8th Japan-China University President Conference

On October 31, 2013 and November 1, President Toshio HIRANO and Trustee and Vice President Yasuyuki OKAMURA attended the 8th Japan-China University Presidents Conference held at Xiamen University in China. This conference was held in order to promote academic and student exchange by providing a forum in which people involved in higher education in both Japan and China could talk with one another. It also aimed to explore the new role of cooperation in higher education in both nations through an exchange of opinions regarding challenges facing both nations. (The first conference in this series was held in Tokyo in October 2000.)

This eighth conference was held in Xiamen under the theme of "Possibilities and methods for creating world-class universities through Japan-China cooperation." More than 130 people, including presidents and vice presidents of universities in both countries, participated in this conference. The conference opened with greetings from Zhu Chongshi , President of Xiamen University, Liu Baoli , Inspector for International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China, and NAKOKA Tsukasa , Councilor, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

Their greetings were followed by keynote speeches by GONG Ke , President of Nankai University and President Toshio HIRANO . (To view President Toshio Hirano's Keynote Speech,  go here .) Following their speeches, presidents and vice presidents of the participating universities made short presentations under the themes of "What is a world-class university?", "Differences and common elements in education in Japan and China", and "Advantages and disadvantages in exchange promotion activities".

NOGAMI Tomoyuki , Director, National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation, and Zhu Chongshi , President of Xiamen University, commented on the presentations. They spoke about what was necessary for the creation of a world-class university -- excellent management by the president, outstanding students, faculty and staff members, and support from the nation -- as well as the importance of this conference in addressing challenges in higher education that both nations face. Following these comments, FUJIKI Yukio, Trustee and Vice President of Kyushu University, delivered closing remarks. (Kyushu University will host the next conference in in the autumn of 2015.)

In line with this president conference, the first Japan-China Student Forum was held; two students from Osaka University participated in it. In all, sixty-four students participated in the student forum and made presentations in English under the theme of "World-class universities that come to mind." Two student representatives, one from Japan and one from China, made summary presentations.

During this conference, President Toshio HIRANO and Trustee and Vice President OKAMURA talked with Zhu Chongshi, President of Xiamen University, and YANG Zhong, Vice President of Nanjing University, and agreed on promoting cooperation between their universities and exchange among students.

Presidents and Vice Presidents

President Conference

President Toshio Hirano delivers a keynote speech

Trustee Okamura, President Zhu, and President Toshio Hirano

Trustee Okamura and Vice President Yang