On March 13, a presentation session for the “Japan-China Youth: Journey Searching for a History of Friendship Project” was held at the Kobe University Graduate School of Science. 12 students participated in this project: six each from Japan and China. Approximately 30 people attended this event, including the participating students, representatives from the organizing parties, and guests. Attending from Kobe University were faculty, staff, and students.

The project aims to raise awareness of the Japan-China friendship among Japanese and Chinese university students through mutual exchange. It is jointly organized by the China-Japan Friendship Association and the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE). This event marked the start of the project.

Six Kobe University students were selected for the program to represent Japan: three from the Faculty of Letters, two from the Faculty of Economics, and one from the Faculty of Science. From China, six students were selected from Beijing International Studies University (BISU). These twelve students participated in a 9-day trip from March 6 through 14 and engaged in various types of exchange activities. The group spent the first half of the project period in Beijing and Tianjin, China, and the second half in Tokyo and Kobe, Japan. They deepened their mutual understanding through group activities and study trips to places of historic significance for the Japan-China friendship.

Each group gave a 20-minute presentation at the end of the project to summarize what they had learned. In spite of the limited preparation time, the groups all exercised ingenuity in presenting their findings. Each student had learned many things from what they had experienced during the project, and their presentations demonstrated that they had deepened their understanding of the friendship between Japan and China. A lively Q&A session took place after the presentations, and students were highly praised for their efforts in searching for the friendship between the two countries.