Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Secondary school No. 43 of Shurchinsky district of Surkhandarya region was named after the Japanese archaeologist Kyuzo Kato.

On 17 December 2019, a solemn ceremony of naming school after Kyuzo Kato took place at the secondary school No. 43 of Shurchi district.

It should be noted that the solemn ceremony took place on the eve of the official visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Japan.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education of Uzbekistan Dilshod Kenjaev, and representatives of the Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan.

Kato Kyuzo (18 May 1922 – 11 September 2016) is a Japanese archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and ethnographer. He specialized in the study of heritage, history, architectural monuments of Uzbekistan. He showed great interest in the ancient history of Uzbekistan.

For many years, he worked closely with the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, participated in archaeological excavations in Surkhandarya region (Dalverzin-tepa, Kora-tepa, Khalchayan, Fayaz-tepa).

Kato Kyuzo was a popularizer of the history of Uzbekistan in Japan. The author of dozens of books on the history of Central Asia and Siberia. He organized numerous symposiums and exhibitions dedicated to Uzbekistan.

He translated the works of Amir Temur, Babur, Ulugbek into Japanese and studied the Buddhist culture of Central Asia, especially in southern Uzbekistan.

In 2002, he was awarded the Dustlik Order for great achievements in the study and promotion of history, architectural monuments of the peoples of Uzbekistan, as well as a significant contribution to the development of scientific ties between Uzbekistan and Japan. He is also an honorary citizen of Termez.

“For many years, Kato Kyuzo carried out archaeological work in Shurchi district, which is reason for naming school No. 43 after his name. Unfortunately, until today, Japanese language is not taught in our schools, despite great interest,” said Deputy Minister of Public Education of Uzbekistan Dilshod Kenjaev.

“From the 2020-2021 academic year, students of Kyuzo Kato School No. 43 will have the opportunity to learn Japanese along with English. Starting next year, the school will become a specialized school for young archaeologists with the study of Japanese and English,” Dilshod Kenjaev added.

Also, the school created a cabinet-museum of Kato Kyuzo, whose visitors can get acquainted with the life and work of a Japanese scientist.

It should be noted that in August 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan adopted a resolution “On additional measures to improve the teaching of foreign languages in secondary schools”.

According to the document, 15 specialized schools for learning the Japanese language will be created in all regions of Uzbekistan. In the 2020-2021 academic years, five schools are planning to organize teaching of the Japanese language.

The Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan intends to establish close cooperation with the relevant structures of Japan for the training and retraining of teachers, the creation of a teaching methodology and Japanese language textbooks.