On November 25, 2011, the Josai University Educational Corp. held a special lecture commemorating the opening of the Josai Center for Graduate Studies.
The Center was erected with the goal of developing great future leaders in Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world. The arrival of this facility will surely enrich the educational experience for graduate students at Josai (with four research fields and eight different majors) and JIU (with five research fields and nine different majors).

The lecture opened with an address of greeting from Chancellor Mizuta who said, “Josai University Educational Corp. established the Center for Graduate Studies and the Josai Center for Innovation that opened last July in hopes of developing a program that contributes to the area of human resources on both a domestic and international level. Through the cooperation of Josai and JIU, as well as other universities abroad, our goal is to create experts who possess superior leadership skills to guide the global community into the future.”

The event then began with a lecture entitled “The Role of Graduate Education in the Global Community” from Mr. Yuichiro Anzai, President of independent corporation Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Mr. Anzai explained how, in a rapidly advancing global society, specialists who can contribute on both the global and local level are in much demand. With the graduate school assuming the role of developing such individuals, Mr. Anzai then suggested possible education models, focusing specifically on graduate education at private universities.
This was followed by a lecture from current Director of the Center for Graduate Studies and former President of JSPS, Mr. Motoyuki Ono. His speech focused on “Graduate Education in the 21st Century.” Mr. Ono contended that graduate education reform is essential for the revitalization of Japan, emphasizing the importance of securing external financing for this purpose, in addition to “cooperative activities that accentuate the two universities’ strengths,” “proof of internationally-oriented education programs,” “cooperation with foreign universities and bolstering study-abroad programs” as major parts of the Center’s direction as they move forward.

Nearly 200 people attended the lecture held in Josai’s basement auditorium, with audience members ranging from representatives from the Ministry of Education and industry to faculty, staff, and students from the university. A reception was held following the lecture, during which many productive conversations were had regarding such topics as the direction of graduate education in the global community and future development of human resources.