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President
of Nagasaki University
Hiroshi
Saito
M.D., Ph.D.
President's Profile
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President’s Address at the Signing Ceremony between Shanghai Fisheries University and Nagasaki University
May 18, 2007
I am very proud and honored to have concluded this academic exchange agreement between Shanghai Fisheries University and Nagasaki University today. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to President Ying Jie Pan, Vice President Cheng Yudong, as well as the faculty and administrative staff of the two Universities for their invaluable contribution to making this agreement possible.
Nagasaki has had close connections to China since ancient times. Even during the period of isolation which lasted more than 200 years from the 17th century, only Nagasaki opened its doors to the world, and Chinese culture, studies, and information were also brought to Japan through this city. There are still many people living in Nagasaki who are deeply related to China. As you can see, the impact of Chinese Culture on the development of Nagasaki City has been the most intense among all other Japanese cities.
We are well aware that prestigious Shanghai Fisheries University celebrates its 95th anniversary this year and remains a key player in oceanography and fisheries science in China. Your University has achieved a remarkable breakthrough in recent years, and we have been told that another new campus is under construction in a vast land area in Shanghai. We are very happy about your astonishing prosperity.
Nagasaki University and Shanghai Fisheries University have enjoyed an amicable relationship for a long time. Our cordial relationship is especially noticeable in the field of oceanography and fisheries science. In recent years, the two Universities began to co-host “The International Workshop on Oceanography and Fisheries Science in the East China Sea” with Korea’s Cheju National University and Japan’s University of the Ryukyus on a regular basis to deepen our mutual relationship. Nagasaki University established the Institute for East China Sea Research three years ago aiming for a research base in Japan in oceanography and fisheries science, particularly focusing on conservation and recovery of environment and marine resources in the East China Sea and its surrounding areas. We believe that an international joint endeavor with Korean and Chinese universities, including Shanghai Fisheries University, will create an Asian standard and that our collaborative efforts will become quite an important factor for preserving the stability of the East China Sea into the future.
It is rather surprising to realize that our two Universities had never before had an academic exchange agreement despite such a friendly relationship. We are confident that this academic agreement with your University, representative of Shanghai, the closest Chinese city to Nagasaki, and our University, representative of Nagasaki, will lead to a new relationship between China and Japan for the 21st century.
What is a new relationship in a new age for educational research in a university? That is active exchange of young students and scientists at the international level. We must build a system for them to visit each other in order to further collaborative study and research. Today’s agreement is the very first step for making such a framework.
I hope that, in the near future, our students and researchers will work hard together and accomplish outstanding achievements in each counterpart’s campus.
Nagasaki University will organize the aforementioned workshop to be co-hosted by four universities in November, called “The 6th International Workshop on Oceanography and Fisheries Science in the East China Sea”. I would like to conclude my speech by expressing my strong wish to meet you all again at the Workshop.
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