On the morning of September 11, Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi and his delegation visited Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), where President Duan Peng welcomed the ambassador on behalf of the university.
President Duan Peng first accompanied Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi on a tour of the University History Museum. Taking time as the axis, President Duan showcased the university's glorious journey from its challenging exploratory phase in the early years, to its vigorous development after reform and opening-up, and to its current status as a renowned international hub for Chinese education and research. Of particular note is the deep historical ties in educational exchanges between BLCU and Japan. In 1980, in response to the initiative by the leaders of China and Japan to develop Japanese language education in China, BLCU was entrusted by the Ministry of Education to host the "Ohira Class" for Chinese Japanese language teacher training. During its operation, Japan dispatched 95 experts to lecture in the program, and 594 Japanese language teachers from over 160 universities participated in advanced training, serving as a vivid testament to friendly educational cooperation between China and Japan. As a bridge for China-Japan exchanges, BLCU established its overseas branch, Tokyo College, in Japan and co-established two Confucius Institutes with Kansai Gaidai University and Hokuriku University. These not only serve as important platforms for Chinese language teaching and cultural dissemination but also act as key links in deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of both countries. BLCU has trained many outstanding Japanese alumni, such as former Ambassador to China Kunio Takahashi, Secretary-General of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union Shoichi Kondo, former Japanese Minister-Counselor to China Masaharu Yoshida, Japanese Consul General in Guangzhou Yoshiko Kushima, and former General Representative of the Matsuyama Ballet Troupe Tetsutaro Shimizu, who play important roles in various fields of China-Japan friendly cooperation. Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi and his delegation gained a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the university's historical development and its outstanding achievements in language education and cultural exchanges, expressing gratitude for BLCU's efforts and contributions to China-Japan friendly exchanges and talent cultivation.
Subsequently, President Duan Peng and Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi held discussions in Conference Room 906 of the Comprehensive Building. President Duan first warmly welcomed Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi and his delegation. He stated that since its founding in 1962, BLCU has been a key university directly under the Ministry of Education of China, a distinctive international university committed to international Chinese education and China-foreign cultural exchanges, with coordinated development across multiple disciplines. It has established close exchange and cooperation relations with 428 universities and educational institutions from 81 countries and regions worldwide. Currently, BLCU has cooperative relations with 58 universities and educational institutions in Japan. In addition to student exchanges, the university dispatches multiple teachers to Japan each year to teach Chinese. In 2015, BLCU established the "Beijing Language and Culture University Tokyo College" in Tokyo, Japan, training over 500 Japanese undergraduate and master's students who can earn BLCU diplomas. Furthermore, BLCU's Japanese major is a national first-class undergraduate program, and Japanese interpretation and translation are among the Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) specialties at BLCU. In the Ministry of Education's first round of professional degree evaluations, BLCU's MTI ranked among the top. BLCU Press has collaborated with scholars from renowned Japanese universities such as Osaka University and Waseda University to publish authoritative textbooks like Teaching Chinese to Japanese Learners and Selected Papers on Modern Chinese Grammar Studies in Japan, which have been widely recognized by Chinese and Japanese students. In the future, BLCU will continue to uphold an open and inclusive educational philosophy, leverage its strengths, deepen cultural exchanges and cooperation with Japan, jointly cultivate high-quality talent with international competitiveness, and contribute wisdom and strength to the peaceful, stable, and developing relations between China and Japan.
Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi expressed gratitude for BLCU's warm reception. He noted the deep ties between BLCU and Japan, where the university plays a pivotal role in China-Japan educational exchanges. After touring the University History Museum, he learned that BLCU has trained many outstanding alumni, including several colleagues currently serving at the Japanese Embassy in China, and expressed heartfelt thanks for BLCU's cultivation and care. Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi also emphasized the importance of youth exchanges between China and Japan, hoping more Japanese students can come to BLCU to study and welcoming Japanese major students to study in Japan to promote exchanges among youth from both countries. He affirmed BLCU's brilliant achievements in international Chinese education and China-foreign cultural exchanges, hoping that through joint efforts, China-Japan friendly relations will be further consolidated, and educational cooperation between the two countries will yield even more fruitful results.
Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi also observed a teaching class for BLCU's Japanese major students. In the class, students gave speeches in fluent Japanese on the theme “What is Japanese-Style Group Discussion,” demonstrating their oral expression abilities and understanding of Japanese educational models. After the speeches, Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi remarked that this was his first time visiting a Japanese language classroom at a Chinese university and highly praised the students' enthusiasm for Japanese learning. He shared his own university experiences, encouraging the students to cherish learning opportunities, strive to improve their language skills, and serve as ambassadors for China-Japan friendly exchanges.
(Edited by: Wen Wang)
