GJO Established at University of Lviv, Ukraine

October 16, 2017

On Thursday 14 ^th September, an opening ceremony was held to celebrate the opening of a Global Japan Office (GJO) at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. This ceremony was held as part of the 'Year of Japan' event held by the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, commemorating 25 years of Japan-Ukraine relations.

In addition to the GJO opening ceremony, a commemorative lecture was held by TUFS Professor Emiko Hayatsu, head of the Institute of Japan Studies, and was attended by undergraduate (2 ^nd -4 ^th year) and master's students from the University of Lviv.

The ceremony began at noon, and, in addition to Professor Hayatsu, was also attended by Associate Professor Izumi Maeda and Lecturer Chiho Fukushima from the Institute of Global Studies, GJO Coordinator Masaki Hara, and TUFS students currently on exchange in Ukraine. Guests from the University of Lviv included Vice-Rector for Research, Teaching and International Cooperation, Mariya Zubrytska, acting head of East Asian Studies, Oresta Zaburanna, and a great number of other faculty members, as well as Japanese language major students from the East Asian Studies department.

The ceremony started outdoors with an opening address, followed by the placing of the nameplate on the door of the new office. After moving the ceremony indoors, a violin performance of Michio Miyagi's 'The Sea in Spring' was given by a masters student, which was followed by congratulatory addresses from representatives of both universities. The University of Lviv was represented by vice-rector Zubrytska and the head of the Faculty of Philology, Svatoslav Pylypchuk, and TUFS was represented by Professor Hayatsu.

At the end of the ceremony, there was a commemorative performance by the students. First, the students surprised TUFS guests by performing the TUFS school song, and then they sang their own school song, 'Gaudeamus.' The ceremony came to a close with a warm, welcoming atmosphere.