From Ambassador (Visit to the Library of the National Universityof Samoa)

Visit to the Library of the National University of Samoa!
 
On May 19, I visited the National University of Samoa. The purpose of this visit was to explain and discuss the 'Read Japan' project, which is a donation initiative for Japanese-related books supported by the Nippon Foundation. This initiative, which started in 2008, aims to promote mutual understanding and cultural exchanges. For this purpose, English-language books of various Japan-related subjects are donated to various institutions and libraries worldwide. Since inception, already over 1,400 institutions have received these generous donations. However, for various reasons, National University of Samoa had not received any donations from this initiative until now.
 
Thanks to the arrangements made by Prof. Tuifuisa’a Patila Malua-Amosa, Vice-chancellor and President of the National University of Samoa, I was able to meet with Dr. Louise, the head of the Faculty of Humanities, and Mr. Togi, Library Director. Also present at the meeting was Ms. Takano, a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer who has been teaching Japanese at the National University of Samoa since January of this year. During the meeting, we agreed to proceed with the application to the foundation to receive this donation, and we decided to move forward with the procedures for selecting the books we wish to receive.
 
Additionally, I had the opportunity to tour the library, where I was surprised to see that almost every bookshelf had the seal of Japanese ODA mark attached. Moreover, on a shelf with Japanese-related books, there was an English book introducing Japanese culture, believed to be donated by Ambassador Jun Kawashima, who was the Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand (also accredited to Samoa) in 1998. There were also some textbooks on electric circuits and engineering in Japanese, thought to have been left behind by the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers long ago. This made me realize, once again, the deep historical ties of Japan's cooperation with the National University of Samoa.