The Deputy Ambassador of Japan for Indonesia, Nagai Katsuro, accompanied by the Young Consulate of Japan, Nakagome Kota, paid an honorary visit to the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) on Thursday (8/29/2024). On this visit, Nagai Katsuro wanted to introduce himself and talk to the teaching staff, especially the Study Programme of Japanese Literature and the Study Programme of Japanese Language Education at FCS UB, regarding the development of the Japanese language, especially in education.
“I am glad to come here. I had a chance to visit Surabaya yesterday. I took the time to stop by Malang to visit UB because UB is one of the flagship universities with good collaboration with Japan,” said Nagai Katsuro.
“Japanese language learning at FCS UB is one of the best in Indonesia, so I am glad to be here. We are here to facilitate your cooperation with agencies, companies, and universities in Japan,” he continued.
Since 2026, on average 1/3 of Indonesian students who passed the Monbukagakusho selection were FCS UB students. FCS UB is also one of the JLPT test centers in Indonesia. In addition, FCS UB is the only Omikoshi grantee in Indonesia.
“Firstly, we now have an Omikoshi in Indonesia and it is at the UB campus. This Omikoshi will be used in the next Japanese cultural festival at FCS UB. I would be delighted to come and see how this Omikoshi parade is going in the future,” said Nagai Katsuro.
The Dean of FCS UB, Hamamah, Ph.D., also welcomed the visit of the Deputy Ambassador of Japan and the Japanese Young Consulate for RI at FCS UB.
“It is an honor for us to welcome the presence of the Deputy Ambassador of Japan and the Young Consulate of Japan in Indonesia. We would like to thank you for all of the support we have got so far for education of Japanese in our faculty. We already have many collaborations with partner universities in Japan. Even we have a native Japanese lecture who have stayed here for a long time,” said Hamamah.
The event at FCS UB included an introduction to lecturers, native speakers, heads of study programmes, an introduction to each study programme, an explanation of accreditation, certification, students, competencies, cooperation, to student exchange, internships, and Nihongo Patona programmes,.
“I’m impressed with the quality and the passion among the lecturers, professor, and students about Japanese Language, Japanese Literature, and Japanese Studies,” said Nagai Katsuro.
“As soon as I comeback to Jakarta, I would like to share all my experiences I learn during my visit to UB to the staff of Japan embassy in Jakarta. So that we can see more opportunities for far collaboration with UB, especially the utilization of Japanese Language graduates of FCS UB,” he concluded.
Prior to FCS UB, the Japanese Deputy Ambassador’s entourage began with a reception by the Rector of UB, Prof. Widodo, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D.Med.Sc., followed by a visit to the Shinshu University Satellite Office at UB’s International Academic Affairs (IAA), a visit to UB Library to see Omikoshi, and finalised with the visit to FCS UB.
On this occasion, the Rector of UB explained that UB has cooperation in various fields with agencies and universities in Japan, including cooperation with 72 Japanese institutions and as many as 117 MoUs or MoAs that have been agreed upon since 2011. In addition, 389 papers and 2078 citations have been published from 2019 to 2024.
Prof. Widodo also introduced and invited the Japanese Deputy Ambassador to taste UB products, including Porang, Indonesia Konyaku Jelly drink, and mineral water, UB Fresh, while discussing SDGs issues. [dts/PR FCS]
