Japan Facilitation Centre Inaugurated In Pune
Pune, 24th November 2023: “Out of 2,30,000 international students that come to Japan for education only 1500 belong to India and this number needs to grow considering the strong, strategic, bilateral partnerships between the two countries”, opined Toshihiro Kaneko, Deputy Chief of Missions, Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai. He was speaking at the inauguration of the 2nd edition of the Indo Japan Education Conference held at MIT WPU, Kothrud, Pune. The conference was jointly organized by the Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai and Indo Japanese Business Council (IJBC).
Dr. Ravikumar Chitnis, Vice Chancellor, MIT WPU, Koji Sato – Director General, The Japan Foundation, Siddharth Deshmukh and Sudhir Jaiswal from the IJBC, Prof Santosh Kumar, Dr. Preeti Joshi, Nirupama Kocherlakota from MIT WPU, Srabani Roy Choudhury – JNU, Prof Sujeet Sinha from IIT Delhi and Sunil Kulkarni, CEO Fideltech Software were present on the occasion.
The Japan Facilitation Centre which will function from the MIT WPU Kothrud campus was also launched on the occasion. University of Tokyo, Asia Pacific University (APU), International University of Japan (IUJ), Kansai University, Shimane University were some of the Universities from Japan which participated in this conference.
“More Indian students opting for education in Japan can strengthen the historic bond that both the countries share. The countries will need more professionals in the future as both the governments are making huge investments in various infrastructure projects. More Indian students coming to study in Japan will make the ties stronger and also offer many opportunities to them. Investment close to 500 billion yen is being made in the various infra projects in India which are being jointly developed by India and Japan”, Kaneko added.
He pointed out that while Japan offers best in class education it is also less expensive than the USA and European countries. “The average tuition fee at a Japanese university would go around 600,000 yen (around 4.5 Lakhs Rupees), which is almost 10 times cheaper than the average tuition fee at an American university. The cost of living in Japan is moderate too,” he said while adding that the average cost of living in Japan goes to around 93,000 yen per month, which is much less than the European countries. Secondly, Japan is one of the safest countries for students.
Toshihiro Kaneko also said that learning the basic level of Japanese language is sort of a prerequisite to study and work in Japan. “If you go to France, Italy, Spain, Germany or any other European country, you have to learn the local language there too. It is the same in Japan and on the contrary, learning Japanese is easier as we share many cultural commonalities, including worshiping many common Gods with different names,” he added.
Echoing Kaneko’s thoughts, Koji Sato, director general at the Japan Foundation in India, emphasised on the importance of learning Japanese language and culture to grow in Japan. “It isn’t a difficult language to learn. Learning new languages helps in growth and overall development of an individual and the society. It is great to know about the MIT WPU Japan Facilitation Centre. I urge the students to utilise the facility, learn the language and culture so that they can be the future leaders of Japan-India relations”, Sato said.
Dr. Ravikumar Chitnis, Vice Chancellor of the MITWPU announced the launch of the Japan Facilitation Centre at the MIT WPU Kothrud campus. He said, “Japan provides great opportunities in education, technology and culture. The Japan Facilitation centre at MIT WPU will be the first of its kind to offer Japanese language training, knowledge about Japanese culture, provide information on education and career opportunities in Japan along with university collaborations and yearly students exchange and immersion programmes. The center will start functioning from next year.”
Sudhir Jaiswal, chairperson, Higher Education and Research Committee of the Indo-Japan Business Council said the Indi-Japan Education Conference 2023 will help Indian students get to know about the education and work possibilities in Japan. “This would help them understand about universities offering courses in subjects like technology, digitalisation, and automation, where Japan is an expert. The conference will hand hold the students on their way to immigration to Japan and studying and working there,” he stated.
Abhishek Choudhury proposed a vote of thanks while Ashish Kasbe anchored the event.
