On September 21, a Josai delegation led by Chancellor Noriko Mizuta visited the Hannam University campus in Daejeon, South Korea to meet with university president Kim Hyungtae.

JIU and Hannam University have been engaged in many collaborative activities—including study abroad programs, international cultural seminars, and internships—since the signing of their joint academic exchange agreement in 2009.
    In addition, to further expand exchange between the two universities, we have made plans to hold a soccer friendly at Josai’s new Prince Takamado Memorial Sports Park, which was constructed as part of JIU’s 20th anniversary celebration. The meeting was held for the purpose of discussing the details of this event. The group decided to schedule the friendly for December 11 with President Kim and other school officials promising their attendance. The two schools will remain in close consultation as the date of the soccer friendly approaches.

Hannam University’s soccer team is known as being one of the best in Korea, having finished 2nd in the Korean university soccer league this season. Many of their graduates have also gone on to play in the J-league. JIU’s soccer team, on the other hand, under the coaching of Koyama Tetsuji, former team coordinator for the Japanese national team, are working hard to be promoted to Chiba prefecture’s A league from the B league where they currently stand.
    The new Prince Takamado Memorial Sports Park is located next to JIU’s Togane Campus. With a size of 33,000 square meters, the stadium is replete with top-line facilities to accommodate major sporting events, including all-purpose grass turf.

Both universities eagerly anticipate the soccer friendly this December.