A fascination with Antigua and Barbuda’s national flag has grown into a six-year interest for a boy in Japan, inspiring handmade artwork, a museum exhibition display and a special Independence Day video.

Kanato Tamashiro, 12, of Okinawa, first discovered the flag when he was six, according to his educator, Dr. Ruben Clos Lopez.

He recently organized a flag art exhibition at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum in Japan, including a section dedicated to Antigua and Barbuda.

Lopez shared the story with Antigua Newsroom to mark the country’s 45th anniversary of independence, along with photographs of Kanato, his handmade flag, a map and the exhibition.

The educator also produced a video, “From Japan to Antigua and Barbuda: Happy 45th Independence Day!”, telling the story of Kanato’s interest in the twin-island nation.

Kanato participates in the Okinawa Language Adventure Team, a volunteer educational initiative founded by Lopez, a Spanish linguist and educator based in Okinawa. The project encourages children to explore languages, countries and cultures around the world.

“Kanato’s family and I believe this could be a lovely opportunity to share with the people of Antigua and Barbuda how their national flag has inspired a young boy living thousands of kilometres away in Japan,” Lopez wrote.

WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE:

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: VIDEO: Antigua and Barbuda flag inspires Japanese boy’s art exhibition.