Deputy Minister for Diaspora Greeks, Andreas Katsaniotis, received the Ambassador of Japan, Yasunori Nakayama, at his office today.
The meeting confirmed the very good bilateral relations, which are founded on solid basis of friendship and mutual respect, while ways to further strengthen educational and cultural cooperation in fields of mutual interest were explored. Lastly, the Deputy Minister expressed his gratitude to the Japanese Ambassador, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, for the heroic act of the captain and crew of the Japanese ship “Tokei Maru”, who rescued hundreds of persecuted Greeks and Armenians from the burning Smyrna in September 1922.
The Deputy Minister informed the Japanese Ambassador that he will be glad to attend a cultural event held by the Japanese Embassy in Athens to commemorate the anniversary of this historic event in the next few days.