MEDIA RELEASE June 2011

PH, Japan prepare for college basketball square-off

A college basketball team from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan will visit Manila for a series of goodwill matches against local university squads. From June 24 to 28, the Japanese team will face off in one game with their counterparts from the University of the Philippines and two with the Ateneo de Manila University. Founded in 1912, Doshisha University has its roots in the Doshisha Eigakko (Academy) established in 1875 by Joseph Hardy Neesima, an American-educated minister and son of a samurai. The institution today offers an education anchored on Christianity. The contingent, which includes trainers and staff from the Japanese university, will also tour Metro Manila during their brief stay. The Department of Tourism looks forward to welcoming our Japanese friends and giving them a brief but memorable experience of Filipino hospitality. Especially as this visit also forges ties in areas other than tourism, namely sports and education,

DOT Media Release June 2011

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amity between our two countries will no doubt be deepened, remarked Tourism Secretary Alberto A. Lim. Japan is the Philippines third largest tourist market, accounting for 358,744 visitor arrivals in 2010. Roughly one in ten foreign tourists that travel to the country is Japanese. #####

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EVELYN A. MACAYAYONG Office of Marketing Communications 525-18-05

DOT Media Release June 2011

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