On July 23, 2015, Josai University Educational Corporation (Noriko Mizuta, Chancellor) formed an extensive agreement with Yoshinoya Holdings Co., Ltd (Yasutaka Kawamura, President)―owner of the famous beef bowl chain as well as the self-service udon chain Hanamaru―to cultivate human resources and organize other joint ventures. This agreement was made in the interest of expanding Josai students’ understanding of the food service industry by organizing practical lectures and discussions led by members of the industry. There are also plans to develop internship programs, endowment courses, and job fairs aimed at foreign exchange students.

Prior to the agreement’s formation, Yoshinoya Holdings organized a joint seminar for Josai International University’s undergraduate and graduate students from the Faculty of Management and Information Sciences that ran from May to July earlier this year. The course, which was attended by both domestic and international students from China, Mongolia, and other countries, featured lectures from President Kawamura and other Yoshinoya employees on the development of the food service industry, Yoshinoya’s management system, human resource cultivation, globalization, branding and marketing strategy, and other related topics. They also arranged a field trip to Yoshinoya’s Tokyo manufacturing plant located in Saitama prefecture and engaged in active student discussion. With the formation of this extensive agreement, Josai and Yoshinoya hope to expand their alliance even further.

The agreement signing was held at Josai University Educational Corporation’s Tokyo Kioicho Campus and attended by Chancellor Mizuta, Josai International University President Hakuo Yanagisawa, and President Kawamura, among others. Chancellor Mizuta provided brief remarks by saying, “The summer seminar organized by Yoshinoya Holdings was, I believe, an extremely gratifying experience for the students that participated. I hope that we can organize a variety of activities with Yoshinoya from now on.” President Kawamura responded by stating, “My personal desire is that students will know and understand the true state of the food service industry and that this will in turn contribute to an elevation of the industry itself.”

On the day of the signing, joint seminar students provided feedback on their experience. One male Chinese international student said, “The seminar provided many hints on how I might start a business in my home country.” Another female student, also from China, said, “I became very interested in the topic of the seminar. I’m planning to write on Yoshinoya as the subject of my master’s thesis.” Many others expressed their desire to “study Japanese-style service at Yoshinoya” and “work as a global employee.”