2015 Activity Report

March Activity Report

31 March 2016
Taiwan Office coordinator
Nakanishi Daichi

Northern Taiwan which belongs to the subtropical climate is a region that has large rainfall and here in Tamsui, the home of Tamkang University is no exception, it continues to gently rain every day. However, we are nearing the end of March we are finally beginning to see intervals of sunshine. At the same time the greenery has started to sprout and the inside of the campus the refreshing new greenery is signaling the arrival of spring.

At the start of this month, roughly 700 publications from TUFS arrived at Tamkang University. All of the publications were chosen by the management of the TUFS publications. Within the chosen 700 publications are not only academic and study books but also manga and other such books which are sure to be popular with the students learning Japanese abroad. For the students it is a very interesting and accessible line up.

After the arrival of the publications, we quickly created a poster and announced the information within the school, after which the response from the students was large and we could see the increase of visitors to the office right before our eyes. Especially there are many students who began studying Japanese after becoming interested in Japanese subculture, so I felt such related books will become incredibly popular amongst the students.

We have had many enquiries regarding the borrowing of the publications however, the current situation is that the preparations for lending out the publications are not yet complete so we are unable to answer the requests of the students. Also, we are receiving feedback from students that due to the location of the bookshelf that has been installed in the GJO, it is a little difficult to choose books. In order to resolve these problems I feel a necessity to quickly prepare a system and to make sure we are able to accurately address the demands of the students. We hear opinions such as “I want to visit the GJO but I have never been before so I’m a little worried”, “I can’t really find a good reason to visit the office” from students from time to time. Amid such problems, as an intermediary tool that will link the students and the GJO together in the future, the publications will fulfill a large role.

Next month, while keeping the preparations for the intake of new ideas in our minds, we are planning to further expand the GJO. Also at Tamkang University we have a space called the “Chat Corner” where foreign students studying at Tamkang University can freely talk with Taiwanese students who are interested in the language of their home countries. The GJO is planning to cooperate with other departments to see whether similar activities can also be carried out at the GJO as well. Continuing on into the future we will try to make the GJO an easily accessible space for everyone.

February Activity Report

29 February 2016
Taiwan Office coordinator
Nakanishi Daichi

After entering February, here in Taiwan you can suddenly begin to hear the voices of people celebrating the lunar New Year in the town. The lunar New Year in Taiwan is a lively event and I think the foreign students who are not yet accustomed to this had a week full of new surprises. Then as soon as you think the lunar New Year celebrations have flown by, quickly following is the new semester and this time, it is inside the campus where the energetic voices of students are overflowing. Also, it is slowly starting to get warmer and the nice scent of fragrant olive which I`m sure would be out of season in Japan, fills the entirety of the campus.

From the second half of this month, the graduate students from TUFS who will study in the doctoral program arrived in Taiwan and asked the GJO for their assistance and cooperation in the investigation related to their individual research. The target audience for the investigation is students at our school and so due to the new semester only just beginning we were worried whether there would be anyone available to assist however, the kindness of Taiwanese people which could be called their national character was fully displayed by the students and we received an even higher number of applications than expected. I believe it was great experience for all the students that participated. In the future I hope that like the graduate school students who came to Taiwan, more students will appear who aspire to walking down the path of a researcher and have a burning desire to learn.

Also, this month I went to TUFS as the GJO Office coordinator and participated in two major events.

The first event which was held at TUFS on the 19th of February (Fri) was the “Re-Inventing Japan Project-Kick-Off Symposium”. This was in collaboration with the Re-Inventing Japan Project which was being supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology　from 2015 and starting with TUFS, ties 3 Japanese universities together with universities in Latin America and aims to develop the nurturing of globally active and talented individuals. Officials from the universities in Latin America were invited and a panel discussion took place regarding the in-depth introduction to every university`s business contents and expectations of the program from the experts. I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the discussion.

The second event, also held at TUFS on the 26th of February (Fri), was the “GJO Coordinator Orientation”. Currently (29th February 2016) we have 8 base points for the GJO around the world, 4 of which sent coordinators to take part in an orientation covering the state of progress of the super global university creation support and an explanation of the future development of the GJO. Also, through conversing with university officials and a tour of the facilities, we were able to deepen the understanding of the future policy whilst simultaneously increasing the expectations of duties of the GJO.

This concludes both of the events that as GJO office coordinator, I participated in and I believe this experience will be of great help in the management of the GJO Office.

Currently, we have no special events scheduled however, we are making preparations in order to conduct activities covering a wide spectrum of areas and thinking of methods to achieve are aim of bringing Japan and Taiwan closer together.

January Activity Report

31 January 2016
Taiwan Office coordinator
Nakanishi Daichi

In Taiwan which uses the lunar calendar, we will enter winter vacation from mid-January and then the Lunar New Year from the first half of February. Due to the quickly approaching New Year, preparations for welcoming the New Year have started and the town will gradually get livelier. Though on the other hand, inside the campus it is growing increasingly quiet and calm due to the students returning home for the holidays.

