TIRANA, June 25 /ATA/ On the 25th of June 2026, 93 Japan related books written in English were handed over to the Diber Public Library by H.E. Ms. KATO Kikuko, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Albania. This is a donation by The Nippon Foundation and The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research through the “READ JAPAN PROJECT,” which aims to promote a deeper understanding of Japan around the world through Japan related books written in English.
The ceremony took place at the library, in the presence of Mr. Rahim Spahiu, the Mayor of Diber, and Ms. Florinda Sela, Director of the Cultural Center of the city. During the handover ceremony, Ambassador Kato expressed her wishes that these books would provide the citizens of Diber with a deeper understanding of Japan, its culture and society so that the mutual understanding between the two countries as well as the good relations between the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Albania and the Municipality of Diber will be strengthened. Director Sela and the representative of the library expressed their sincere gratitude to The Nippon Foundation and The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research for their generous contribution, as well as to the Embassy of Japan for its continuous support.
Mayor Spahiu, conveyed his appreciation for the donation. He also expressed his renewed gratitude for the development assistance from Japan including provisions of waste collection truck and the waste containers handed over in 2023 and the fire truck handed over in 2025 through the Japan’s grant scheme of the “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects” as well as funding for provisions of solar photovoltaic systems through UNDP project handed over in 2024.
The READ JAPAN PROJECT was initiated by The Nippon Foundation in 2008 to promote understanding of Japan through the donation of Japan-related books written in English to universities and public libraries around the world.
To date, the project has donated books to more than 1,600 institutions globally. It is administered by the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research with financial support from The Nippon Foundation. Beneficiary institutions can select titles according to their needs from a catalogue of 354 books covering a wide range of fields, including politics and international relations, economics and business, society and culture, history, literature and the arts, manga, and Japanese language. The donation to the public library in Diber is the 19th donation in Albania since its first donation in 2011 from The Nippon Foundation and The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. More than 2000 books were donated to universities and public libraries across Albania.
Since the opening of the Embassy of Japan in Albania in 2017, relations between Japan and Albania have been strengthening, and Japan’s cooperation with Albanian institutions has been expanding through many initiatives and events.
