Email magazine for Former Study-in-Japan Students

There are many people in your country and around the world who studied in Japan as a foreign student. They have established country-specific Japan alumni associations or associations that go beyond borders in order to deepen friendship and collaboration. Such Japan alumni associations now number more than 270 organizations in 90 countries around the world.

In this issue, we take a look at a meeting for exchange of dialogue regarding Japan alumni association activities that was held recently in Japan as well as some of their activities.

If you are interested in the activities of Japan alumni associations, please contact the Japan alumni association in your country. You can find contact information for each country at the following:
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/ath/
ath0201e.html.

Japanese embassies and consulates offer support for launching Japan alumni associations as well as the strengthening of activities. Please consult the person in charge of foreign students at the embassy or consulate near you for further details.

Meeting for the Exchange of Dialogue

A meeting for the exchange of dialogue regarding Japan alumni association activities was held at a Tokyo hotel on November 17, 2008. 26 former foreign students in Japan from 14 countries in Southwest Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia as well as from Mongolia participated. They had been invited to Japan under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs FY2008 Tsudoi program.

The objective of the Tsudoi program is to promote friendship between former foreign students in Japan, strengthen Japan alumni association activities, and provide an opportunity for Japan alumni to come into direct contact with current Japanese society and culture as well as promote friendship with people in Japan. During their recent one week stay, Tsudoi participants exchanged views, attended a lecture held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toured state-of-the-art research facilities and visited professors from their university days in Japan.

The diverse activities of Japan alumni associations, including events and publications to deepen the understanding of Japan or promote exchange between the former students' home countries and Japan, were introduced at the meeting for the exchange of dialogue.

Hearing about the elaborate activities of various alumni associations, such as an association that was founded in 1974 and has been carrying out activities for more than 30 years as well as more recently established alumni associations, proved to be quite stimulating and encouraging for all present. There was active exchange during the Q&A session held after the presentations, including discussions regarding operational issues that are shared by many associations.

A participant from Azerbaijan, which does not yet have a Japan alumni association, said that it was extremely helpful to hear about the activities in other countries. The former study-in-Japan student seemed to have been strongly motivated towards the future establishment of a Japan alumni association in the country.

Ashok Kumar Chawla from India, who acted as head of the November Tsudoi participants, reported on the results of the meeting regarding Japan alumni associations at a welcome reception hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He summarized the discussion that took place and said that each Japan alumni association will share information, including its activities, with other associations. Additionally, alumni associations will collaborate with Japanese government and private organizations and further systemize their activities. Moreover, they will enrich activities on individual levels, by having former foreign students hold seminars, for example, in their field of specialization. Concrete proposals were also made towards the future establishment and operation of a website linking the Japan alumni associations located around the world.

The approximately 200 Japanese participants - those involved in working with foreign students in Japan - who were gathered at the venue applauded the Japan alumni for their efforts in promoting the understanding of Japan abroad as well as in becoming a bridge between their home countries and Japan.

The bond between Japan alumni associations became even stronger through the meeting for exchange of dialogue. There are great expectations that the recent collaboration and sharing of experiences and information will further enrich and help develop the activities of each Japan alumni association.

Enjoying New Year's Japanese Style: Let's Send New Year's Cards

Like the tradition in the West and elsewhere of sending Christmas cards, the Japanese also have a custom of sending cards at this time of year, too--they are New Year's cards. Perhaps you sent or received some during your time in Japan.

New Year's cards are postcards with words celebrating the beginning of the New Year written on them. The custom of exchanging these cards is said to have begun in the late 7th century among aristocrats, spreading to the masses during the Edo Period (1603-1867).

With the increase in the use of personal computers and mobile phones, this long-standing tradition was on the decline, with a greater number of people opting for the convenience of sending greetings through email and text messages. This trend, however, seems to be reversing itself somewhat.

The number of New Year's cards delivered during New Year's 2008 increased slightly from the year before. Unlike electronic messages, New Year's cards are tangible items that you can hold and keep. Perhaps people are rediscovering the value of New Year's cards--that a person can feel the warmth of another's heart better than with email or text messages.

Why not try sending a New Year's card this year? You could surprise your friends with some Japanese-style holiday greetings.

