GK sat down with Hiroshi Sameshima, president of the University of Miyazaki, for an insightful interview covering regional revitalization, research achievements, and much more.
As a national university with faculties in education, engineering, and medicine, amongst many others, the University of Miyazaki is one of the primary higher-education providers on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.
Miyazaki Prefecture more widely is known as the ‘agricultural prefecture’, with a 301% self-sufficiency rate, and 4th highest nominal output for any area in Japan. Sameshima elaborates on how UoM is helping to maintain this reputation, via technology and industry partnerships.
As Japan is regularly regarded as one of the best countries to receive an education, alongside other countries such as the US, UK, and Australia, what is it that makes Japan stand out?
I think that one of the biggest points is ensuring a high education level, from elementary school through to university. Although in some cases this may be a negative, regarding the highly standardized system in Japan, it does well to raise the overall level of education of the population.
Secondly, Japan has always been active in introducing Western cultures into its systems, especially during the Meiji Era. Japanese culture often takes these ideas and integrates them into traditional, oriental philosophies. Mutual understanding and mutual respect are seen as a key part of the system here, with a focus on education ‘centered around humanity’.
What would you say the importance of international students has been on Japan’s economic and social development?
Having globalization in Miyazaki Prefecture is incredibly important to us. Educational institutions such as us need excellent talent to help build research capabilities. Especially with graduate students, many already have English language capabilities, which provides a good fit as the lessons are conducted in English.
Tokyo is a metropolitan city, however, many international students do end up coming from more rural areas overseas. Being able to concentrate their research on real, local problems is beneficial to students; we aim to strike a balance between modern facilities and course offerings within a rural setting.
Your institution has since gone on to create a ‘Faculty of Regional Innovation’, which since 2016 has worked to solve local socioeconomic challenges. How else is your university looking to promote regional revitalization in the local Miyazaki area?
Compared to the 1950s and 1960s, we have a much larger population, which allows us to fill roles in ways that many other prefectures cannot. Therefore, regional revitalization has to look at different aspects in this area. One initiative is to create partnerships between the agricultural sector and more private sector companies, which will allow them to create new value and help improve efficiency.
