A group of around 50 consisting of Japanese high school students and parents led by President Miho Ambiru of the “Taiwan Study Support Center”(the Center) visited NCUE to learn more about the University. The experience visiting NCUE would serve as a reference for the students wishing to pursue further studies overseas. NCUE is one of the recommended universities by the Center. Two Japanese students indicated in Mandarin that they are planning to study in Taiwan because of their love for this country. Their accurate pronunciation impressed all present at the welcome meeting.

Founded in 2010 by President Miho Ambiru, who used to study in Taiwan, the Center promotes greater participation in the study in Taiwan by Japanese students. It has many offices in many cities of Japan, such as Tokyo and Osaka, to provide information and service for hundreds of high schools.

The visitors consisted of the superintendents of the Center, and the teachers, students and parents from approximate 30 high schools in Japan. NCUE President Yen-Kuang Kuo, who hosted the welcome meeting, introduced NCUE’s features and advantages, including its rise in global university rankings, particularly with its position among the top 250 in the world for Education. He expressed his hope that NCUE becomes the destination to study abroad for Japanese students. According to President Ambiru, the Center has assisted more than 900 students in coming to Taiwan for school during the past 8 years. She is impressed by NCUE’s learning environment and the development in recent years and will recommend it to Japanese students constantly.

The International Office at NCUE gave a presentation about the University’s recent development, the access to study abroad for students, and the mechanism for the care of foreign students. Four Japanese students currently studying in Business Administration, Sports and Fine Arts at NCUE were invited to share their learning and living experiences in Taiwan with the visitors. Dual-degree programs, English-taught courses, among others, were also discussed at the meeting.

Later two students from the visiting group gave a self-introduction in Mandarin Chinese telling why they are planning to study in Taiwan. One that is from Sapporo, Hokkaido, stated that he likes the personality of Taiwan people. He was once lost when traveling around Taiwan and was impressed by people’s zeal for helping him. Taiwan’s spectacular scenery also triggers his desire to study in Taiwan. He plans to major in International Relations, hoping to facilitate international exchange in the future with his professional specialty and Taiwan experience.

The other student, who is from Akihabara, Tokyo, is attracted to Taiwan by the movie scene in “Spirited Away”. The scene that resembles Jiufen in Northern Taiwan excited her imagination. She has been following with interest what has been going on in Taiwan since. She likes night markets and enjoys fried chicken cutlets and kumquat lemon juice. She looks forward to studying in Tourism or International Business in hopes of working abroad in the future.

The two students have learned Chinese for merely six to eight months. Nevertheless, they got a big hand after the speeches for their fluent Chinese. Most of the students among the visitors have been learning Chinese because they are planning to come to Taiwan for school.