Accra, March 8, GNA - Ghana and Japan on Monday reaffirmed their bonds of friendship, with Ghana expressing appreciation and thanks for the numerous Japanese assistance programmes to Ghana.
In a hearty welcome to the Crown Prince of Japan at the Castle, President John Evans Atta Mills said: "Welcome, feel at home because Japan and Ghana are closely linked together and we are brothers and sisters."
President Mills extended the welcome when Crown Prince Naruhito, who arrived in Accra on Sunday for his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, called on him at the Osu Castle in Accra.
President Mills extolled the good bond of friendship between the two countries since 1927 and paid tribute to Dr Noguchi for paying the supreme sacrifice with his life in his research to find a cure for yellow fever and other diseases.
Though he died, the sacrifice of Dr Hideyo Noguchi has lived on since then, the President said.
President Mills observed that Japan had assisted in Ghana's development since independence in 1957.
He said Ghana felt honoured by Japanese assistance and it was worthy of note that the Crown Prince was coming to Ghana just after her Independence Day which took place on Saturday.
He added that the visit at such a time underscored the importance Japan attached to Ghana's independence.
The Crown Prince said he was happy that Ghana was the first country south of the Sahara in Africa he was visiting and expressed his appreciation to President Mills for his kind words.
The Crown Prince on Monday morning laid wreaths on the tombs of Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his wife, Fathia, at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra.
He is expected to have lunch with President Mills, visit a school at Kasoa in the Central Region where the Japanese language is taught and visit the laboratory at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which Dr Noguchi used before his death.
The Crown Prince will also attend the Dr Noguchi Africa Prize symposium, visit the Akosombo Dam and address Japanese residents in Ghana.
He is expected to leave on Wednesday morning for Kenya, the final leg of his two-nation African tour.
GNA
