The Japanese lecturer teaching Welsh in Tokyo

Rugby World Cup host country Japan may be 6,000 miles away from Wales, but Welsh lessons are being taught at one university in Tokyo.

The lecturer, Takeshi Koike, learnt the language when he came to Lampeter, Ceredigion, as part of his studies in 1992. During his year abroad he fell in love with the Welsh language and culture.

"I wanted to go abroad to study to improve my English first, and for some reason my teacher chose Lampeter college for me because I said in the interview...'what would you like to learn?' and I said, 'I love singing, I want to go to a country where singing is big', and that's why they chose Wales for me."

After coming back to live in Japan, Takeshi decided he was going to create a Welsh language and culture class for his students.

"I decided to create this class because Welsh is my speciality, I thought I could introduce what I know about Wales, especially the language. One year I had 60 students it was amazing, 60 students saying bore da and prynhawn da in chorus!"

From spending time between the two countries, the lecturer says it's more than just the language that links Wales and Japan.

"I've heard from lots of people abroad that they find Japanese people so welcoming, and that's the same experience I had in Wales."