If you want to make the most of your experience studying in Japan and make the New Year's card one full of Japanese flavor, it might be lovely to write some Japanese words celebrating the New Year. Kanji may be a little difficult to write beautifully, but one of the easier phrases may be Geishun, which literally means 'welcoming spring' and is commonly used to celebrate the arrival of a new year. As for visual elements, you could include things that symbolize good fortune in Japan, such as a sunrise, pine tree, bamboo, plum blossoms, cranes or turtles. The year's sign according to the Chinese zodiac is also commonly seen. 2009, by the way, is the Year of the Ox. In recent years, people are also making New Year's cards on their computers using photographs of themselves or their families.

A card that will not only be fun for others to see but also bring about joy to read--why not try making and sending an original New Year's card to celebrate the arrival of 2009?

Four Scientists related to Japan Win 2008 Nobel Prizes

We are sure that many of you saw on television or read in newspapers or on the Internet about the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies that was held recently at Stockholm Concert Hall.

The big news in Japan was that four scientists who are related to Japan received the Nobel Prize this year. Three Japanese-born scientists received and dominated the Nobel Prize in Physics: Yoichiro Nambu, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago; Makoto Kobayashi, Professor Emeritus at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization; and Toshihide Maskawa, Professor, Kyoto Sangyo University. Meanwhile, Osamu Shimomura, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Professor Nambu was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics," while Professors Kobayashi and Maskawa became Nobel laureates "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature." Professor Shimomura was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP."

This brings the number of Japanese Nobel laureates to 15*, which is the highest number in Asia. The breakdown is six for the Nobel Prize in Physics, five for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, two for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and one each for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the Nobel Peace Prize. As you can see, Japanese Nobel prize laureates are focused around physics and chemistry.

Professor Nambu graduated from Tokyo Imperial University (now The University of Tokyo) Faculty of Science and became an assistant there in 1942. This was the year that Hideki Yukawa became a professor at the same department. Hideki Yukawa received the Nobel Prize for Physics seven years later in 1949. Meanwhile, when Professor Nambu took his position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey in 1952, he had been recommended by Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, who later became a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965. Furthermore, the research carried out by this year's Noble laureates Professors Kobayashi and Maskawa was based on Professor Nambu's research. It is interesting to see how the Nobel laureates are linked to each other.

The Japanese Cabinet Office is promoting research and development in basic research and focus areas by formulating the Science and Technology Basic Plan. The objective is further development of Japan's scientific potential.

Japan already possesses some of the world's highest-level technology in areas such as information technology, the environment, energy conservation and medicine. Many of them are already in universal use while there are others for which practical application is imminent. Japan is also emphasizing reinforcement of the competitive edge of its universities. We hope that even more students will come to Japan from overseas and carry out research in this country that is promoting the building of world-leading research strongholds.

*The number of Japanese-born Nobel laureates is 16. However, Professor Yoichiro Nambu became a naturalized US citizen in 1970, and there is a general rule that the number of Nobel Prize recipients for each country will be tallied on the basis of the Nobel laureate's nationality at the time the Nobel Prize is awarded. Therefore, the "Kagaku Gijutsu Yoran (Indicators of Science and Technology)" (issued by the Research and Coordination Division, Science and Technology Policy Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) counts Professor Nambu as among American Nobel Prize recipients, making the number of Japanese Nobel laureates 15.

Yoichiro Nambu
Born in 1921. Graduated from Tokyo Imperial University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics. Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and Osaka City University.

Makoto Kobayashi
Born in 1944. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School. Professor Emeritus at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization.

Toshihide Maskawa
Born in 1940. Completed doctoral program at Nagoya University Graduate School. Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University and Professor, Department of Physics, Kyoto Sangyo University.

Osamu Shimomura
Born in 1928. Graduated from Nagasaki Medical College Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (now Nagasaki University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences). Post graduate degrees completed at Nagoya University School of Science. Former researcher (Fulbright scholar) at Princeton University. Professor Emeritus at Boston University.

Dear former Japanese Government (Monbukabakusho) Scholarship students,

Meeting for the Exchange of Dialogue

Enjoying New Year's Japanese Style: Let's Send New Year's Cards

Four Scientists related to Japan Win 2008 Nobel Prizes