JOY Burch has taken the wife of Japanese the Prime Minister, Mrs Akie Abe, to Ainslie School as part of the Japanese leader’s official visit to Canberra.

“Mrs Abe was particularly interested in Ainslie School’s Japanese language program, and even on school holidays 30 students were keen to welcome Mrs Abe to their school.”

Mrs Abe toured the Japanese classroom and school library, which is the oldest purpose-built school library in Australia. She met students, answered their questions and presented them with a number of Japanese stories known as the Akie Book Collection that will remain in the school library.

Mrs Abe later toured the Burrunju Indigenous Gallery at Yarramundi Reach, where she was given a painting created especially by artist and Gallery manager, Linda (Ngunginni) Huddleston, to commemorate her visit.