TEHRAN - On Wednesday evening, symbols of Iran and Japan, such as Mount Fuji and Persian rugs, were projected onto the outer walls of the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site in downtown Tehran.

The Japanese government held a projection mapping event at the premises of the palace to mark 90 years of diplomatic ties with Iran. The event was attended by tens of Iranian officials and the mission of Japan to the Islamic Republic.

“Our cultural relations with Japan was at its height during the Sassanid era (224–651). Relics of that time, especially silk and Sassanian coins, show that relationships,” Iran’s deputy tourism chief Mohammad-Hassan Talebian said, addressing participants.

“Even Iran’s silk in the 6th and 7th centuries had the most popularity in East Asia, especially in Japan,” he added.

Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kenji Yamada, for his part said that Japan wants to promote the historic bilateral relationship despite the harsh situation in the region.

The first Japanese diplomat to be sent to Iran presented his credentials at the palace in 1929, NHK, Japan’s national broadcasting organization, reported on Thursday.

Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in 41 years in June. Abe held talks with President Hassan Rouhani and the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in a bid to deescalate the tensions between Iran and the United States.

On August 1 and 2, people are given free entry to the palace for the event that is organized in close collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, director of the World Heritage site Masoud Nosrati said on Tuesday.

At present, Golestan Palace complex consists of eight key palace structures mostly used as museums and the eponymous gardens, a green shared center of the complex, surrounded by an outer wall with gates. UNESCO has it that the complex exemplifies architectural and artistic achievements of the Qajar era including the introduction of European motifs and styles into Persian arts.

AFM/MG