Ashraf AboArafe
The Japanese capital, Tokyo, witnessed a press conference to announce the details of holding the King Ramses II and the Treasures of the Pharaohs exhibition and its official opening on March 8 in Tokyo for a period of 6 months until September 2025, in the first Asian tour of the aforementioned exhibition within its current global tour, where the conference was attended by the Governor of Tokyo, Ms. Yuriko Koike, and each of Dr. Zahi Hawass – archaeologist and former Minister of State, Dr. Mohamed Ismail, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ambassador Mohamed Abu Bakr, the Egyptian Ambassador to Japan, and pioneers of Japanese Egyptology, most notably Dr. Sakuzji Yoshimura, head of the Japanese archaeological excavation team from Waseda University, in addition to wide participation by the largest Japanese tourism agents and companies and a group of major Japanese and foreign media outlets and public figures.
The great participation and interaction with the press conference activities reflected the exceptional interest that the Japanese side attaches to Tokyo hosting the largest archaeological exhibition organized under the auspices of the Egyptian government in the history of bilateral relations between Egypt and Japan, which includes about 180 artifacts from the most important original artifacts of King Ramses II, as this exhibition is the third of its kind to be organized with the approval and sponsorship of the Egyptian side after the King Tutankhamun exhibitions in Japan in 1965 and 2012.
In her opening speech, Ms. Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, emphasized the great cultural impact of this unique event that highlights Egypt’s ancient history, noting that the timing of its holding coincides with the 35th anniversary of the twinning agreement concluded between the governorates of Cairo and Tokyo. In the same context, she expressed her happiness to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum recently during her visit to Egypt in November 2024 after its experimental opening, a development that will add more momentum to the close relations between the two countries.
For his part, Dr. During the conference, Hawass highlighted the unique historical and human values of this wonderful exhibition, which will address a cultural and human heritage that recalls the greatness of ancient Egyptian civilization and reviews the historical aspect of one of its most important kings, nicknamed the “King of Kings”, who documented his achievements throughout his reign with many huge and towering statues that no one had ever designed before him. Dr. Hawass invited the Japanese to visit Egypt to enjoy the Egyptian landmarks and tourist destinations and the important archaeological discoveries that will be announced in the coming period, most notably the opening of the tomb of King “Ramses II”, in addition to revealing what the secret passages in the “Khufu” pyramid contain, which he hopes will eventually lead to the king’s archaeological tomb, in addition to the pyramid of King “Huni”, which was discovered in coordination with the Japanese excavation team and dates back to 4200 years BC. Dr. Mohamed Ismail, Secretary General of the Council of Antiquities, said that the current exhibition will be considered the most prominent and important among the exhibitions that were previously organized, in connection with the unique artifacts it includes to display the different aspects of the life of King “Ramses II”, the greatest king of ancient Egypt, which leave Egyptian lands for the first time through this exhibition, which Tokyo is its sixth stop after a traveling display of its holdings that lasted for four consecutive years in museums in the United States, France, Germany and Australia, also highlighting the new Egyptian archaeological discoveries that were recently announced and his aspiration to open the Grand Egyptian Museum during the current year.
For his part, Ambassador Mohamed Abu Bakr expressed his happiness with the upcoming opening of the “King Ramses II” exhibition in Tokyo, which Japanese people of all ages are eagerly awaiting as it is an exceptional and unique opportunity to see a group of the best and rarest Egyptian artifacts that are visiting the Asian continent for the first time and as it is the first exhibition of original artifacts in Japan in more than 10 years, calling for arranging visits for school and university students to visit the exhibition as well as foreigners visiting Japan in light of the significant increase in incoming tourism rates to Japan recently. He also called on the Japanese to visit Egypt to get to know the great Egyptian civilization closely, which is a common human heritage, especially since the year 2025 will witness the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the hall for displaying the golden artifacts of King Tutankhamun, which is the largest museum for a single civilization in the world, stressing that after the Japanese visit to the Ramses II exhibition in Tokyo, they can travel to Egypt for tourism and visit the Grand Egyptian Museum, which will receive them in its lobby with the famous statue of King Ramses II, thanking the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Japanese side and the company organizing the exhibition for the diligent work that will provide the Japanese with the opportunity to enjoy the largest and most valuable archaeological artifacts that are being displayed for the first time outside Egypt.
