JSPS Abend Held in Germany

Prof. Ono delivering remarks

Every year, JSPS’s Bonn Office holds the JSPS Abend, to which it invites the heads of its counterpart institutions and universities along with representatives of other affiliated organizations in Germany. At these events, a report is given on both JSPS’s and its Bonn Office’s activities and a message of appreciation is extended to the German counterparts who helped to carry them out. Moreover, the holding of these Abend also serves to expand the Office’s circle of exchange and collaboration. Held at La Redoute in Bonn on 8 September, this year’s event assembled some 80 participants, including JSPS president Prof. Motoyuki Ono and International Program Department deputy director Ms. Helga Tabuchi.

Prof. Ono began the event with opening remarks. Emphasizing that the role of science is all the more vital in times of economic downturn such as these, he expressed expectation in the continued flourishing of scientific exchange between Germany and Japan, particularly as the two countries mark next year their 150^th year of diplomacy and friendship. He was followed by messages from Mr. Helmut Dockter, Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Research in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), in which Bonn is situated, Mr. Kenji Okada, Minister, Embassy of Japan in Germany, Prof. Dr. Dieter Lenzen, vice-president for international relations, German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), and Dr. Enno Aufderheide, secretary general, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH).

To add a special touch to the event, JSPS Bonn Office director Prof. Dr. Keiichi Kodaira and his wife Uta invited the harpist Daniel Noll to perform a solo as a prelude to its opening ceremony. Now 16, two years ago Daniel won a first prize in Jugend musiziert-Bundeswettbewerb (young German musical competition). The participants were captivated by his splendid recital.

After a midway break, an academic lecture was delivered on “Business and Society” by Dr. Kanji Tanimoto, professor of Hitotsubashi University and visiting professor at Freie Universität Berlin. He was followed by remarks from Dr. Christian Bode, secretary general, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and German JSPS Club chair Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus. Prof. Dr. Kodaira offered closing remarks, in which he reiterated JSPS’s appreciation to the participants for their support and cooperation.

A congenial atmosphere prevailed throughout the event, in which executives of the many attending institutions took good advantage of this rare opportunity to meet and talk face to face with JSPS representatives about German-Japanese scientific and academic exchange, while deepening mutual understanding and cooperative ties.

― JSPS Bonn Office