Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kojiro Shiojiri assess the boarding school is a great asset that makes the Indonesian culture increasingly rich and diverse.
In the Japanese Embassy press release received by AFP on Thursday, Kojiro Shiojiri admire and appreciate his party suggested the existence of boarding schools as a unique symbol of Islamic culture of the archipelago.
"Schools make Indonesia more culturally rich and diverse," said Kojiro Shiojiri.
In the cultural frame of the archipelago, boarding school is a very unique phenomenon. In the language of Abdurrahman Wahid, the pesantren is a subculture of Indonesian culture that is very heterogeneous.
Therefore, after attending a series of trips to a number of boarding schools in the last two years, Ambassador Kojiro Shiojiri acknowledge the existence of boarding schools as an important factor in the Indonesian culture.
"We have a priority program in building relationships with Islamic communities, so in addition to visits, we also perform a variety of partnership programs with the boarding schools," he explained.
After a long time to make observations about the existence of the pesantren, it can understand the Indonesian culture was very diverse, broad and deep.
"We want to learn from the diversity of Indonesian culture that is very broad and deep," he explained.
Kojiro Shiojiri strong commitment to learning of Indonesian culture, especially the Islamic culture, making its existence very welcome among the pesantren.
The annual program was initiated by the Embassy of Japan in the form of pesantren kiai departure to Japan, further strengthening its partnerships with the boarding school.
