TAXILA: Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Kanasugi Kenji has offered country’s technical assistance for preservation, restoration and protection of ancient Buddhist sites.

The offer was made by him during his visit to Taxila Museum and ancient Buddhist sites of Taxila on Saturday.

He said Pakistan and Japan enjoyed centuries old cultural relations as the Buddhism flourished in Japan from the land where today Pakistan was located. The famous Gandhara art form actually originated in Pakistan before coming to Japan where it has been embraced by local artists helping to form a relationship between the two countries, he said.

The Japanese government through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other programmes successfully completed various projects in the field of culture especially Buddhist one.

Mr Kenji admired the rich cultural heritage of its ancient Gandhara civilisation in Taxila, which is an attraction for tourists. “The government of Japan recognises the importance of cultural heritage and attaches great value to its preservation and continues to support Pakistan in this area,” he said.

Kanasugi Kenji said the government of Japan had provided equipment worth millions of rupees for archaeological research, maintaining and upgrading the facilities needed to preserve the cultural heritage in Pakistan.

He said Japan would continue supporting Pakistan for the protection of cultural heritage including Taxila museum, archaeological and Buddhism heritage sites.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2020