Ceremony Marks 10th Year of Release of Crested Ibises into Wild

October 15, 2018

Sado, Niigata Pref.- A ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the start of a project to release artificially bred crested ibises into the wild has been held in the island city of Sado in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan.

Among participants in the event, held on Sunday, was Japanese Princess Mako, the first child of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. "I would like to express my deep respect to all of those who have dedicated themselves to crested ibises," Princess Mako said.

The ceremony was organized by the Environment Ministry, Niigata Prefecture and the Sado municipal government. The city hosts a core facility for the conservation of crested ibises.

"Our next aim is to establish an environment where humans and crested ibises can live comfortably together," Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada said. The 10th anniversary "is a milestone and at the same time marks a new start," he added.

Referring to Japan-China joint activities to protect crested ibises, Sun Dagang, China's consul-general in the city of Niigata, the capital of the prefecture, expressed hopes for further development in China-Japan relations. He stood in for Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua as a guest at the ceremony.

A pair of crested ibises will be additionally presented to Japan from China on Wednesday.

The crested ibis, registered as a special natural monument in Japan, was declared extinct in the wild in 2003 in the country.

Japan has been breeding the bird. A total of 308 crested ibises have been released into the wild in Japan since the project started in 2008. Jiji Press