On October 22nd, the Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in Japan organized by the Confucius Institute at Kansai Gaidai University was held in Kansai Gaidai university. 67 participants, including Hu Zhiping, Minister-Counselor of the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, Eiko Tanimoto, Chairperson of the Board of Kansai Gaidai University, Wu Jingsong, Head of the Education Office of the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka, principals of relevant projects from the Confucius Institute Headquarters as well as representatives from 14 Confucius Institutes and 2 independent Confucius Classrooms in Japan were present at the conference.

At the opening ceremony, Eiko Tanimoto delivered a welcome speech, saying that “An honorable man values righteousness” and books written by sages are highly recommendable. She firmly believed in the profound significance of the Confucius Institute, hoping that all Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Japan can share information and cooperate with each other so as to jointly promote the development of the Confucius Institutes in Japan in the future.

Hu Zhiping said in his speech that the Confucius Institute is committed to disseminating Chinese language and culture to the world and strengthening exchanges between China and other countries. He fully affirmed the achievements made by the Confucius Institutes in Japan and pointed out that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations and next year will usher in the 40th anniversary of the signing of China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which offer a golden opportunity for the prosperity of the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Japan. Hence, the Chinese Embassy and Chinese consulates in Japan will work together with the institutes to facilitate their development.

Hu Zhiping delivering a speech

At the meeting, the Confucius Institute at Ritsumeikan University mainly introduced its effective attempts to helping students overcome difficulties in learning and breaking bottlenecks in study. The Confucius Institute at Kansai Gaidai University presented how to integrate courses with examinations and establish HSK examination credit course so that its test-takers top other Confucius Institutes in Japan. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Confucius Institute at Hyogo University of Medicine showcased its achievements in the education and research of traditional Chinese herbal medicine as well as its social contributions. The institute has published 10 papers in SCI, enabling the name and research fruits from the Confucius Institutes to be unprecedentedly listed in Pubmed, a journal retrieval system of National Health Centers in America. The Confucius Institute at Sapporo University talked about its integration with the university, and its plan to promote the teaching of Chinese language in kindergartens; the Confucius Institute at Kogakuin University shared its experience in adopting “the supply-side reform” and holding such cultural events as Confucius Institute Day, which evoked resounding response from the participants. Delegates from the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms also held in-depth discussions on brand building, further cooperation and future development in a warm atmosphere.

Venue of the conference

The delegates from Division of Finance, Division of Sinology and China Studies as well as Division of Asian-African Confucius Institutes in the Confucius Institute Headquarters, exchanged thoroughly with all participants in terms of financial management system, “China Study Plan” and future development of the Confucius Institutes in Japan. It is hoped that all Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Japan could observe the financial rules of Japan and Confucius Institute Headquarters and strictly manage their budget; take good advantage of such programs as “China Study Plan” to cultivate youngsters; and enhance mutual cooperation to jointly create the brand of the Confucius Institute.

Hu Zhiping concluded that the Confucius Institute, as a base of disseminating the Chinese language and culture, should be faithful to its original aspiration and continue marching forward to make it a trinity of Chinese language teaching, cultural exchanges and Sinology research.

The Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in Japan, a liaison organization spontaneously established by all Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Japan, is held annually to enhance information exchanges as well as resource sharing, and forge closer collaboration among these Confucius Institutes and Classrooms.