Relations between Rwanda and Japan are growing stronger 55 years since the two countries established bilateral ties, the Japanese Ambassador to Rwanda, Takayuki Miyashita has said.

The envoy made the remarks Tuesday evening during a reception to mark the 84th birthday of Japanese Emperor Akihito at the embassy’s residence in Nyarutarama, Gasabo District.

Miyashita set three priority areas that he will focus on during his tour of duty in Rwanda;

To strengthen the dialogue at the political level between the two Governments, bring more Japanese companies to invest in Rwanda and promote Japanese culture in Rwanda.

"As for the dialogue at the political level, we already have a forum of high level policy dialogue over a decade and the last meeting was held in March this year. For the business promotion, I am very pleased to tell you that the number of the Japanese companies doing business in Rwanda right now is 15, which means that it has doubled since my arrival in Rwanda last year.”

Japan supports Rwanda in areas of human resource, agriculture, education, ICT, energy and water supply, rural development and infrastructure development, among others.

Germaine Kamayirese, the minister of state in charge of energy, water and sanitation saluted the bilateral ties between both countries the above fields and the Master’s scholarships offered to Rwandans in education and science related subjects since 2014, through the ABE initiative.

She stated that Rwanda attaches great importance to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and its agenda based on African led solutions and ownership towards its development.

"We remained committed to further strengthening the bond that already exists between our two nations through increased people-to-people contacts that are a foundation to stronger bilateral political and economic ties,” she said.

Emperor Akihito was born on December 23, 1933. The Emperor’s birthday is a national holiday in Japan.

The 84 year emperor Akihito will step down in April 2019, in what will be Japan’s first abdication in nearly two centuries.

His abdication will mark the end of the Heisei era, and he would be immediately succeeded by his son Crown Prince Naruhito, which would start a new imperial era.