Strategic Partnership between the Romanian-American University and the Municipality of Higashikawa, Hokkaido
On November 13, 2025, the Romanian-American University welcomed a delegation from the city of Higashikawa, led by Deputy Mayor Mr. Sato Fumihiro, accompanied by Ms. Kamimoto Yumeko from the Department of Cultural Exchange and Local Revitalization, Mr. Takaishi Daichi, Director of the Cultural Exchange Department, and Mr. Yasuke Tanaka, Director of the Multicultural Department.
The distinguished guests were received in the University Senate Hall by Mr. Costel Negricea, PhD, Rector of the Romanian-American University, Tudor Edu, PhD, Lucian Botea PhD, as well as by Șerban Georgescu and Diana Peca, directors within the Asian Studies Department, together with numerous students and volunteers.
In his welcome speech, Rector Costel Negricea highlighted that the event hosted by the university marks an exceptionally important milestone and a new chapter in the history of the Romanian-American University.
“Twenty years ago, the Romanian-American University opened the first Japanese Studies Center in Romania, and ever since, it has continuously strengthened bilateral relations with partners in Japan. We became the first university in the country to offer paid internships at Toyota Motor Corporation in Nagoya (2010), we initiated training programs in five-star hotels in Okinawa (2011), developed Erasmus partnerships (2013), and since 2016 we have carried out student and faculty exchanges, reaching today academic collaborations with 16 Japanese universities. We have organized the Japanese Culture Days Festival annually since 2012, and we offer private scholarships for studies in Japan. This year, the REC Program, dedicated to Romanian and Japanese pupils and students, was launched and had five winners from Okinawa, Honshu, and Hokkaido. The partnership agreement signed today with Higashikawa opens new opportunities for our students. We are deeply grateful for this collaboration and confident that our students will embrace this new opportunity with enthusiasm.”
In turn, Deputy Mayor Sato Fumihiro thanked the hosts for their warm welcome and expressed confidence in the development of the cultural partnership signed with the Romanian-American University.
“I am very pleased to introduce the city of Higashikawa, known to tourists as the cultural photography capital. It is located in the central part of the Hokkaido region, within Japan’s largest national park, Daisetsuzan, and close to Asahidake, the highest mountain peak in the area. Higashikawa hosts numerous artistic and educational events, festivals, and concerts. At the same time, my city prides itself on being a cultural space open to students from all around the world. Young people have the opportunity to learn and deepen their knowledge of the Japanese language alongside native teachers. They can participate in research programs and benefit from scholarships for their academic and professional development. Although it is a small town, Higashikawa offers visitors a calm, special, small-town atmosphere compared to Japan’s more famous areas, while also providing opportunities for learning.”
After the speeches delivered by the hosts and guests, the official signing ceremony of the partnership agreement between the Romanian-American University and the Municipality of Higashikawa, Hokkaido, took place.
The event was followed by the screening of the film Songs of Kamui, a cinematic production based on the true story of a young woman who lived only 19 years, a century ago, and who managed to preserve—through translation into Japanese—the culture and folklore of the indigenous Ainu people, who did not have a written language and only transmitted their heritage orally from generation to generation.
The partnership signed between the Romanian-American University and the Higashikawa Municipality became a reality thanks to the recommendation of His Excellency Mr. Ovidiu Alexandru Raețchi, the Ambassador of Romania to Japan, as well as the ongoing cultural collaboration between the Embassy of Japan in Romania and the Angela Hondru Romanian-Japanese Studies Center within the Department of Asian Studies at the university.
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