3rd Japan House Publicity Base Opens in London

June 22, 2018

London- The Japanese Foreign Ministry opened its third Japan House publicity base in western London on Thursday, to provide information about Japanese culture, traditions and technologies.

The Japan House project is aimed at deepening understanding of the Asian country's attractions among people in other countries.

Last year, the first Japan House was launched in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the second partially opened in Los Angeles.

The London base, located on Kensington High Street, has two floors above ground and one underground, including a Japanese food restaurant and a shop to sell local goods from Japan, as well as a gallery and a multipurpose hall.

"It doesn't necessarily showcase a simple, stereotypical Japan," said designer Kenya Hara, general producer of the London facility. "We hope that visitors will 'smell' a new Japan here."

The shop in the facility "will hopefully allow visitors to experience Japanese products that enrich daily lives, together with stories of manufacturers and cultural backgrounds," Saeko Kato, in charge of the shop, said. Jiji Press