Japanese artist Nakai Tomoya with his Koto zither

Japanese artists Nakai Tomoya and Nagasu Tomoka are performing traditional music from their homeland today and tomorrow to open the Japan-Mekong Exchange Year program in Hanoi, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam said.

The yearlong exchange with Vietnam and four other Mekong Region countries – Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar – would “help Vietnamese people to further understand and to be more interested in the traditional culture of Japan,” said a statement on the Japanese Embassy website.

The Japan-Mekong Year 2009 will include political dialogues, economic activities, cultural exchanges, tourism promotions, youth exchanges and other activities running throughout the country until the end of the year.

Opening night will be held tonight at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, at 77 Hao Nam St., while tomorrow’s show will take place at the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien St.

Free tickets are available at the Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, 27 Lieu Giai St. Tel: 04-3846-3000 ext. 3129/3191.

Reported by Hong Quan