The presidents and vice presidents of 14 universities in 10 countries and areas around the world gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss how to nurture globally minded citizens in today's changing world.
The academics and others agreed on the necessity of promoting the liberal arts and intercultural communications to produce students that can contribute to their communities and the increasingly globalized society.
The forum was organized to mark the 20th anniversary of Josai International University foundation this year. The participating 14 panelists were top administrators of JIU and its overseas sister schools, including Camosun College in Canada, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea, the University of Cologne, Germany, and Northeastern University in China.
In the opening address before an audience of some 200 people, held at the Tokyo campus of Josei, Noriko Mizuta, chancellor of the university and organizer of the event, said universities in Japan face precisely the same issues as universities in the rest of the world.
"In order to open up new avenues in today's difficult times, nothing is more important" than to promote interuniversity cooperations on a global scale, she said.