TOKYO — Commemorative postage stamps symbolizing friendship between Kuwait and Japan will be issued next month on the sidelines of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Kuwaiti Embassy said Monday.
The stamps feature photos of historical landmarks and sports from Kuwait and Nihonmatsu City, which will host the pre-training camp of the Kuwait Olympic teams, the Embassy said in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
"It is an initiative to highlight the strength of friendship between Kuwait and Japan, especially on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries," it said.
"The Embassy and Nihonmatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture worked together to decide the design, photos and theme of the commemorative stamps," it said, adding that the project is supported by Japan Post Co.
The 84-yen ($0.8) stamps come in sheets of 10, and their designs include Seif Palace, Liberation Tower and Kuwaiti athletes, as well as characteristic Japanese scenes of Nihonmatsu City.
Japan Post, which will keep all financial proceeds of the sale, plans to sell the stamps online and at major postal centers in Tokyo and other participating post offices, including those in Nihonmatsu City and its vicinity, according to the Embassy.
The city, located about 200 km northeast of Tokyo, was registered as an "Arigato (Thank You) Host Town for Supporting Reconstruction" for Kuwait.
Following a magnitude 9.0-quake and tsunami disaster that devastated the region in 2011, upon instructions by the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait offered Japan a donation of five million barrels of crude oil worth about $500 million, of which nearly 40 percent was allocated to Fukushima Prefecture to support its recovery effort.
In addition, the late Emir donated $3 million in reconstruction assistance to "Aquamarine Fukushima." The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games will take place between July 23 and Aug. 8 after being moved back a year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. — KUNA
