Soka University welcomed Republic of Uzbekistan Ambassador to Japan Khamidula Karamatov to its Hachioji campus for a ceremony honoring the birth of 15th-century Uzbek poet Ali-Shir Nava’i.

Celebrated by Uzbeks as their national poet, Nava’i (1444-1501) was also a distinguished politician, linguist and painter. Ambassador Karamatov laid flowers at a statue of Nava’i on the Soka University campus that was donated by Uzbekistan President Islom Karimov in 2004.

Soka has entered into a wide-ranging academic exchange agreement with Uzbek institutions since 1989.

The ceremony was televised in Uzbekistan on February 9.