On September 3, Josai International University awarded Tianjin Foreign Studies University President Xiu Gang with an honorary doctoral degree during the JIU Fall commencement ceremony.

President Xiu Gang, being a specialist in Japanese language education,is one of very few Chinese university presidents working in this field and is a central advocate of its advancement in his home country.After becoming President of what was then called Tianjin Foreign Studies College, Xiu Gang worked tirelessly to expand the school’s curriculum in an effort to raise it’s official designation to “university,” a goal accomplished in 2010. As a result, President Xiu Gang is widely regarded as the founding father of Japanese language education in China.

The academic exchange program between TFSU and JIU was formally established in October of 2007. Many college and graduate students from TFSU have come to study at JIU, and the two universities have also engaged in faculty member exchange. Of the TFSU exchange students to study here, we are proud to report that many have gone on to illustrious careers as university professors, administrators in academic exchange, or employees at health insurance companies and five-star hotels. In January of this year the two schools agreed to advance their partnership even further by establishing a joint academic program. It is to acknowledge the deep connection between TFSU and JIU and to honor President Xiu Gang’s passion in the area of Japanese language education that JIU was please to award President Xiu with an honorary doctoral degree.

In his acceptance speech President Xiu Gang expressed how honored he felt to receive this award and thanked JIU for this memory that he will always cherish.

Sun Jian Ming, Minister from the Chinese Embassy in Japan was also in attendance and delivered a moving speech of his own. We were pleased to learn that, among other things, there are many graduates of Tianjin Foreign Studies University working at the Chinese embassy.

The ceremony was followed by a dinner party wherein attendees were treated to a samisen concert from JIU students as well as a performance of traditional Japanese dance from instructors who have taught exchange students to JIU in the past.