On May 8, 2015, Josai University Educational Corporation invited President Xiu Gang of Tianjin Foreign Studies University to give a special keynote lecture on the subject of “Global Human Resources at the University―Organizing Education for Highly Skilled Professionals” as part of their 50th anniversary at the 3rd building of the Tokyo Kioicho Campus.

President Xiu specialized in Japanese studies at college level and is known among university presidents in China as the foremost scholar of Japanese. President Xiu also serves as president of the Chinese Institute of Japanese Language Studies, as well as a member of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Japanese Language Education Division, and Vice-President of the Chinese Translators Association.

Josai University Educational Corporation formed an academic exchange agreement with Tianjin Foreign Studies University (TFSU) in October 2007. Since that time, more than 300 undergraduate and graduate students from TFSU have come to Josai to study. The two institutions have also engaged in faculty exchange. Based on their partnership, President Xiu was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Josai International University in September 2011. At present, 14 graduate students from TFSU are participating in a semester-long program of study in Business Design at JIU’s Faculty of Media Studies.

Chancellor Mizuta gave opening remarks before the lecture, saying, “I expect this lecture from world-famous President Xiu to be highly informative, for both me and all of you here today.” President Xiu then began his lecture with the subtitle “The Direction of China’s University Education Reform and Potential Cooperative Ventures with Japan.” “The cultivation of global human resources is one important component of university education today. China is also channeling much energy into the education of specialized and highly skilled professionals. Chinese and Japanese universities share a common outlook and objective when it comes to the fostering of global human resources and highly skilled professionals. The two nations’ shared history and achievements as well as cultural and physical proximity make the potential for China-Japan collaboration great,” he said. President Xiu summed up his lecture by saying, “The activities of Tianjin Foreign Studies University and Josai University/Josai International University should be considered one such model for success.” He also touched on the history of China-Japan relations by saying, “We must highly value our relationship with our neighbors. The best way to improve China-Japan relations is through cooperation at the popular level.”

Roughly one hundred people were in attendance, including JU and JIU faculty, as well as Chinese exchange students from both TFSU and other universities, all of whom were greatly intrigued to hear the words of the experienced President Xiu.

The conversation extended into the post-lecture reception, where TFSU exchange student Yang Mengmeng gave a performance of “Bamboo Under the Moon” on a hyōtan (gourd) flute with President Xiu clapping along in appreciation.

One can expect even more programs of exchange with Tianjin Foreign Studies University as a result of this special keynote lecture.