To celebrate 40 years of the Sister Province relationship between Yogyakarta and Kyoto, Japan, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) organized a Japanese Speech Contest with an open theme. This allowed participants, who were active UGM students, to deliver speeches on a variety of topics. The competition took place on November 15, 2024, in Multimedia Room 1, located on the 3rd floor, North Wing, of UGM’s Central Building.

Prior to the competition day, participants were required to submit a 3-minute speech video via a designated registration link. Based on these submissions, eight finalists were selected to deliver their speeches offline during the event on Friday, November 15, 2024. The Governor of Kyoto made a surprise appearance at the competition to witness the performances in person. read more

Putri Mega Asmarani, a student studying Japanese language and culture in the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture of Cultural Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada, won second place in the Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) competition held during the Unsoed Japanese Festival. This festival was organized online by Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, with the winners announced on October 20, 2024.

The Unsoed Japanese Festival is one of the events held to introduce and cultivate interest in Japanese art and culture among students. In the Shodo competition, Putri successfully showcased her ability to create Japanese calligraphy that was not only beautiful but also adhered to the essential principles of Shodo. read more

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, Evelin Oktafianny, a student of the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, won first place in the 21st Kanji Cup competition held at the LP3M Building of Universitas Negeri Surabaya. This competition was aimed at Japanese language learners, particularly those in higher education institutions or general Japanese language schools.

The Kanji Cup is an annual competition organized by the Consulate General of Japan in Surabaya, the IMC Center, and the Japan Foundation, in collaboration with various sponsors. Although Indonesia is not a country that uses Kanji, this event provides participants with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and improve their skills in Kanji. read more

On September 13 and 20, 2023, the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Faculty of Cultural Sciences held a Workshop and Sharing Session titled “Job Readiness of Graduates from the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program.”

The event featured four speakers: (1) M. Tanfidz Tamamuddin, S.S., an alumnus working in the creative industry as a comic artist and scriptwriter; (2) Fath Yustia Hendrawan, S.S., an alumnus working in oral and written translation of Japanese; (3) Sekar Kinasih, S.S., MAPS., an alumnus who is pursuing a master’s degree with a scholarship; and (4) Irwan Hermawan, S.E., M.M., a guest practitioner who works as both an academic and entrepreneur. The four speakers shared their experiences and inspirational stories about preparing for a complex, competitive, and professional job market. read more

Students from the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Faculty of Cultural Sciences have once again proven their excellence. This achievement was accomplished in a competition held by the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program at Diponegoro University, Semarang, as part of the Orenji event on November 5.

Lulu Nabiha Nurilailati, a student from the 2020 cohort, secured first place in the Shodou (Japanese calligraphy) competition. Meanwhile, Anadia Sabrina Sucianastasya achieved third place in the Japanese Speech Competition for university students. read more

On Tuesday, February 13, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM WIB, the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture at Universitas Gadjah Mada held a public lecture titled “Will Japan become a ‘normal country’?: Changes in The Defense Debate Before And After the Outbreak of The Ukraine War,” presented by Asst. Prof. Masato Nakahara, a researcher and lecturer at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University. This public lecture served as an opening for the even semester of the 2023/2024 academic year and was attended by lecturers and students from the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture, as well as students from outside the program interested in Japanese-related issues. read more

On Monday, February 26, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM WIB, the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture held a casual in-person discussion on the topic of “Current Conditions in Japan” with Dr. Aoyama Toru, an Emeritus Professor from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. The discussion was attended by lecturer and active students from the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture.

The discussion began with an explanation of Japan’s current situation by Dr. Aoyama. On January 1, 2024, the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture experienced a devastating earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale at 2:10 PM local time. The earthquake not only damaged many public facilities and homes but also affected access routes to the areas hit by the quake. The severe destruction hindered the government’s disaster relief efforts. Moreover, the impacted area is predominantly rural and inhabited by elderly residents, many of whom struggle to move quickly in emergency situations. This earthquake and its aftermath could potentially lead to the region disappearing from the map of Japan, as young people are increasingly choosing to live in cities with better facilities. Following Dr. Aoyama’s explanation, the session transitioned into a dynamic and interactive Q&A segment. This was followed by a discussion filled with various questions concerning social issues currently facing Japanese society, including the link between the problem of shoushikoureika (少子高齢化), which refers to low birth rates and a high aging population, and Japan’s future conditions. read more

On Thursday, February 22, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM WIB, the Bachelor Program in Japansese Language and Culture held an Educational Collaboration event with Ferris Women University (FWU) from Yokohama, Japan. This cultural exchange activity was attended by Dr. Sato Akira, who served as the accompanying lecturer, along with three students from FWU, as well as faculty and students from the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program. After a welcoming event led by Dr. Tatang Hariri, M.A., the head of the Bachelor Program in Japansese Language and Culture, the FWU lecturers and students entered the classroom to engage in discussions and exchange information with UGM students. read more

The Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture accepted Mr. Yuki Murakami, a Master student of Development Economics Program from Kobe University as an intern student. The internship lasted for 16 days from February 13 to 29 with Dr. Masato Nakahara as her supervisor.

During his internship at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Mr. Murakami participated in several academic activities including being a teaching assistant in class, correcting practice questions, and participating in study program academic activities. As a teaching assistant, in the Conversation Japanese class, Mr. Murakami explains and practices how Japanese people speak well and naturally as well as basic knowledge to Japanese speaking habits. Next, in the History of Japanese Thought class, he helped the lecturer explain how Japan found a solution to be able to catch up with other countries after the implementation of sakoku (鎖国), which was Japan’s policy of isolating itself from the outside world. read more

On Wednesday, March 6 2024, the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture held a webinar entitled Webinar on Japanese Language and Literature. The webinar was attended by more than 70 participants, a combination of the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture students and students outside the study program who have an interest in Japanese Language and Literature.

The webinar was held in two sessions, with the first session by Dr. Mulyadi, M.A. as a lecturer in Linguistics at the Bachelor Program in Japanese Language and Culture and the second session by Prof. Mika Baba who is a lecturer in the Literature subprogram of the Undergraduate Program in Humanities and Literature from Tsukuba University. read more