Centrul de Studii Japoneze ASE

We are always happy to collaborate with our colleagues from Japan 🥰
Today, some of the intermediate+ level Japanese language students had the opportunity to meet with senior students from the University of Hyogo for a seminar on applied Japanese language.

We thank our guests for their visit and for actively engaging in student life at ASE over the past few days!

On May 10, 2024, the ASE Center for Japanese Studies, in collaboration with the Faculty of International Business and Economics, organized a roundtable as part of International Week at ASE, titled “The current role of diplomacy, business and academia in the development of Japanese Studies in Romania.”

In their speeches, the guests emphasized that, from a historical perspective, the current state of Romanian–Japanese relations is at an unprecedented level of development. In this context, training specialists in various areas of the economy and social life—who are also well-versed in Japanese culture—is vital. Through the Center for Japanese Studies, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies expressed its openness to collaboration with Japanese partners, highlighting its human potential and the strong professional training of its students and graduates in areas of interest to the Japanese side.

The discussion was attended by H.E. Takashi Katae, Ambassador of Japan to Romania; H.E. Viorel Isticioaia-Budura, former EU Ambassador to Japan; H.E. Radu Șerban, former Romanian Ambassador to Japan; and Ms. Sawaka Takazaki, Director of JETRO Bucharest. The discussion was moderated by Lecturer Dr. Magdalena Ciubăncan, Director of the ASE Center for Japanese Studies.

We enjoyed a beautiful Japanese spring day together in the Japanese Garden in Herăstrău Park 🌸🌸🌸

Many thanks to the Embassy of Japan in Romania for inviting us to take part in this sunny event.

Between March 4 and 11, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies welcomed a group of 20 Japanese students accompanied by 3 professors from the University of Hyogo, ASE’s partner institution. They participated in an experience exchange with ASE students as part of the Global Leader Education Program (GLEP) of the Japanese university. The Japanese delegation held meetings with Prof. Marius Profiroiu, Vice-Rector for International Relations, members of the ASE Center for Japanese Studies, professors and students from the Modern Applied Languages program within the REI Faculty, and ASE students enrolled in the optional Japanese language course. The visit program also included joint academic and cultural activities through which the Japanese students got to know both our university and daily life in Bucharest.

On March 6, 2024, our university hosted an official delegation from the University of Hyogo (Japan), consisting of Prof. Makoto Kosaka, President of the Japanese university, and Prof. Carmen Săpunaru-Tămaș, Advisor to the President on International Relations. The delegation was welcomed by Prof. Marius Profiroiu, Vice-Rector responsible for international relations, who discussed with the guests from Japan the main directions for cooperation between the two universities, especially the joint projects to be carried out through the satellite office that the University of Hyogo will open at ASE. The delegation also met with Prof. Liviu Cotfas, Director of the ASE International Relations Department, and Dr. Magdalena Ciubăncan, Lecturer and Director of the ASE Center for Japanese Studies.

The ASE Center for Japanese Studies expresses its gratitude to the Embassy of Japan in Romania for the invitation to the reception dedicated to the birthday of His Majesty Naruhito, Emperor of Japan. We will continue our efforts to develop Japanese studies in Romania and, through the students and graduates of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, to build lasting ties between the two countries.

Between February 5 and 12, 2024, our university hosted a delegation from Nagasaki University, which met with representatives from several departments and faculties at ASE. Over the course of three days, multiple opportunities for collaboration and academic exchanges were discussed and explored, and our colleagues from Japan had the chance to familiarize themselves with ASE’s working and study environment.

On December 8, 2024, the ASE Center for Japanese Studies welcomed a delegation from the Japan Foundation Office in Budapest, the institution that coordinates Japanese language education in Romania. Ms. Mami Fujii, Director of the Office, and Mr. Yasuhiro Yashima, Senior Coordinator for Japanese Language Affairs, met with Dr. Magdalena Ciubăncan, lecturer and director of the ASE Center for Japanese Studies.

During nearly three hours of discussions, the state of Japanese language education in Romania was analyzed from multiple perspectives, and ways to further develop it in the current context were identified.

On November 17, 2024, the ASE Center for Japanese Studies, together with the Japanese Cultural Center of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, organized a demonstration of traditional Japanese games accompanied by explanations.

Tōsenkyō is a traditional Japanese game with a history of approximately 300–400 years. It was initially played by nobles in Kyōto and later spread to Edo (modern-day Tōkyō). The game is simple, involving three main components: fans, a butterfly (target), and a wooden base (cushion). From a certain distance, players throw open fans toward the target, and the score is calculated based on the relative positions of these three components.

Bēgoma are Japanese spinning tops often decorated with ideograms. Originally made from spiral shells filled with sand, these tops date back to the Heian period (794–1185). Playing with metal bēgoma remains a popular pastime today.

The demonstrations and explanations were provided by Dr. Yusuke SUMI, director of the Japanese Cultural Center at Babeș-Bolyai University, and Ryōta Yamazaki, a student at Nagaoka University of Technology.

Our students had the opportunity to meet George Moise, a Romanian author living in Japan, on the occasion of the release of his new Japan-inspired book, Kanashibari. In a relaxed atmosphere, the discussion touched on the experience of being a foreigner in Japan, themes of adaptation and non-adaptation, and the process of self-construction within a foreign culture.