RI President's Name Immortalized in Japanese Library

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's name has been immortalized in a library in Kesennuma city, Miyagi Prefektur, Japan, the city's mayor Shigeru Sugawara said on Tuesday. The president's name was immortalized in the library as an appreciation for his extending financial assistance to the area when it was hit by the tsunami in 2011, Sugawara said. "When the president visited Kesennuma two years ago, we received assistance worth US$2 million," Sugawara said after meeting President Yudhoyono at the presidential office here. The mayor also said that the donation from the president had been used to finance the construction of a library in the city. "When I sought permission to make use of the president's name for the children's library, we were glad to get permission from Bapak (Mr.) Yudhoyono to name it the Yudhoyono Library Museum," the mayor said. On the occasion, the President also received a typical Kesennuma fishermen's jacket as a keepsake and also the coastal areas fishing vessels flag as a symbol of friendship from the mayor. "And this time I can present some souvenirs to the president, such as a fishing vessels flag, which is normally used by fishing boats in Kesennuma," he said. According to him, a number of Indonesian citizens were currently working on fishing boats in Kesennuma city. During his stay in Indonesia, Shigeru Sugawara will also visit Aceh and Bali and his visit will be aimed as a comparative study on handling the tsunami and fishing harbor. (*)