Japan parade popular with New Yorkers | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

The third Japan Parade has been held in New York City, featuring Japanese festival dancing and drum performances.

About 100 Japanese and local groups participated in the annual parade to introduce Japanese culture and celebrate the friendship between Japan and New York City on Saturday.

It was organized by the Consulate General of Japan in New York and others.

Among the participants who marched through a main avenue in Manhattan was the cast of a theater adaptation of the popular manga/anime series “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”.

And wheelchair tennis star Kunieda Shingo served as the Grand Marshal of the parade. He has won all four of the top tournaments known as the grand slam, along with a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Kunieda said that he was happy to have been surrounded and greeted by many people from New York and Japan.

Spectators lined up along the street for the parade. A girl wearing a festive cotton Kimono, said that it is very exciting and she felt as if she was travelling back in time.

Consul General Mori Mikio said that the parade has grown to attract a wider audience and to be appreciated by more American people.

He added that he will do his best to keep the parade going for a long time into the future.