On Sunday, April 28, a round-table discussion was held at the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam with Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama, who was on an official visit to Vietnam, and Japanese university officials working in the country. The Ritsumeikan University ASEAN Office (Director: Shuhei Wakayama) was also invited to participate in the discussion along with four universities, including Osaka University, Nagoya University, and Nagasaki University, and one other institution.

After each university and institution introduced their activities, they partook in a discussion with participants from MEXT and the Agency for Cultural Affairs who were in attendance with Minister Moriyama. A lively exchange of ideas took place over the course of one hour.
Minister Moriyama raised the issue of the decline in the number of Japanese students studying abroad and spoke about the importance of international exchange experiences during university as well as the importance of living abroad for the promotion of intercultural understanding. Regarding the activities of Ritsumeikan's ASEAN office, the Minister said, "The office is involved in a wide variety of activities, including recruiting international students, providing support for study abroad programs in Vietnam, and organizing exchanges between current students and alumni. I hold high expectations for Ritsumeikan University's proactive efforts toward the internationalization of universities.”

Comment from Director Shuhei Wakayama

Although many Japanese universities have established overseas offices in Vietnam, Ritsumeikan’s is the only one that is permanently staffed. I realize that the praise heaped on our activities by the Minister of MEXT is a recognition of all of Ritsumeikan’s internationalization efforts undertaken to date.
Last year, Japan and Vietnam celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and both countries have become increasingly important partners in the fields of education and human resources development. We will continue to implement a wide range of initiatives in cooperation with our faculty members and the university’s various divisions and offices.

Prior to stopping in Vietnam, Minister Moriyama visited American University in Washington, DC on Thursday, April 11. In addition to students and faculty members from American University, Ritsumeikan students studying abroad on the American University-Ritsumeikan University Joint Degree Program (JDP) and Deputy Director Tsurumi of Ritsumeikan University's Washington, D.C. office were also present for an opinion exchange session with the Minister. During the session, the content of the JDP was introduced, and a student on the JDP gave a speech.