Centrul de Studii Japoneze ASE

On Thursday, May 8, 2025, as part of ASE’s International Week, the ASE Center for Japanese Studies welcomed Assoc. Prof. Dr. George Șipoș (West University of Timișoara / Gannon University USA), who gave a talk to students about the early development of manga and anime.

We thank our guest for the insightful presentation and hope to meet again soon to continue this journey through the history of Japan’s iconic pop culture exports.

We are deeply grateful to the Embassy of Japan for their ongoing support and encouragement in promoting Japanese culture in our country.

The ASE Center for Japanese Studies had the honor of participating in the reception hosted by the Embassy in appreciation of the volunteers who contributed to the organization of the Hanami event held in April.

We were proudly represented by our students Cristina Prună (Faculty of Marketing), Daria Drăghici (Faculty of International Business and Economics / Applied Modern Languages), and Luca Ciobanu (Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages).

We will continue to strive to contribute to making Japan better known in Romania.

The Embassy of Japan organized the annual Hanami 🌸 event in the Japanese Garden of Herăstrău Park. Though the weather was chilly, we stepped into the spring break beneath budding cherry blossoms.

Thank you to the Embassy of Japan for inviting us to take part in Hanami again this year. We were happy to share a glimpse of Japanese culture with the children who visited our stand.

We continue to strengthen ASE’s relationships with universities in Japan by organizing joint activities between our students 🇷🇴 and Japanese students 🇯🇵.

On Saturday, March 22, 2025, we held a collaborative lesson with professors and students from Aichi Gakuin University, during which students had the opportunity to discuss and learn about topics of shared interest.

We are truly happy that, thanks to teamwork, even beginner-level students were able to communicate in Japanese, with the support of their more advanced classmates and the Japanese students.

On Friday, March 14, we had the pleasure of welcoming author Martin Kumamoto, who held a traditional Japanese calligraphy workshop for ASE students.
Martin Kumamoto is the pen name of a Romanian author who has been living in Japan for over ten years and is a certified 7th-dan instructor in traditional Japanese calligraphy.

Our students, including those from Japan, learned about the three main styles of Japanese calligraphy and tried writing a few characters under the careful guidance of Kumamoto-sensei.
We thank the Embassy of Japan for providing the calligraphy materials.

At the invitation of H.E. Mr. Takashi KATAE, Ambassador of Japan to Romania, a delegation led by ASE Rector, Prof. Nicolae Istudor, paid an official visit to His Excellency’s residence on February 26.

The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation with the ASE Center for Japanese Studies, identifying further opportunities for collaboration in education and research, and developing ASE’s relationships with the Japanese business environment.

The ASE delegation also admired the traditional Hina doll display, part of the Hinamatsuri spring celebration held on March 3.

We thank His Excellency Takashi Katae for the invitation and for fostering dialogue and partnership with our university!

At the ASE Japanese Studies Center, the second semester began with a week full of Japan-related events.
The series of activities was opened on Monday, February 24th, with a meeting between Prof. Dr. Marius Profiroiu, Vice-Rector for International Relations, and a group of 14 Japanese students from the University of Hyogo, who were participating in an exchange program at ASE and the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.
Prof. Profiroiu introduced the Japanese students to our university, shared insights into the history of Romania, and spoke about the importance of internationalization in today’s global context.

The visit continued with many other activities, which you can find out more about in our upcoming posts here and on our Instagram page.

Japan is neither distant nor incomprehensible—if we have the right tools and knowledge to decode different cultures.
This semester, students from the Applied Modern Languages program at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies had the opportunity to work closely with their Japanese peers from Kansai University, successfully overcoming all barriers.

A new significant project involving Japanese participation is underway: the construction and equipping of the High-Power Optics Center in Măgurele (Ilfov County), developed for the National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering “Horia Hulubei.”
The new center, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, will enable the production of large-scale optical components essential for the operation of high-power lasers.

In addition to the extracurricular activities at the ASE Center for Japanese Studies, we meet weekly with our students for Japanese language seminars.
Here you can see some of our beginner-level students decoding hiragana and learning vocabulary related to professions.