岩手県及宮城県等大学向中國學生招生

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following:

被災地の大学 中国で留学をアピール

3月9日 23時10分

東日本大震災の影響で外国人留学生の数が伸び悩むなか、被災地の岩手県や宮城県などの大学が、北京で開かれている国際留学フェアに参加し、大学の魅力を中国人の学生にアピールしました。

この留学フェアは中国教育省傘下の団体の主催で、９日と１０日の２日間、北京市内で開かれているもので、およそ３０か国から４００以上の大学が参加しています。
日本からは被災地の岩手県や宮城県を含む３８の大学などが、日本への留学や各大学の魅力を紹介するコーナーを設けました。
このうち岩手大学の担当者は、東日本大震災からの復興を目指して農林水産業関係や防災の教育に力を入れていることなどを説明し、訪れた中国人の学生たちに資料を手渡していました。
独立行政法人の「日本学生支援機構」によりますと、去年の外国人留学生の数は１３万７７５６人で、東日本大震災の影響で最も多かった３年前と比べて３％減っているということです。
参加した中国人の女子高校生は、「地震の影響はもう感じません。大事なことは、留学で知識や文化を学ぶことだと思います」と話していました。
岩手大学の岩渕明副学長は「留学生の力を被災地の復興につなげられるよう、多くの留学生を呼び込みたい」と話していました。

(試譯文)

While the number of foreign students had little increase due to the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake, universities in the stricken area such as the Iwate Prefecture and the Miyagi Prefecture etc. had participated in the international studying-abroad fair that was opened in Beijing, and they advertised the charm of the universities to the Chinese students.

This studying-abroad fair had the sponsorship of an organization affiliated to the China Department of Education, it was open for two days on the 9^th and the 10^th in Beijing and 400 or more universities from about 30 nations had participated.

From Japan there were 38 universities including those from the Iwate Prefecture and the Miyagi Prefecture in the stricken area etc., they set up a corner to introduce the charm of studying abroad in Japan, and the charm of the individual university.

Among these, the person in charge of the Iwate University explained that man power was put into the education on agriculture-and-forestry fisheries relations and on disaster prevention that aimed at the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake etc.; data were handed over to the Chinese students who visited the counter.

According to the "Japan Student Services Organization", an independent administrative agency, it was said that under the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake the number of the foreign students last year was 137,756 people, it was a decrease of 3% compared with the peak three years ago.

A Chinese high school girl who had participated said that "the influence of the earthquake is not felt any longer. I think that the important thing is to learn knowledge and culture through studying abroad".

Iwate University Vice-President Akira Iwabuchi was saying that "I would like to call in more foreign students so that the foreign student's energy may be connected to the recovery of the stricken area".

It seems that cultural flow between China and Japan is gradually recovering.