site.btaJapan Interested in Collaborating with Bulgarian IT, Nuclear Energy Experts

Japan is interested in working with Bulgarian IT specialists and nuclear energy experts, the Ministry of Education and Science press service reported here on Friday after Education Minister Galin Tzokov convened with a delegation from Tokai University led by Prof. Kiyoshi Yamada of the University's board of trustees.

The cooperation between the Education Ministry and Tokai University has been going on for 55 years. Apart from exchanges in the academic sphere, it covers joint research on Thracian heritage by Japanese and Bulgarian scholars, student exchange programme through the children's radio choir, and more.

A total of 106 Bulgarian students are studying Japanese studies, and more than 1,000 pupils are studying Japanese, Tzokov said. Kiyoshi Yamada added that every year Bulgaria holds an oratory contest in Japanese in which the grand prize is a visit to Japan. "There are many children who speak perfect Japanese, even though they have never been to Japan," he pointed out.

Kiyoshi Yamada said that he was contacted by the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Nishimura Yasutoshi, who was in Bulgaria in May 2023 and visited the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) with Sofia University. Nishimura Yasutoshi noted that Bulgaria pays serious attention to the training of IT specialists. He asked Tokai University to facilitate the exchange of experience between Bulgarian and Japanese experts.

Tzokov undertook to facilitate contacts between the Japanese side and Bulgarian universities offering training in the field of high technology. He arranged a meeting of the Tokai University delegation with representatives of INSAIT. The Minister proposed to work on joint training programs as well as exchange of students in IT specialties.

Kiyoshi Yamada said that Japan needs nuclear energy specialists. Bulgarian universities that include nuclear energy in their curriculum include Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and Technical University of Sofia.

Kiyoshi Yamada congratulated Bulgaria for the gold medals won by the Bulgarian gymnasts at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.