On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, eight Palau Community College (PCC) students who successfully completed the short term invitation programs, JENESYS and APIC programs, gave their presentations about their visits to Japan at the PCC Library Conference room. The aim of both programs are to promote friendly ties and understanding between Japan and other countries.
Ms. Kazuko Chibana was the only student who attended the Pacific and Carribean Student Invitation Programalso known as APIC, and she spent one month studying at Sophia Universityin January 2020. JENESYS 2019 participants, Ms. Joma Hosei, Ms. Azalea Richard, Ms. Ngetwai Ngiramengior, Ms. Reilynn Mechol, Ms. Chiana Chiba and Mr. CobiB. Jones participated in the JENESYS program (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) and stayed for one week atHitachiomiya city in Ibaraki Prefecture whileMs. Ikelau L. Uro,visited Yamaguchi Prefecture. Hitachiomiya is one of Palau’s host towns for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The students showed photos of their visits to well-known tourist sites and attractions in Japan such as the Naritasan Shinshoji temple, Oarai Isosaki Shrine, Diver City Tokyo plaza in Odaiba and Akihabara. As part of their learning experience, the students visited various companies, such as Takagishouten, a sunflower canning company and Nippon Steel Corporation. They also visited government related agencies such as the Japan Tourism Agency, Hitachiomiya municipal government office and participated in cultural exchange activities with Japanese high school students.The participants also experiencedsome of Japan’s culture such as wearing kimono, bathing in a public bath and staying with a Japanese host family. All of the participants mentioned the home stay part of the program as the best experience they had in Japan. Many of them were inspired and motivated by Japan’s clean environment, organized and easy to use public transportation, fast paced lifestyle and advanced yet still maintaining the Japanese culture and language intact.
Ambassador Karasawa who attended the reporting session with the President of Palau Community College, Dr. Patrick U. Tellei, encouraged the participants of the two programs, JENESYS and APIC, to share their experiences with their friends and family. Dr. Tellei expressed his appreciation to the government of Japan for providing such opportunities for cultural exchanges between Japan and Palau.
Embassy of Japan encourages more Palauan students to take the advantage of such programs that provides a setting for friendly cultural exchanges, as well as practical learning based on specific themes.The short term invitation programs arealso great opportunities to experience life in Japan and to consider the possibilities of studying in Japan in the future.
For more information about the short term invitation programs or Japanesegovernment scholarship programs, please contact the Embassy of Japan at 488-6455/6 or visit our website at http://www.palau.emb-japan.go.jp/En/index.html.