Beijing Center for Japanese Studies was established in 1985 on the negotiation between the Japan Foundation and the Ministry of Education of the P.R.C., succeeding the "Training Center for Japanese Language Teachers," commonly called "Ohira School," established in 1980, based on the agreement between Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira and Hua Guofeng in 1979, with the aim of promoting Japanese studies in China and promoting human resources for cultural exchange with Japan. Currently, the center is operated at two sites: Beijing Foreign Studies University and Peking University. (Project outline　 PDF file/ 30KB)

 

The Japan Foundation has been supporting the operation of the center by dispatching experts in Japanese studies and Japanese language education, and inviting graduate students to Japan. The Japan Foundation has also been supporting the improvement of research and educational environment of the center by funding the operation expense, supporting publication of documents, and contributing education materials, research materials and equipment. (Organization chart PDF file / 19KB)

 

1. Beijing Foreign Studies University (the Beijing Center for Japanese Studies)
(1) Master’s and Doctor’s courses
The center consists of three Master’s courses: Japanese linguistics and language education, Japanese literature and culture, and Japanese society and economy. Students who complete the Master’s course are provided opportunities to pursue their research under the staff of the center as students of Doctor’s course at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, or in Doctor’s course at any university in Japan as foreign students sponsored by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The following number of students has been educated at the center (as of July 2007):

- Master’s course: 476 students (as of 22nd graduates)
　(including 373 students completed Masters’ course as of 20th graduates)
- Doctor’s course, government-sponsored: 68 students as of 17th graduates
　(including 16 students completed Doctor’s course)
- Doctor’s course at the Beijing Center for Japanese Studies: 24 students
　(including 11 students completed Doctor’s course)

The Japan Foundation has been dispatching 515 experts in total to the center for educational support of this project (as of July 2007).

 

(2) Master’s course for Japanese language educator in service
This course established on September 2001 as a Master’s course for Japanese language educator in service at universities in China, succeeding a former Japanese language training course. The aim of this course is to cultivate educators who have comprehensive knowledge of Japan that makes them as appropriate window to Japan for their students, by acquiring the fruits of studies on Japanese language education and Japanese linguistics in both Japan and China.
This course ended in 2007 when the fourth graduating class who entered the course in fall 2004 has finished the course. The Master’s degree of Japanese language education will be integrated in the Japanese linguistics and Japanese language education course of the Master's degree program.
- Japanese Language Training course: 395 students as of 15th graduates
　 (This course ended with the 15th graduates)
- Master’s course for Japanese language educator in service: 32 students as of 4th graduates
　 (including 23 students completed Master’s course; this course ended with 4th graduates)
The Japan Foundation dispatched 91 Japanese language education specialists to above-mentioned Japanese language training course and 17 specialists to Master’s course for Japanese language educator in service.

 

 

2. Peking University (Center of Japanese Studies)
This course was established in 1990 for young executives of the Chinese public office and companies and the Japanese studies experts in China, aiming to research the current situation and institutions of Japanese economy, administration, industry and society, and to research the policy formation process mainly in government and industrial community, in order to cultivate Chinese experts on Japan with the appropriate knowledge and professional perception of Japan today. The course has been providing lectures on the theories and political practice. Such lectures had also been given to students of Master’s and Doctor’s courses in social science divisions of Pekin University since 2000 when the course was extended to them. In 2006, however, this course was designed exclusively for students in Doctor's courses in social science divisions of Pekin University to change the curriculum aiming for more sophisticated education and research results. For instance, expertise was provided in the lectures, and discussions and other elements were added to the curriculum.

The lectures at this center are presented by about 10 Japanese professors (intellectuals such as university professors and administrative officials) dispatched by the Japan Foundation and Chinese faculty members mainly from Pekin University. Graduates are active in wide variety of areas in China, including the government and municipal offices, industry and academic communities. For students at the Pekin University graduate school, 6 units of Pekin University are credited by completing this course.
So far, 351 students in total of working people and graduate students of Pekin University have taken this course (as of July 2007). In addition, the Japan Foundation has dispatched 180 specialists (professors) in total.