Volodymyr MUZYKA, P&T, interviews Yuri Kostenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Japan * * * Yuri Vasyliovych, wouldn't you like for starters to share your first, purely human impressions of the country of your residence? "My wife and I came to the Land of the Rising Sun at the end of April, and exactly in a week we witnessed sakura, Japanese cherry, burst into bloom. While looking for a suitable flat to rent we stayed at the high-rise hotel with a fascinating name "Sakura Tower Prince Hotel"; the latter featured the inner court with a peculiar park and a pool inhabited by weighty carps of various colors and sakura trees of different sort in abundance. The tree abloom is unique in its beauty with leaves virtually invisible because of the ocean of white and pink petals. We had the chance to feast our eyes with this prodigy of nature just in the center of twenty-million-residents Tokyo. "Repeatedly our Japanese friends told us that people arriving during sakura flowering were destined to be happy here. I keep my fingers crossed but so far this extraordinary country, its unmatched culture, rich history, and the eventful present fascinate us. стр. 22 "I cannot avoid mentioning the presentation of credentials of the Ukrainian Ambassador in Japan to the Emperor of Japan Akihito. In 1992 and 1995 I already had the chance to present credentials to presidents of the Austrian Republic and Federal Republic of Germany as the Ambassador of Ukraine to these countries. With all the splendor of the Austrian and German protocols with the guard of honor and performance of national anthems attendant it still remains somewhat traditional. In Japan, however, the singularity of the procedure of accreditation starts with the arrival of the ambassadors at the palace in a gilded carriage and accompanied by representative of the imperial protocol going on straight from ...the central railroad station. At least for twelve minutes the carriage proceeds sl ... Читать далее