On April 23, 2014, former Slovenian President Danilo Türk visited Josai’s Tokyo Kioicho Campus where he delivered a lecture and met with students. The Republic of Slovenia, a nation located in central Europe, declared its independence in June 1991―one that was achieved after much suffering―marking the dissolution of the Yugoslavian union.
　 Serving as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs from 2000 to 2005, former President Türk made it his work to resolve border disputes. He later worked as a professor of international law at University of Ljubljana from 2005 to 2007 before being elected the 3rd President of the Republic of Slovenia, serving from 2007 until 2012.

Arriving to campus at 3:00 PM alongside Ambassador Helena Drnovsek Zorko and Minister Plenipotentiary Oto Pungartnik, former President Türk met with Chancellor Noriko Mizuta and other representatives from Josai University.

Providing opening remarks before former President Türk’s lecture, Chancellor Mizuta said, “I’m overjoyed at the opportunity for Josai students to hear a speech from such an esteemed scholar of law and diplomat as former President Danilo Türk.”
　 Shiba Nobuhiro, Deputy Director of the Josai Institute for Central European Studies, also expressed his wishes to the diverse audience in attendance. “At the Josai Institute for Central European Studies we have had many great opportunities to become closer to the Visegrad Group (V4), but I hope to use this event as an opportunity to deepen relations with not just the group as a whole, but the individual nation of Slovenia,” he said.
　 In his lecture entitled, “The Future of the UN System,” former President Danilo Türk drew on his experiences as a high-level foreign diplomat and high UN official to provide an overview of the UN system and discuss its approach toward the three categories of national security, development, and human rights, while European exchange students, Josai University and Josai International University students alike listened with great interest.
　 During the Q&A session, Shotaro Fujino of Josai University’s Faculty of Economics asked, “I would like to work for the UN in the future and plan to study abroad at the University of Economics, Prague. What do you consider necessary in terms of reform of the UN system?” Former President Türk demonstrated his problem solving approach with the following answer: “Before suggesting a course of reform, one must first grasp the UN system as a whole and consider its structure critically and then go on to argue whether reform is necessary or not.” There were many questions from international students from Europe and other places overseas who are studying at JU and JIU as well as students from JIU’s Graduate School of International Administration, all of which former President Türk answered courteously.

The questions to former President Türk continued on in the reception that followed, generating a pleasant atmosphere that went beyond the allotted schedule.
　 To this point, Josai University Educational Corporation has worked actively for the promotion of student exchange and the cultivation of human resources in Central Europe, earning many accomplishments in the realm of education and cultural exchange in the process. The Josai Institute for Central European Studies was established to promote even further the development of joint research, academic exchange, human resources, and undergraduate and graduate education in this region.

With former President Türk’s visit to Josai, we hope that our program of exchange with Slovenia will become even more active.