The Japan-Taiwan Presidents’ Forum, which brings together university presidents from Japan and Taiwan, was held in Kumamoto on July 16, 2025. Vice-President Yasuyuki Kono (VP for international strategy) attended the forum on behalf of Kyoto University. A total of 158 people participated in the forum, including representatives from universities in Japan and Taiwan, the Japan Association of National Universities, and the Ministry of Education of Taiwan (48 institutions in Japan and 34 in Taiwan).
Under the theme of “The Future of the Region: Challenges of Universities in Japan and Taiwan in the Innovative Era,” greetings and keynote speeches were delivered by representatives of the participating institutions from Taiwan and Japan. The forum included sessions on “Student and Young Researcher Exchange” and “Industry-Academia Collaboration for Local Development,” as well as panel discussions on “The Role of Universities for Natural Disasters” and “Digital Transformations in Higher Education.” The representatives from each university delivered presentations on their institution’s initiatives and engaged in lively discussions.
The forum is anticipated to promote further cooperation between Japan and Taiwan and lead to wide-ranging research and personnel exchanges between universities and research institutes in the two countries.
