On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, a delegation led by Chairman Kiyoshi Imaizumi of the Imaizumi Memorial Burma Scholarship fund paid a visit to Chancellor Mizuta of Josai to promote the academic exchange and the development of human resources.

The specific goal of this visit was to support human resource development and exchange with Myanmar, a goal that Imaizumi hopes to realize through this generous endowment to Josai University who is currently hosting exchange students from Myanmar.

Chairman Imaizumi first established the “Imaizumi Memorial Burma Scholarship” in Tsurugashima, Saitama in 1989 to express his gratitude to the people of Burma (now Myanmar), where Imaizumi served as a Japanese soldier during World War II, as it was only due to their kindness in sharing food despite its overwhelming scarcity that he was able to endure the harsh conditions of war and to return home. The scholarship is a means of repaying his debt and to contribute to the construction of the nation of Myanmar.

Since its foundation, 187 university students (including 25 PhD students) have been awarded the scholarship and have gone on to active careers in various fields in Japan, Myanmar, and other developing nations. The scholarship has also been awarded to over 300 students in Myanmar and continues to be used to support the construction of schools and libraries as well as human resource development.

Josai greatly values the aspirations of Mr. Imaizumi and pledges our continual support for the growth of education and human resources in Myanmar.