Toho University, Omori Campus

Toho University has been organizing seminars with partner universities since 1993. The 7th Joint Seminar on Biomedical Sciences, involving partners Chiang Mai University of Thailand, Prince of Songkla University of Thailand, Kunming Medical University of China, was held in October 2011. Toho University offers courses, such as intensive English courses, and overseas visits to encourage students to participate in international activities early on in their studies. In a gratifying response to these initiatives reaching out to the world, the number of students from overseas who wish to study at Toho University is rising.

Recently, Japanese universities and colleges are required to become more and more internationalized so as to develop a network of human communication and exchange with their foreign counterparts. Because globalization in all academic fields, in particular, in life sciences, has been advancing at an unexpectedly great speed, universities have to improve themselves in terms of education and research. Inside Japan, the birth rate is still on the decline, and many universities are striving hard to accept good applicants from overseas.

At present, we have 19 academic exchange agreements with foreign institutions, 8 of which are inter-university agreements and 14 of which are inter-faculty. Some of them can be categorized as both. Since the establishment of the International Communication Center, we have concluded 8 Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s). Four of them are inter-university agreements: with China Medical University (China), National Dong Hwa University (Taiwan), University of San Carlos (Philippines), National University of Mongolia (Mongolia); and the other four are inter-faculty agreements: with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade (Serbia), the School of Medicine, Walailak University (Thailand), John A. Burns School of Medicine, the University of Hawaii (USA), and the College of Natural Science, Gyeongsang National University (Korea).

The International Communication Center places emphasis on student exchange, encouraging undergraduate students to go overseas for a short period of study and admitting foreign students to our graduate schools. We will definitely expand these undertakings in the future, too.

For Japanese students, studying abroad does not necessarily mean studying in Europe or in the U.S. Studying in an Asian country is also considered to be very important, which is the reason that we have concluded many MOU’s with Asian institutions. Communication competence, understanding of different cultures, recognition of one’s own country, and creativity in dealing with international affairs will be prerequisites for students to enter into society. Studying in a foreign country, regardless of the target country or region, will be a great opportunity for students to find and develop new possibilities through having a different life and meeting people with different ideas.

The Toho University International Communication Center has a very important role to play: to establish further communication with foreign universities and colleges, raise the level of education and research on either side, advance communication among teachers and students on an individual basis, and produce new, capable people who can make contributions to society. “Nature, Life, and Man,” the founding spirit of our school, should be an ideal that can be shared across national borders. We aim at being a university that can launch our founding spirit to the world and contribute to the international community in medical care and in the development of science and technology.