The first half of this month was the end of semester examination period and from the second half was winter vacation so the GJO Office had a rather quiet month overall. Even so, sometimes students would come and show their faces in the office, once again confirming the significance of the GJO Office as a valuable place for the students to use Japanese and a place where cultural exchange can take place. Inside there are students with a great interest towards studying abroad at TUFS proactively asking questions which also generated a happy response from the management side of the office.

In the 2016 academic year, through activities in the above semester, we felt we had a very strong, positive response to the GJO Office management’s main objective which was to be well known by the students. As a policy from here on, we will hold various events and will strive to make the office from the viewpoint of the students. Also at the same time aiming for the kind of office management that will be able to continue to achieve the goals as a base for transmitting information about Japan to the rest of the world.

December Activity Report

31 December 2015
Taiwan Office coordinator
Nakanishi Daichi

The southern country of Taiwan is also beginning to slowly feel the cold as we enter December. Looking back, the start of this semester seems in the distant past, we are experiencing the proverb which in our place of origin China, is called “Guāngyīnsìjiàn (How time flies)”. Also inside the campus we are beginning to see students who are starting to prepare for their end of semester examinations.

Now then, this month we had two large events that tied TUFS and Tamkang University closer together.

The first event was the lecture delivered by Prof. Michiko Tanigawa at TUFS which was simultaneously relayed at Tamkang University. Since the establishment of the GJO Office, this was the first attempt at dealing with this challenge and we were concerned with such things as the number of participants and the regulation of the remote system. However once the lecture started, the number of participants exceeded our expectations, there were no big problems with the system and the lecture ended a great success. In terms of results, I believe that this success will lead to another event of the same nature being held and that it was an incredibly rewarding lecture for all the people that kindly participated in the event.

The second event was the teacher training for the students of TUFS. From the second half of December, all 10 students participated in teacher training over a period of one week at Tamkang University. At first it appeared as though they could not hide their nervous faces, though during the one week teacher training program, I personally saw their expressions change. Then at the end they displayed their confidence standing up on the platform. I think that it also motivated the students from Tamkang University whose age did not differ very much from the teacher training students from TUFS. Also, through cultural exchange it seems friendship was born between students and you could see many students arranging to meet again. I cannot help but hope that this relation will continue for many years to come and that in the future they will play an active role as bridges between Japan and Taiwan.

In Taiwan which uses the lunar calendar, the middle of next month is the end of the semester and the start of winter vacation. For a period of time it will be lonely not being able to hear the energetic voices of the students however, here at the GJO Office we continue on and strive to make an environment that is valued by the students.

November Activity Report

30 November 2015
Taiwan Office coordinator
Nakanishi Daichi

2 months have passed since the new school year began at the University in Taiwan. In Taiwan, which uses the same 24 season calendar as Japan, the first day of winter has already long passed however you can still see many students wearing short sleeved t-shirts and shorts. The campus grounds are overflowing with the innocent and vibrant energy of the new students.

Not only current students, but also new students have become aware of the GJO office and have gradually started to show their faces. There are various reasons as to why students are visiting the office including “wanting to find out information regarding studying abroad at TUFS” and “wanting to know more about Japanese culture”, though equally we received the impression that everyone is seeking chances to speak Japanese. Among such, towards the end of December students from TUFS will come to Tamkang University as trainee teachers. We at the GJO office are thinking that we must have various attempts and good management in order to bring Japan and Taiwanese students closer together.

Also, next month at Tamkang University as the first trial since the GJO was established, the lecture which will be relayed to Taiwan will take place in Japan. This will take place on the 2nd of December linking TUFS and Tamkang University, The lecture to be held at TUFS and carried out by Yagawa Michiko is to be relayed via the remote system, this will be the first trial. At the end of this month as prior preparations for this lecture a connection test was carried out. The test was carried out in the same way the remote system would be used on the day and it was successful without any delays.

There have already been many inquiries regarding the lecture at the GJO Office. The preparations for Yagawa`s lecture are running smoothly and the participants from Taiwan are expecting this event to be a success.

Lecturer: Yagawa Michiko(TUFS Professor)
Title: “The Culture of Theatrical Plays”
Date: 2nd December (Wednesday)
Time in Taiwan 15:30~17:00 Time in Japan 16:30~18:00 (Doors will open 30 minutes prior).

June Activity Report

30 June 2015
Taiwan Office coordinator
Yamashita Bun

In Taiwan the new academic year starts in September. Here at Tamkang University the summer holidays begin from the end of June. Not long ago you could see graduating students wearing academic dress and taking graduation photos and current students studying hard in the library, but now inside the campus there are few people and it`s very quiet. Though to make up for this the cicadas are noisy despite the heat.

In the Japanese Literature department at Tamkang University, every year in September we send out many 3rd year students as exchange students for their year abroad. The students spend one year studying Japanese at one of many Universities across the country including Tokyo, Chiba and Kyoto. On June 3rd (Wednesday) at the GJO office at Tamkang University, an information session was held for the purpose of these students. The remote lecture room at TUFS and the GJO office at Tamkang University will be connected via the internet, so students from Tamkang University can have their questions answered directly by TUFS` students. At first we were worried that the number of participants from the Tamkang University side would be low, but once we got started 13 students gathered.

