Narita, Tokyo (FN), Oct 2 – 200 Youths from
ASEAN Member States and other countries in Asia visited Japan to study agriculture and Japanese society through an exchange program known as Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENES

Youths from Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Timor, and India expressed similar insight that JENESYS provides a great opportunity to expand network among youths in ASEAN and East Asia.

Speaking during the welcoming remark on 1:15 P.M (GMT+9), Senior Official from Japan International Cooperation Center, Mr. Erito Uchiyama stated that JENESYS aims to expand youth networking in the region and provide them opportunity to learn culture from one another.

Heng Samdy, a youth from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries told said that the 10-day trip in Japan allowed him to deeper his understanding on technology and a lot of new experience to share with other Cambodians, especially youths. JENESYS also strengthens the Cambodia-Japan relation, particularly among youths who are the leaders of the next generation, said Samdy.

Mss. Hsu Myat Mon from Myanmar also acknowledged the significance of JENESYS. She expressed happiness to be able to come to Japan for the first time that enables her to learn from the experiences of her junior Myanmar fellows as well as fellows from other countries, particularly Japan.

“This program is very important since it provided the opportunity for myself as well as my Myanmar fellows to learn from experiences and to better communicate with youth from Japan and other countries,” she said.

Another female youth from Thailand, Rawirin, who also participated in JENESYS for the first time said that it was an opportunity for her to share and exchange experiences with many young people of ASEAN and other countries in Asia.

“This program is excellent! It helps youth to be better connected with each other and to expand relations and communication,” said Rawirin.

The Japanese government establishes JENESYS in 2007 with the aim of promoting the understanding and mutual trust between Japanese and participating youths to build a foundation for future cooperation and friendship. Every year around 6,000 youth are invited to Japan under this program of JENESYS.