On December 2, 2014, the Josai University Educational Corporation (Chancellor: Noriko Mizuta) hosted a Christmas concert with the Romanian youth choir Theotokos on the Tokyo Kioicho Campus.

The Theotokos Youth Choir consists of 37 members between the ages of 11 and 18 and is affiliated with the Romanian Orthodox church located in the town of Alba Iulia in Romania’s Transylvanian region. This was their first visit to Japan as cultural ambassadors. This event was made possible through the support of the Embassy of Romania and the Japan Romania Society.

Before the concert, Radu Serban, Ambassador of Romania in Japan, provided opening remarks, saying, “The song is an expression of their religious faith. And their voices recall the voices of angels.” The choir performed roughly twenty songs in all, including Romanian Christmas carols, international Christmas songs, and Japanese folk songs such as “Akatombo” and “Hana wa saku,” sung in a sublime harmony. More than 160 audience members crammed into the performance hall, including Josai University President Yasunori Morimoto, members of the Japan Romania Society, local residents, and extension students, giving resounding applause after each song.

At the reception that followed the concert, Japan Romania Society Chancellor Akiko Igaya said, “I would like to thank Chancellor Mizuta and everyone at Josai for making this splendid opportunity possible. It’s my hope that some of the children who sang for you today will become future exchange students at Josai.”