In recent years, the ties between the state of North Carolina and the country of Japan have steadily strengthened. Last year alone, Japanese companies invested over $10 billion in new projects and created over 3,000 new jobs in North Carolina.
On April 12, 2024, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Triangle. Kishida even met with students from UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and Duke at the Nagoya University Global Campus at NC State. This visit highlights the growing collaboration between Japanese and North Carolina universities.
At the end of February, Nagoya University in Japan invited Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine Dr. John Batsis to visit their institution. While there, the aging specialist gave lectures, toured facilities, met with researchers, and visited classrooms.
A couple of weeks after Dr. Batsis’ visit to Japan, Nagoya University’s professor Hiroyuki Umegaki (Department of Community Health and Geriatrics) reciprocated, visited the UNC Division of Geriatric Medicine. Currently, researchers at both institutions are pursuing ways to collaborate and advance opportunities for aging research.
Following the success of the previous exchange, the two institutions will host a second exchange program later this year.