Receiving a visit from Consul-General of France in Kyoto

On Friday, April 3, the Consul-General of France in Kyoto, Mr. BROSSEAU Charles-Henri, visited Yoshida Campus with the President of the Yamaguchi Japan-France Society, Dr. Hiroshi Suematsu and two other members of the society.

Firstly, they paid a courtesy call to the President of Yamaguchi University, Dr. Masaaki Oka. Here, they received a briefing on the Faculty of Global and Science Studies, which has been newly established this spring and on our efforts to create ties with France through endeavors such as the exchange program for students of the faculty. The consul-general, who has experience studying abroad in Japan, showed his enthusiasm for this program since student exchanges between Japan and France will be encouraged by the “Japan-France Mutual Recognition Agreement of the Studies, Diplomas and Credits.” He also stated that he would like to strive to further the progress of academic exchange between Japan and France.

Afterwards, the group visited and exchanged opinions with the Vice-President, Dr. Fusanori Miura, who is in charge of international and regional cooperation. The Professor of Graduate School of Medicine, Dr. Akio Kamimura and the Lecturer of the Faculty of Global and Science Studies, Dr. Saeri Yamamoto also attended the meeting. During the gathering, Prof. Kamimura informed those present of an academic relationship between the University of Bordeaux 1 and the graduate school, as an academic exchange agreement had been initiated between the two bodies the previous September. One of his students who had been sent to Bordeaux also participated in the meeting and reported her successful experiences during her stay in France. Meanwhile, Dr. Yamamoto presented the online language learning mutual support system that has been established with Lille University 3, and reported that currently ten students from each university have joined this mutual learning system and communicate on a one-to-one basis.

After the meeting, they walked through the campus and visited the Faculty of Humanities. Here, they attended another meeting, this time with the Professor of the Faculty of Humanities, Mr. Masashi Takemoto and the Associate Professor of the faculty, Mr. De Boissieu Michel. During the assembly, they exchanged their opinions on the French language curriculum taught in the faculty and on conducting future academic exchange agreements with universities in France.

This visit by the consul-general resulted in an excellent opportunity not only to show our global challenges to the French diplomats but also to obtain beneficial information to develop Japan-France academic exchanges. We hope to encourage the further globalization of our university in order to contribute to the development of Japan-France academic exchange.