TEHRAN-In a meeting between the head of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) and the Commissioner of Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was decided that a draft agreement on cultural cooperation between the two countries would be prepared and reviewed by the two sides.

Mohammad-Mehdi Imanipour who attended the third round of religious dialogue between Islam and Shintoism in Tokyo, Japan, met and discussed with Shunichi Tokura in the field of developing cooperation between the two countries, Mehr reported on Saturday.

Shinto means the way of the gods. Shintoism is an ancient religion of Japan. It started at least as long ago as 1000 B.C but is still practiced today by at least five million people. The followers of Shintoism believe that spiritual powers exist in the natural world.

At the beginning of this meeting, Imanipour said: “There is a proper capacity for the two countries to address the issue of museum and cinema cooperation. Holding cultural weeks can be a suitable solution for the two nations to get to know each other more”.

“We can also collaborate with each other in the field of exchange of professors and students of Islamic, Iranian and oriental studies,” he added.

For his part, Tokura said: “It is very important for us to cooperate with Iran. We have carried out appropriate research activities in the fields of Iranian and Islam studies in Japan, and we can cooperate with each other in this field. The artists of the two countries interact through social networks and efforts should be made to develop these relationships.”

The Agency for Cultural Affairs is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture.

The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization was established in 1995 for centralization and coordination of cultural missions overseas. The organization seeks to realize such goals as publicizing Iranian-Islamic culture across the globe and boosting Iran’s cultural relations with other countries.

SS/SAB