CARDIFF, Wales (Kyodo) -- The leader of the Welsh government sang the Japanese national anthem in Japanese at an event in Cardiff on Thursday, marking the start of a year of cultural and business exchange.

First Minister Eluned Morgan's performance of "Kimigayo" was a response to the Japanese ambassador to Britain, Hiroshi Suzuki, singing the Welsh anthem in Welsh in a video that has gone viral on British social media since earlier this week.

Suzuki said that learning the anthem in Welsh was "challenging," on the sidelines of the launch event for the "Wales and Japan 2025" initiative.

He pledged to "practice Welsh some more," after local schoolchildren who were shown the video said his Welsh pronunciation was strange.

Morgan said, "You did a wonderful job and thank you for giving such respect to our country and our language."

Attendees at the event were also treated to a performance by a Wales-based Japanese drumming group and music played on a koto -- a traditional Japanese string instrument.

The year 2025 was chosen to mark 50 years since Japanese tech giant Panasonic Corp. first started manufacturing in Wales, as well as to coincide with the upcoming World Exposition in Osaka, in which Wales is set to participate.

Speaking to Kyodo News, Morgan said that she hoped the yearlong campaign could show the strength of her country's relationship with Japanese business and "give confidence to other Japanese companies to consider investing here in Wales."

Morgan also spoke about her interest in Japan's response to the issue of its aging population, saying the country is "ahead of the rest" in its efforts to cope with the long-term effects of a declining birth rate.

"I think there's some serious lessons we can learn from that in terms of how you live, and also, obviously, the impact on health," she added. Government statistics predict that by 2038, 1 in 4 people in Wales will be over 65.

Additionally, while the country's Japanese population now numbers under a thousand, the organizers said they hope the campaign might lead to more Japanese people considering living in Wales as more of Japan's businesses relocate.

Eiko Meredith, 47, the host of an annual Japanese animation festival in Wales, moved to the country in 2008.

"I think Welsh people are very friendly and it's very nice to have the city and also have nature," she said. Meredith has been running the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival, which showcases Japanese animated movies all over the country, since 2010.

(By Callum Cafferty)