary will continue. Another Golden Mission event will be conducted online on 18 November – 2 December and onsite on 18-19 November 2023 as part of the Jakarta Japan Matsuri 2023 at Gambir Expo – Arena PRJ Kemayoran. (WHY)