Grant Pogosyan, who was appointed Armenia's ambassador to Japan in July, said his mission here is to promote further bilateral cultural exchanges.
In a courtesy call Tuesday to The Japan Times, Pogosyan, who in the last 21 years taught computer science and math at Tokyo's International Christian University, stressed the importance of cultural and educational exchanges, especially among young people.
Pogosyan said that although Armenia is drawing more Japanese tourists in recent years, the landlocked mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia is "still not widely known in Japan."
Noting that The Armenian Little Singers choir toured Japan for the first time in July and sang Armenian folk songs from the fifth century and religious music — while also singing modern music and jazz — Pogosyan said Armenia and Japan share a commonality in that "both countries try to protect its unique traditional culture while building a modern society."
Armenia was under Soviet rule until its 1991 independence.
