Japanese envoy all praise for Super 30

Patna: Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu visited Super 30 along with his wife and official entourage and interacted with its founder Anand Kumar and the students on Friday.
“In Japan, Super 30 is quite popular and I am really impressed to see the kind of work Kumar is doing to help students from poor families make it to IIT,” said Hiramatsu, as per a press statement released by Super 30 on Friday.
The ambassador said Japan ran a programme to help talented students from poor families get the best of technical education in the country and scholarships were also available for the same. The University of Tokyo has already invited students from Super 30 for higher technical education, he said, adding that more and more students should pursue higher education in Japan.
Hiramatsu also took some questions from the students during the interaction. When a student sought to know how Japan, despite being so small and constantly afflicted with earthquakes, excelled in technology, the ambassador replied it was because of the passion of Japanese people. “In India also, things are changing fast and when I see persons like Kumar, I feel confident about it,” he added.
Thanking the ambassador, Anand Kumar said his visit would further boost his morale. “I have been to Japan on invitation from the University of Tokyo and I have seen Japan’s development. Two students from Super 30 are already studying there and more will join in the coming years. Five students will go on a short trip in a couple of months,” he said in a statement.
He also recalled how Yoichi Itoh, chief economist at STB Research Institute, Japan, which also made a film on Super 30, dubbed the institute as a “secret weapon of India”. Actress and ex-Miss Japan Norika Fujiwara had also visited Patna to make a documentary on Anand Kumar’s initiatives.
Hiramatsu also called on Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind and expressed Japan’s interest in developing historical sites of Buddhist importance in the state. Kovind informed him that sites such as Bodh Gaya, Rajgir and Vaishali are being developed by the government.
The ambassador also called on CM Nitish Kumar and was told about various ongoing development schemes in the state. Nitish asked them to visit sites of cultural importance and showed him the Bodhi tree at his home. The ambassador’s wife also appreciated Madhubani paintings.