Fourth Group of Outstanding Japanese Major Students
Departs for Rural Revitalization Internship in Japan
Updated:06 August, 2025 |
In the height of summer, our university writes a new chapter in international education
cooperation. On July 17, 23 outstanding students from the Japanese major, the fourth
cohort, set off for Achi Village and Achi Hirugami Onsen Resort in Nagano Prefecture,
Japan, to begin a six-month in-depth practical study. As an important initiative under
our university’s international talent development strategy, this program has become a
benchmark for China-Japan talent cooperation in rural revitalization, drawing wide
attention from educational circles and media in both countries.
At the welcome ceremony held by the Achi Village Government in Nagano Prefecture,
Mayor Hideki Kumagai, together with senior village officials and local representatives,
warmly received the 23 interns. In his address, Mayor Kumagai said: “Since 2019, we
have welcomed four groups totaling 68 outstanding interns from your university,
bringing fresh vitality to the development of Achi Village. These young talents,
proficient in Japanese and deeply familiar with Japanese culture, have become an
important link connecting China’s and Japan’s rural revitalization efforts.” The
ceremony received prominent coverage from local media, which hailed it as
“pioneering a new model for China-Japan rural talent exchange.”
This internship adopts an innovative three-dimensional training model of industrial
practice + academic research + technical application, focusing on rural revitalization.
Over six months, students will participate deeply in core projects such as the
upgrading of hot-spring cultural tourism and the development of stargazing economy,
conduct comparative research on rural development in China and Japan, and directly
engage in the operation of rural revitalization projects. Notably, Achi Village has
achieved remarkable success in regional revitalization. With its innovative
development model, it has been selected by the Japanese government as an
Excellent Case of Regional Revitalization and officially recognized as a model for rural
revitalization. Boasting exceptional natural scenery, the village has earned the “Japan’s
No.1 Starry Sky” certification from the Ministry of the Environment and the title of
“World Starry Sky Tourism Destination”, renowned nationwide for its brilliant night sky.
Its distinctive “ecological protection + cultural inheritance + smart tourism”
development model has received official endorsement under the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and been included as a UN Sustainable Development Best
Practice, serving as a global model for rural sustainability.
“This cross-border practice not only nurtures interdisciplinary talents with an
international perspective but also builds a bridge for exchanging rural development
experience between China and Japan,” said the director of the Japanese major.
“Our ‘specialized learning + rural revitalization’ training model provides an innovative
example for cultivating interdisciplinary foreign-language talents and represents a
cutting-edge direction for applied talent development in the new era. Its creativity
and effectiveness have been widely recognized, and Japanese programs at many
universities across the country are now learning from and promoting this successful
model.”
The smooth launch of the fourth rural revitalization internship cohort marks a
breakthrough in our university’s international education development. During the 15th
Five-Year Plan period, the Japanese major will align with the university’s high-quality
development goals, establish a government-university-enterprise-village collaborative
mechanism, and build a distinctive “Japanese + rural revitalization” training system. It
aims to supply interdisciplinary talents proficient in Japanese and equipped with rural
development vision for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater
Bay Area, and inject new momentum into people-to-people exchanges between China
and Japan.