The central government has named seven individuals as envoys to promote cultural exchanges with other countries in fiscal 2015, the Cultural Affairs Agency said Monday.
They include Kenichi Yoshida, a member of the Tsugaru shamisen duo called the Yoshida Brothers, and photographer Naoya Hatakeyama.
The five others are Noh performer Ryoko Aoki, stage director and mime performer Shuji Onodera, noh drama flute player Rokurobyoe Fujita, choreographer and dramatist Mikuni Yanaihara, and chef and culinary specialist Naoyuki Yanagihara.
Yoshida, who is the younger brother in the shamisen duo, is scheduled to hold a series of workshops on traditional Japanese musical instruments for children in Spain, and collaborate with local musicians in Britain between March and May of 2016.
Tsugaru shamisen originated on the Tsugaru Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture.
Hatakeyama, who is known for his works on limestone mines and areas devastated by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, is scheduled to hold a series of photo exhibitions in Mexico and other countries over a one-year period starting in July.
Japan launched the cultural envoys project in fiscal 2003 and has so far dispatched 120 individuals and 26 groups to 77 countries.