Princess Hitachi visits Sri Lankan stall at Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society, Tokyo

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan, last week, participated in at the annual Charity Bazaar organised by the Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) in Tokyo. The ALFS, a charitable organisation founded in 1968 by Mutsuko Miki spouse of former Prime Minister Takeo Miki, encompasses 26 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.

The key objectives of the ALFS are to strengthen mutual understanding and deepen the friendship among women of the Asia-Pacific region as well as to conduct charitable and philanthropic functionaries and donate those funds to the member countries of ALFS. The current President of the ALFS is Haruko Komura, the spouse of the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party and the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Masahiko Komura.

The Seva Vanitha Unit of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan organised a Sri Lankan Stall at the said Charity Bazaar consisting of Ceylon Tea, handicrafts, traditional Sri Lankan food and other products of Sri Lanka. The Chief Guest of the ALFS Charity Bazaar was Princess Hanako Hitachi, the spouse of the brother of the Emperor of Japan.

Both Princess Hitachi and Haruko Komura visited the Sri Lankan Stall at the Charity Bazaar. A number of spouses of former Ambassadors of Japan to Sri Lanka as well as political dignitaries, senior technocrats and Ambassadors based in Tokyo and their spouses visited the Sri Lankan stall. The Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy Dr. Saj Mendis, and the Second Secretary G.N. Hasintha as well as the staff, took this opportunity to explain the diverse kinds of tea grown in different parts of the country and other handicrafts and products of Sri Lanka to the chief guests and to the visiting participants at the ALFS Charity Bazaar.

In the past, the ALFS had gifted medical equipment to the Cancer Hospital in Maharagama and to Lady Ridgeway Hospital in Colombo.