On July 1, 2014, Josai University Educational Corporation became the first Japanese university to form an academic exchange agreement with Myanmar’s Yangon University of Foreign Languages.

The exchange agreement was formed during a Josai delegation visit to Yangon University of Foreign Languages. The delegation was led by Managing Director of Josai University Educational Corporation and President of Josai University, Yasunori Morimoto, serving on behalf of Josai Chancellor Noriko Mizuta. The signing ceremony was attended by approximately ten representatives from Yangon University of Foreign Languages, including President Lwin Lwin Soe, and Chair of the Japanese Language department Khin Aye. Also in attendance were former and current presidents of the Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA), Myint Wai and Si Si Shen, respectively, as well as Minister Toshio Yamamoto and other dignitaries from the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar.

Since its democratization in 2011, Myanmar has been the focus of much attention as one of the primary countries in Southeast Asia on track toward genuine economic development. This year marks the 60th year of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and Japan, a fact that was observed by the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar during the ceremony.

Managing Director Morimoto, spoke during the ceremony, saying, “It is a great honor to visit the Yangon University of Foreign Languages today. The rapid economic and industrial development of Myanmar calls for human resources that can serve as a bridge between Myanmar and Japan. This academic exchange agreement was formed in the interest of cultivating precisely these kind of human resources and for the expansion of relations between our two universities through educational and research exchange.”
　 President Lwin Lwin Soe followed by saying, “To date, our university has formed agreements with universities in Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and France, but it is a great honor that our first academic exchange agreement with a Japanese university is with the Josai University Educational Corporation. I hope that this prove a very fruitful partnership for both universities.”
　 This was followed by the signing of the exchange agreement.

After the ceremony, the Josai delegation was given a guided tour of campus facilities, including a classroom viewing of a Japanese language course in session where they had the opportunity to meet with Japanese faculty and their enthusiastic students.

Yangon University of Foreign Languages, a national university with an enrollment of approximately 2,300, celebrates the 60th anniversary of its foundation in 2014. Yangon University of Foreign Languages is widely regarded as the leader of foreign language universities among Myanmar institutions. The university has departments in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English, German, and French, among others. The Japanese department alone has an enrollment of nearly 300 with 25 faculty members.

On the following day (7/2), the Josai delegation paid a visit to the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar where they met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Tateshi Higuchi to announce the signing of the academic exchange agreement.

As part of our Mid-term Target of strengthening international exchange to cultivate global human resources, Josai also formed a cooperative alliance with the Myanmar Association of Japan Alumni (MAJA)―comprised of Myanmar graduates who studied abroad in Japan―in October, 2013. In addition, the upcoming Japan-ASEAN summit conference is scheduled to take place in the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw in November, 2014, with Myanmar serving as the host country. In accordance with this, the Japanese government, in a June 24 cabinet decision, announced a new direction in policy to “actively promote the strengthening of human resource network formation overseas through former exchange students to Japan.”
　 In light of these developments, Josai’s position as the first Japanese university to form an academic exchange agreement with the Yangon University of Foreign Languages is truly epoch-making.

With this agreement, one can expect many concrete programs of exchange between Josai and Yangon University of Foreign Languages, including the hosting of exchange students.