On the morning of March 18, 2015, a delegation led by Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin and Irish Ambassador Anne Barrington visited Josai University Educational Corporation’s Tokyo Kioicho Campus. Students and faculty from both Josai University and Josai International University greeted the group, who then proceeded to the 1st building hall where they signed the academic exchange agreement.

Josai University Educational Corporation’s academic exchange agreement with the University of Limerick was finalized under the jurisdiction of Minister Brendan Howlin and former Japan Business Federation chairman Hiromasa Yonekura. Beginning with opening remarks and words of thanks from Chancellor Noriko Mizuta as well as University of Limerick director of International Exchange, Dr. Patricia O’Flaherty, the agreement was finalized with the signatures of Chancellor Mizuta, Dr. O’Flaherty, Minister Howlin, and Mr. Yonekura.

The initial idea for this academic exchange agreement came in December 2013, during Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny’s visit to Japan. Then Japan Business Federation chairman Hiromasa Yonekura secured a verbal agreement with Mr. Kenny for Japan and Ireland to collaborate in human resource development. The exchange agreement was then drawn up, with the University of Limerick and Josai selected as representatives for their respective countries. General manager of the Japan Business Federation’s International Affairs Bureau, Kazuyuki Kinbara and Irish Ambassador to Japan Anne Barrington were also in attendance for the signing. One special feature of this particular agreement is the inclusion of a Japanese internship program made possible through the support of the Japan Business Federation. This marks Josai’s first academic exchange agreement with an Irish university.

The signing was then followed by a lecture from Minister Howlin. He spoke for nearly thirty minutes on the topic of “The Importance of Reform in Ireland’s Economic Recovery.” Minister Howlin graciously took time out of his busy schedule to answer questions from students in the audience and converse with exchange students.

Given this most recent academic exchange agreement and the opportunity to hear a lecture from a current Irish minister, one can expect news of Josai’s growing program of exchange with Irish universities in the near future.

Note: The University of Limerick was established in 1972 and is located in the city of Limerick, Ireland. The university is comprised of six schools, including business administration, education, and science, with a total enrollment of approximately 17,000. It is also known to host one of the few Japanese language departments, in Ireland.