Strengthening cooperation with Shukutoku University (Japan)

During the meeting, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Vice Rector of the University) expressed his gratitude for the long-standing cooperation between Professor Tatsuru Akimoto and Shukutoku University. While serving as President of the Asia-Pacific Association for Social Work Education, Professor Tatsuru Akimoto, along with professors and scientists from Shukutoku University, contributed to research and academic exchanges in the field of social work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. This included providing input on materials and textbooks on social work, and participating in seminars organized at the University, such as the seminar "Buddhism and Social Work" held on March 21, 2012. Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim stated that the University wishes to continue receiving cooperation from Professor Tatsuru Akimoto and Shukutoku University.

Professor Tatsuru Akimoto thanked the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for the warm welcome and shared his desire to continue the collaborative research project on "Social Work and Buddhism." Through this project, Shukutoku University will collaborate with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to organize an international conference to exchange and discuss the relationship between Buddhism and social work in various countries, including Vietnam and Japan, aiming to analyze and compare the contributions of Buddhism to social work in diverse social contexts. The research results will be published as a collection of monographs with contributions from many different countries.

Professor Nguyen Van Kim presented gifts and took commemorative photos with Professor Tatsuru Akimoto and the delegation from Shukutoku University.

Shukutoku University was founded in 1965 in Chiba, Japan, and has had many collaborative projects with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. In March 2012, a research team from Shukutoku University visited Vietnam and discussed and signed a cooperation agreement for the research project "The Role of Buddhism in Social Work," initiated by Professor Nguyen Hoi Loan of Hanoi National University. The project was supported by the World Buddhist Association and agreed upon by Professor Hasegawa Masatoshi, President of Shukutoku University, and lasted for three years.