University of Toronto Announces Endowment from Government of Japan to Establish Centre for the Study of Global Japan
From left: Munk School of Global Affairs Director Stephen Toope; University of Toronto President Meric Gertler;
Consul-General of Japan Yasunori Nakayama; Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science David Cameron;
Chair of the Department of Political Science Louis Pauly
On March 30, the announcement was made at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs of the new Centre for the Study of Global Japan to be established with an endowment from the Government of Japan. A signing of the agreement immediately followed the announcement, attended by approximately 50 representatives of the local academic, cultural and business community. This endowment is based on the statement by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Japan-Canada Summit Meeting in May 2016, noting that Japan wished to support Japanese studies at Canadian universities in order to promote mutual understanding between the two countries. The U of T is the first Canadian university to receive this kind of support from the Government of Japan.
President Gertler and Consul-General Nakayama
The event was attended by U of T President Meric Gertler and key faculty members, as well as Dr. Sarah Taylor, Director General for North Asia and Oceania, Global Affairs Canada, all of whom expressed their hope that the new Centre will contribute to the strengthening of relations between Japan and Canada and the deepening of mutual understanding between the two countries. After their remarks, Dr. Gertler and Consul-General of Japan Yasunori Nakayama jointly signed commemorative documents. It was also announced that Dr. Louis Pauly, the current Chair of the U of T’s Department of Political Science, will assume the position of Interim Director of the new Centre, and that Dr. David Welch, Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo as well as Munk School Fellow, will be the Visiting Chair for the study of contemporary Japanese politics and global affairs.
The signed commemorative document
