Osaka University and Nose Town, Osaka Prefecture, sign friendship agreement

On Tuesday, February 17, Osaka University and Nose Town (pronounced NO-say), Osaka Prefecture, signed a cooperative framework agreement with the aim of improving education, research, culture, and city planning, promoting cooperation in the community, and contributing to mutual development and revitalization by making use of both parties' resources.
Even before this agreement was signed, there has been a variety of mutual exchange between OU and Nose. Nose's historic joruri ,  a type of traditional narrative music, was incorporated as a drama class at the Graduate School of Letters, while international students at OU were sent to junior high schools in the town as English instructors.
This agreement will further promote mutual exchange between OU and Nose. At the signing ceremony, after signing the agreement, President Toshio HIRANO and Mayor Tadashi YAMAGUCHI shook hands, confirming future cooperation between the two.
OU signed agreements with 10 municipal governments, including Nose. However, this marks the first agreement with a small town. With this agreement, OU community members, including international students, will find Japanese culture in the "Satoyama" region in Nose, where people live in harmony with all types of nature, such as rich forests, rice paddy fields, streams, and grasslands.
This agreement provides the foundation for future development of various approaches including
research regarding problems facing local governments in Japan such as the falling birth rate and the aging population, as well as those issues related to education.

President Hirano (on the left) and Mayor Yamaguchi