CultureMin Romascanu at Bookfest: Each book is meant to bring light to your souls & minds, dear children

Culture Minister Lucian Romascanu said on Wednesday, in the opening of Bookfest, that nothing replaces the joy of reading a written page, urging the children present at the fair, on June 1st, to open a book more often because each volume is meant to bring light to their souls and minds, Agerpres reports.

"I am very glad to see a lot of children here and I would liken them the book fair to a lighting fair. Every book you see is meant to bring light into your souls and minds, dear children and it is good, from time to time, maybe more often than usual, to do it, to leave the screens and to open a book," said Romascanu, who thanked, in the beginning of his speech, the Ambassador of Japan in Bucharest, Hiroshi Ueda, present at the event.

The Japanese diplomat, who delivered his speech in a beautiful Romanian language, expressed his "gratitude" for choosing Japan as guest of honour at this year's edition of the Bookfest International Book Salon, "the largest book event in Romania".

"It has already been a year and a half since the beginning of my mission in Romania and I am surprised how well known Japan has become among Romanians. There are many restaurants where delicious Japanese food is served. There is a deep understanding of martial arts, tea ceremony, floral arrangements - ikebana and others. I have also met a surprisingly large number of people who speak Japanese, but not at a high level. As far as literature is concerned, many Japanese authors have been translated into Romanian, and the bookstores are full of manga, Japanese comics," said Hiroshi Ueda.

"Japan has been elected guest of honour at Bookfest 2022. I hope that this will lead to an even deeper knowledge of Japan. The relations between Japan and Romania are extraordinarily good. Last year we celebrated 100 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, and bilateral relations develop not only in the political field, but also in many other areas, such as economic, cultural or sports and so on," the ambassador said.

Hiroshi Ueda invited the Romanian public to Bookfest to discover "a completely new Japan".

During the event, moderated by the president of the Publishers Association in Romania, Grigore Arsene, the organizer of Bookfest, the director of the National Library of Romania, Adrian Cioroianu, paid homage to the "incredible culture of Japan".

The Bookfest International Book Salon opened on Wednesday, during the five days many of the fair's events being organized in tandem with Japan, the guest of honor of the XVth edition of the event.

According to the Publishers Association in Romania, the organizer of the salon, at this edition, without the restrictions of the last two years, will be present over 200 participants with their own stands, who will propose over 400 events, from book launches and debates to cinema screenings and interactive events for children.