On March 16, 2012 Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan Mykola Kulinich attended the opening ceremony of the “Golden Treasures of Ukraine” exhibition at the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum. Dedicated to the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Japan, the exhibition presents the collections of National Historical Museum of Ukraine and the Treasure Museum of Ukraine; the exhibits present Ukrainian history and arts from the Scythian times to the 18th century.

Addressing the attendees, the Ambassador has mentioned that despite the distance between the two countries, Ukraine and Japan are very close spiritually. Having stated that the fact that the above exhibition is organized in 2012, when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between our countries, is very symbolic, Ambassador expressed his hope that it will attract even more Japanese to Ukrainian culture and arts.

Among those present at the opening ceremony was Masaaki Yokouchi, the Governor of Yamanashi prefecture, who showed a great interest towards Ukraine. During his congratulatory speech Mr. Yokouchi said that Yamanashi prefecture has a lot of similarities with Ukraine. Among such examples he mentioned the influence of the nomadic tribes on the historical as well as cultural formation of both regions, the resemblance of ancient beliefs and, finally, a well developed modern agriculture.

The Museum Director, Minami Hirakawa said that he anticipates the great number of guests to visit the exhibition and expressed the hope that it will become a new museum record.»