Itoda City will now send 19 students and three chaperones to the island this month, she said.
The students, who are attending an elementary school, will arrive here on Aug. 21 and will stay until the 28th with local residents in a home-stay program, Seman said.
The mayor’s office will arrange for the Japanese students to meet with their counterparts at an elementary school on Saipan, Seman said, adding they will also be attending the local classes.
While on Saipan, the Japanese students will perform a dance number at the school they will be visiting, she added.
Seman said they received a request from Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Perry John Tenorio to accommodate the visiting Japanese students.
Matsutoshi Ozaki of the Itoda City Education Board earlier asked MVA for a possible student exchange program for Japanese students from Itoda City.
Ozaki, according to Seman, was one of the volunteers who assisted CNMI students who participated in the 20th Asia Pacific Children Convention in Fukuoka, Japan in 2008.
The CNMI students were hosted by families from Itoda City in Fukuoka, she said.
This November, Seman said they are expecting the arrival of 90 more Japanese students.
She said the mayor’s office is now looking for more families to host the students.
This time, the students will be paying for their stay at $35 per day. Their home-stay will be for two days only, Seman said.