Firstly, there was an introduction of TUFS from the students of Japan. Currently, there are only a few Tamkang University students that choose TUFS as their year abroad destination. From now on, we are hoping to increase awareness amongst many students of TUFS as a year abroad destination. To continue, we talked with Taiwanese year abroad students who are currently studying at TUFS who explained about various things regarding life in Japan. As preparation for the year abroad was right before them, they might have had worries regarding life in Japan, but the sight of the Taiwanese students listening intently was impressive and reassuring. At the beginning of the period where Taiwanese students were able to freely ask the Japanese students questions, perhaps due to nerves, not many questions were asked. However thanks to a question from one student, all kinds of questions were asked including topics such as the calculation of course credits, the activity of school clubs and how to send money from Taiwan to Japan. In addition, from the Japanese students planning to do hands on teacher training at Tamkang University the Taiwanese students were asked “What parts of Japanese Culture are you interested in?”, which to the students who’s year abroad is drawing nearer seemed to be a good opportunity to confirm how much of their own Japanese language could be understood.

“I was glad I was able to ask about what was on my mind” “I was happy that most of my Japanese was understood” ”I thought everyone was kind”, such things were written in the questionnaires completed by the students after the session finished, it seems like the all the Taiwanese students were able to gain a useful and valuable experience.

This will be the last of the GJO office activity at Tamkang University this term (Republic of China 103rd academic year). In September the Japanese literature department at Tamkang University will welcome 250 new students. Also, in December there are plans for the teacher training students from TUFS to visit. From here on we would like to continue planning various activities and programs that will act as relay points to connect Japanese and Taiwanese students.

May Activity Report

31 May 2015
Taiwan Office coordinator
Yamashita Bun

Taiwan will shortly enter summer. Taiwanese summer in incredibly long, beginning from the start of June and lasting until September, the peak of summer continues for 4 months. At the Tamkang University campus, you can now see many students wearing t-shirts, shorts and sandals to keep cool. 2 months have passed since the office at Tamkang University has been in continuous use and students visiting the office looking for a friendly chat have increased.

On May the 27th (Wed), we held a cultural activity called “let`s play Hanafuda”. Many Japanese animation and drama shows are broadcast in Taiwan and so there are many students who are interested in Japanese culture and customs. We planned this activity in order to get these students to proactively use the office. The game Hanafuda is influenced by the traditional Japanese sense of the four seasons and is perfect for introducing Japanese culture and the sense of the Japanese people. After simply explaining about the history and pictures of Hanafuda, we mixed Japanese exchange students with the Taiwanese students and played Hanafuda games called “koikoi” and “Hanaawase”. Amongst the people who took part there were also second year students, however since it was a cultural activity through a game it seemed they were able to use Japanese without being too nervous. We heard such things as “I want the office to keep offering activities” “I want to know all kinds of things about Japan” and “It was fun actually being able to play Hanafuda” from the participants. Also students that were unable to participate said “when is the next activity?” and “We want you to do activities on other days too”.

There is a relay year abroad meeting scheduled for the 3rd of June (Wed) that will further connect Taiwan and Japan. There are already many interested students saying such things like “Is it true that we will be able to speak with Japanese students?” this certainly proves that the activity from the GJO office has spread throughout Tamkang University.

Tamkang University Year Abroad Information Meeting
Date and ime of meeting: June 3rd Taiwanese time 12:00~13:00 Japanese time 13:00~14:00
Number of participants: Taiwanese side 15 people Japanese side 7 people
Objective: for the second year students of Tamkang University Taiwan to gain information about studying abroad at TUFS and to ask about life in Japan. Also, for the Japanese students who are planning to do an internship in December, they will observe the Taiwanese students Japanese.

Activity Report

10 May 2015
Taiwan Office coordinator
Yamashita Bun

The Global Japan Office at Tamkang University has opened.

The Japanese department at Tamkang University is the largest in Taiwan and is the place where students who are interested in the Japanese language and Japanese culture are most concentrated.

The office is located at the Tamsui campus of Tamkang University in the literature building on the 6th floor. Every week at a specified time the Japanese coordinator helps support the office. Inside the office there are 3 large monitors and computers where students from Japan and Taiwan are able to mutually exchange opinions via Skype. Currently the Taiwanese students are using the office as a place to casually speak Japanese however, from here on, we are planning to proactively deal with the information regarding Japanese language, culture and education sent from TUFS. In May or June, we would like to hold a relay discussion meeting between Japan and Taiwan for the Taiwanese students who are preparing for their year abroad in Japan.

The students who are studying Japanese here all voice the same opinions, “there are few opportunities to speak Japanese” “I want to make Japanese friends”. This office at Tamkang University will become a relay point that connects aspiring Japanese education students with Taiwanese students striving to learn the Japanese language. We will try our best in order for this office to become an important place for students of both Japan and Taiwan.