New Sasakawa Hall Opens in Colombo to Further Strengthen Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship
Published on July 21, 2026
During my visit to Sri Lana in mid-June, I attended a ceremony to open the new Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka–Japan Cultural Center in central Colombo in the presence of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
The June 11 event was also joined by Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar and Chairman Premalal Fernando of the Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka–Japan Cultural Center Trust as well as Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akio Isomata.
Commonly known as the Sasakawa Hall, the new center was designed by Design Consortium International Limited, one of Sri Lanka’s most respected architectural practices, and comprises three basement levels and 11 upper floors.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya told some 200 attendants: “There is much we can continue to learn from Japan’s experience in technology, productivity, management excellence and human resource development,” adding that Sri Lanka could add to its development agenda by looking at Japan’s commitment to collective national progress.
She said that Japanese principles such as the Kaizen 5S methodology and continuous innovation had already influenced Sri Lankan enterprise and institutions.
5S is a workplace organization method based on a list of five Japanese words: seiri, seiton, seisō, seiketsu and shitsuke. These are often translated as “sort,” “set in order,” “shine,” “standardize” and “sustain.”
“Through this center, those exchanges can be expanded further, creating opportunities for our businesses and our young people to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world,” Dr. Amarasuriya said.
The prime minister said that in a period of global uncertainty, trusted partnerships grounded in mutual respect and cooperation were becoming increasingly important, adding that Sri Lanka and Japan would continue to be committed to dialogue, international cooperation and a rules-based international order.
Japanese Ambassador Isomata said that the new center would deepen educational, cultural and professional exchanges between the two countries as bilateral ties entered a new chapter with the opening of the new Sasakawa Hall.
He noted that people-to-people exchanges were the foundation of Japan-Sri Lanka relations and expressed confidence that the facility would play an increasingly significant role in expanding cooperation across multiple sectors.
In my speech, I recalled that at the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference after World War II, Mr. J.R. Jayewaredene, who later became president of Sri Lanka, strongly supported the return of a free and independent Japan to the international community. “His spirit of friendship and generosity remains deeply engraved in the hearts of the Japanese people to this day,” I said.
With this in mind, my late father Ryoichi Sasakawa, the first chairman of The Nippon Foundation, supported the construction of the original Sasakawa Hall in 1990 in the hope of strengthening the bond of friendship between Sri Lanka and Japan at the private-sector level.
Since then, I went on, the foundation has carried out a wide range of humanitarian activities in the South Asian country, including Japanese language education, cultural exchange and promotion of people-to-people ties between the two nations, as well as assistance in renovation of schools in the northern post-conflict regions, and support for training programs for prosthetics and orthotics, and efforts to eliminate prejudice and discrimination associated with leprosy.
“I am delighted that, through the dedicated efforts of all those involved, we are able to celebrate this important milestone for the new center,” I said, adding: “I sincerely hope that it will continue to serve as an important bridge of friendship between Sri Lanka and Japan.”
After unveiling the plaque to commemorate the opening of the new Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka–Japan Cultural Center in Colombo on June 11, 2026, with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya (standing next to me).
A tape-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka–Japan Cultural Center, commonly known as the Sasakawa Hall, in Colombo on June 11, 2026. From left, Mr. Premalal Fernando, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka–Japan Cultural Center Trust;
Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Hiniduma Sunil Senevi; the author; and Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar.
With my long-time friend Mr. Dayasiri Warnakulasooriya (left), who served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sasakawa Memorial Sri Lanka-Japan Cultural Center Trust from 2009 to 2012.