East Japan Chinese Teacher Association Established in Tokyo

On Oct. 17, the East Japan Chinese Teacher Association Establishment Ceremony was held in the Educational Department of the Chinese Embassy in Japan. Over 100 Chinese teachers and different representatives from Japanese society attended the ceremony. Wu Chuan, a Professor from Nihon University, was elected as the first president of the Association.
   
Minister Counselor Sun Jianming from the Educational Department of the Chinese Embassy in Japan pointed out in his congratulatory speech that with its rapid social and economic development, China is increasing its exchanges with other countries, and there has been a steady rise in interest in the Chinese language. According to incomplete statistics, there are one million Chinese learners in Japan, and the Chinese language is one of the most important foreign languages in Japan. Minister Counselor Sun hoped that the East Japan Chinese Teacher Association could make contributions to the exchanges and the friendship between Chinese teachers in Japan, and work to promote the Chinese language in Japan.
   
President Wu Chuan stated that there are lots of elite Chinese teachers in Japan, and he hoped that the association could serve as a platform for everyone to make full use of their talents and allow more Japanese people to learn Chinese, understand China and deepen the friendship between the two peoples, driving forward the relations between the two countries.

It is said that there are both Chinese teachers and Japanese teachers in the Association; there are well-known experts and scholars as well as elite Chinese teachers working for many language schools. Enomoto Hideo, the famous Japanese Educator and honorary professor of Meiji Gakuin University serves as a consultant, Prof. Chen Shumei from Tokyo University of Technology, Prof. Liu Xunning from Meikai University and former Prof. Haruo Watanabe from Kokugakuin University were elected as Vice Presidents.