DU marks Nagasaki Day with seminar, peace rally

Dhaka University's Institute of Modern Languages (IML), in partnership with Japan's Metro Plus Company Limited, held a seminar and peace rally on Thursday to commemorate Nagasaki Day, reflecting on the city's wartime devastation and its subsequent transformation into a modern, thriving metropolis.

The seminar, held at the IML auditorium, featured Metro Plus Company Limited President Ms. Ayako Kawasaki from Nagasaki and Dr. Mohammad Ansarul Alam, Professor of Japanese Language and Culture at Dhaka University, as speakers, with Mr. Yu Aoyagi, Head of the Cultural Section at the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka, and Metro Plus Chairman Mr. Takashi Kawasaki attending as special guests. Professor Kazi Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, served as chief guest, with IML Director Professor Mohammad Abchar Kamal presiding and lecturer Ms. Anika Begum moderating.

Speakers recounted the extreme hardships endured by Nagasaki's residents during and after the Second World War, describing how the city gradually rebuilt itself from catastrophic devastation into an advanced and aesthetically vibrant metropolis, while underscoring the importance of peace, humanity, and mutual cooperation in building a better world. The event also featured a prize-giving ceremony for the first Japanese-language essay competition, with IML student Sumaiya Akter Sumi winning first place, followed by Md. Shahi Ahmed and Maria Tasnim of the Metro IT and Japanese Language Institute in second and third place, respectively. Japan Foundation specialist Tomoyuki Fukui, Metro IT's Yoshio Isozaki and Takiko Honda, and IML faculty members Bipul Chandra Debnath and Shahrin Mostofa Sristi were also present.

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The event concluded with a peace rally featuring visiting guests from Nagasaki alongside faculty and students from Dhaka University and Metro IT, proceeding from the Institute of Modern Languages through Raju Sculpture to conclude at the foot of Aparajeyo Bangla.