The programme will include more than 250 participants from 13 countries, including Japan and the UAE. It will be the eighth such programme in which Emirates will be taking part.

According to the Japanese embassy Culture Section, the programme, in its 16th year, aims at fostering the spirit of international cooperation, promoting friendship and mutual understanding between the youths of Japan and those from other parts of the world. It will help broaden the international awareness of the participants through different activities on board the ship. The programme is being organised by the Cabinet Office of the government of Japan. The non-Japanese participants will first assemble in Tokyo and before boarding the ship they will meet the Japanese crown prince and the prime minister. They will stay with a host of families in one of the Japanese prefectures and undergo some pre-departure training. They are also scheduled to visit United Nations University, among other places.

On January 21, they will travel from Tokyo to Yokohama, which is the starting point and final destination of the journey, to join their Japanese peers, and embark on 'Nippon Maru' ship.

Japanese embassy sources said the UAE nationals, led by a national leader, would take part in different activities on board the ship, and exchange views and  experiences with youths of other countries.

The ship will start from Yokohama, then visit Singapore, Mumbai in India, Dar Al Salam in Tanzania, Victoria in Seychelles, and again on the return trip call on Singapore, before concluding its journey and sailing back to Yokohama. The participants this year are from Japan, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Russia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, and the USA, the Japanese embassy said.