CUHK
News Centre

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Department of Japanese Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held a cocktail party earlier at the Hong Kong Japanese Club. The party was officiated by Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, Vice-Chancellor, CUHK; Mr. Yuji Kumamaru, Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong; and Mr. Hiroshi Ikeuchi, President of the Hong Kong Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Over one hundred guests including leaders from Japanese business, media, and education sectors participated in the event. Certificates of appreciation were also presented to businesses and individuals who have generously sponsored the Department’s exchange programmes, allowing students to spend a year to study in Japan.

The Department has offered a major programme in Japanese Studies since 1991 that provides students with comprehensive training in Japanese society, culture and language. The programme sends all of its major students to Japan for one year to study at an exchange partner university. The Department currently has 18 exchange partner universities in Japan, including first-tier institutions like Kyoto University, Osaka University, Waseda University, Hitotsubashi University and Meiji University. Since 1992, the Department has secured over $23 million in scholarships to insure that all students are able to study in Japan. In the past 20 years, the Department has sent nearly 500 major students to Japan for the one-year exchange programme.

‘In the past 20 years, the Department has been helping to make students’ dreams come true by providing them with an opportunity to study in Japan. Our graduates contribute to society in many ways. Some become managers in Japanese companies or in companies that do business with Japan. Others enter the education field, while still others contribute in nonprofit organizations, journalism, finance, marketing, law and government services. In spite of their diverse fields, a common thread among our graduates is their willingness to dream. For many of them, entering our Department and spending a year in Japan was the first of many dreams to come true,’ said Prof. Lynne Nakano, Chairperson of the Department of Japanese Studies.

‘I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Department for providing me with golden opportunities to explore and broaden my horizons. Studying in Japan has been my dream since childhood,’ said Ms. Kitty Chung, a 2009 graduate who now works for the Department as a teaching assistant in Japanese language courses.

The cocktail party also served as an occasion to celebrate the close ties between Hong Kong and Japan, a relationship that has become closer following the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated Northeastern Japan. The Department organized a candlelight vigil in March 2011 to allow members of the University to express their care and support to the disaster victims. Mr. Yuji Kumamaru, the Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong, thanked Professor Sung and the staff and students of the Chinese University for their donations and support given to the Japanese people.

Professor Nakano pledged to continue to serve the needs of Hong Kong people by creating opportunities for grassroots and promoting academic exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan. In 2011/12, the Department introduced two new streams – ‘Japanese Business and Management’ and ‘Japan in Global Perspective’ to allow students to obtain specialized training within the major programme. In the past two years, the Department has formed new exchange partnerships with seven universities in Japan –  Hokkaido University, Hitotsubashi University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Nagoya University, Waseda University and Meiji University to provide more diversified options for students. The Department will also launch a new master programme in Japanese Studies in 2012/13.