Young Japanese quake survivors visit Hainan
The trip included a cultural tour to several of the island's major cities, as well as a culture-themed set of activities.
The children were accompanied to Hainan by a group of 30 professional Japanese interpreters and psychologists, and visited museums, learned to make Chinese cakes and bamboo rice in the style of the Li local ethnic group, and were treated to local cultural performances.
'I hope to learn about local scenic spots and customs, taste delicious foods, and meet Chinese students,' said 11-year old Kayo Fukushima before visiting the island.
The 100 children aged from 7 to 16 years were guests of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who initiated the trip after talking with Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto on May 22.
Kayo Fukushima wrote to Wen after these discussions to personally thank him for his concern, and telling him how she wants to learn to speak Chinese and hopes one day to study at Peking University.
In a response to her letter, Wen invited five hundred Japanese children to visit Hainan Island, and Kayo and 99 other children were the first lot.
The children are from 23 schools located in disaster-hit areas of Fukishima, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Iberaki in Japan.
'I'm delighted to visit China and I am very excited about all of the activities,' said Kayo at a ceremony at the beginning of the holiday in Haikou city, Hainan's capital.
'Both the activities and the services are great, I'm looking forward to spending a wonderful time in China.'
'I'm so lucky to be here and I am looking forward to seeing the culture of Hainan,' sad Aoi Sato, a second-grader at the First Junior Middle School in Shiogama city in Miyagi.
The rehabilitation holidays for the children are a sign of strengthening communication and understanding between Japan and China, according to Toshihiro Nikai, a member of Japan's House of Representatives and chief of the Children's Delegation.
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