ASJA-MEXT Scholars who attended the 2015 ASJA Commencement Exercises Reception with the PHILFEJA Delegation.
The 30th Meeting of the Board of Directors of Asia Japan Alumni (ASJA) International was held on March 27, 2015 at the 43rd Floor, Moonlight Suite, Keio Plaza Hotel, Shinjuku, Tokyo. PHILFEJA was represented by its President, MR. PHILIP B. SANVICTORES, who serves as the ex-officio Director for the Philippines in the ASJA Board. In 2014, Mr. Sanvictores served as the Acting Chairman of the ASJA Board representing the late BENJAMIN C. LAUREL, who was then the incumbent ASJA Chairman but was unable to attend due to his failing health.
The Directors in attendance were:
- SI SI SHIEN – ASJA Chairman; Director for Mynamar
- TAKASHI TAJIMA – Director for Japan
- TINEKE MANDANG – Director for Indonesia
- OOK CHEE KEONG – Director for Malaysia
- PHILIP B. SANVICTORES – Director for the Philippines
- TAN KAY GUAN – Director for Singapore
- SAMRAN CHOODUANGERN – Director for Thailand
- VUTHY MONYRATH – Director for Cambodia
- NGO MINH THUY – Director for Vietnam
- BOUASONE VONTHAPHONG – Director for Laos
- CHIN WEI KEI – Director for Brunei
Also in attendance were:
- ISMADJI HADISUMARTO – Vice-President, PERSADA
- INDRI TOFIR – PERSADA
- HIDEKI AMANG – PERSADA
- SALENA GOH BEI HONG – wife of Dr. Ooi Chee Keong
- GO NEE SHEUNG – Director, PERSADA
- PATRICIA MARIBEL C. SANVICTORES – wife of Mr. Philip B. Sanvictores
- MA. ELENA LAUREL-LOINAZ – Project Manager, 21st ASCOJA Conference
- GLENDA T. FERMA – Deputy Project Manager, 21st ASCOJA Conference
- YEE JEN EN – Vice-President, JUGAS
- SURAWUT CHUANGCHOTE – Director for External Affairs, OJSAT
- MO MO SAN – Secretary-General, MAJA
- SAN SAN LUIN – Deputy Secretary-General, MAJA
- MYO KIHN – Vice-President, MAJA
- MON SU – Vice-President, MAJA
- TON TON TEH – Member, MAJA
- PHAN THRUN GIAN – Secretary-General, JAV
- GUEN FEN THIAN – Deputy Secretary-General, JAV
- TAN THUY KIM THUEN – Committee Member, JAV
Other attendees were:
- SHINADA, Director – MOFA
- MIWA KISHIMOTO– MOFA
ASJA International Secretariat members in attendance were:
- JIRO SATO – Secretary-General, ASJA International
- IWAMOTO – Editor, ASJA International
- CHIKAKO HAGIHARA – ASJA International Secretariat
- FURUTA – ASJA International Secretariat
- ARIMA – ASJA International Secretariat
In total, there were 38 participants in the 30th ASJA International Board Meeting.
The Schedule for the 2-day affair was as follows:
March 26, 2015 (Thursday)
13:00: Assembly of ASJA Directors at Moonlight Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
13:15: Briefing for the Program by ASJA International
14:00: Departure from Keio Plaza Hotel for Diet Members Office, Building No. 1
15:00: Round Table Conference with Diet Members
16:00: Tour of the National Diet Main Building
17:00: Return to Keio Plaza Hotel
18:30: Welcome Dinner hosted by ASJA Secretary-General Mr. Jiro Sato; Comet Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
March 27, 2015 (Friday)
09:00: ASJA International Board Meeting, Moonlight Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
12:00: Lunch, Moonlight Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
14:00: ASCOJA Governors Meeting, Moonlight Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
16:30: ASJA International Graduates Presentation and Completion Ceremony, Comet Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
18:30: Dinner Reception, ASJA International, Starlight Room, 43rd Floor, Keio Plaza Hotel
AGENDA
- Proposed Budget for FY2015
- Plans for FY2015
- Scholars Intake – 18 graduate students, 5 undergraduate students
- Total current scholars – 30 students
- Plans and Programs
- Orientation for new scholars
- Cultural exchange and networking
- Homestay
- Sociocultural exposure
- Commencement exercises
- Research reports
- ASJA Newsletter and Homepage
- ASJA Annual Board of Directors meeting in March 2016
- Participation in the 21st ASCOJA Conference in the Philippines
- Assistance for Strengthening the ASCOJA Network
- Online Communication Platform
- ASCOJA Symposia on Labor and Business
- Plans for FY2015
- FY2015 Budget
- Proposed Budget – JPY46,625,000 vs JPY64,869,000 (FY2014)
- Breakdown of FY2015 Budget
- Assistance for ASJA Scholars – JPY8,958,471
- Assistance for ASCOJA / Alumni associations – JPY5,575,970
- Strengthening ASCOJA Network – JPY27,476,950
- ASJA Secretariat – JPY20,197,371
- Audit fee – JPY660,000
- Total – JPY62,868,762
- Government Proposal – JPY46,625,000
- List of Scholars Accepted for FY2015
- Indonesia – 2 scholars
- Malaysia – 2 scholars
- Philippines – 2 scholars
- Singapore – 3 scholars
- Thailand – 2 scholars
- Myanmar – 3 scholars
- Cambodia – 3 scholars
- Vietnam – 2 scholars
- Laos – 3 scholars
- Brunei – 1 scholar
- Report on ASJA Activities in 2014
- April 25-26, 2014: Orientation for new ASJA-MEXT Scholars
- May 9, 2014: Welcome party for new scholars
- August 1-5, 2014: Tochigi-Ken Homestay
- August 7-11, 2014: Shizuoka-Ken Homestay
- August 29-31, 2014: Interaction with Japanese University Students
- September 2-5, 2014: Fukuoka-Ken Volunteer Work
- September 9, 2014: Lecture on International Understanding
- September 27, 2014: ASEAN Festival
- November 1, 2014: Workshop on Research of Experiences in Japanese Life
- November 2, 2014: Experiencing Japan Culture
- November 2, 2014: Orientation for new ASJA-MEXT Scholars (October Intake)
- December 4-7, 2014: Kyoto Workshop on Life in Japan
- January 23-25, 2015: ASJA-ASCOJA Consultative Meeting on the 21st ASCOJA Conference and the Proposed ASCOJA Online Communication Platform
- February 5-6, 2015: Tour of Industrial Japan
- February 27, 2015: Lecture on International Understanding
- March 6-8, 2015: Cultural Interaction
- March 15, 2015: Experiencing Japan Culture
- March 27, 2015: Commencement Exercises; ASJA Directors Meeting
- Guidelines for Selection and Acceptance of Research Students
- Candidates must understand the purposes of ASJA and commit to participate in its activities and programs
- In principle, must desire to continue studies towards a masteral degree
- Study in a school in Tokyo or its suburbs and cities nearby
- In principle, start in April
- Undergo 6-months Nihongo Training at the Tokyo Japanese Language Training Center prior to starting work on graduate studies
- ASCOJA Online Communication Platform
- Factors behind the establishment of the ASCOJA Online Platform to be developed and administered by ASJA
- ASCOJA participation in the development of the platform
- ASCOJA Committee on the Online Platform Development and Contribution of Content – PHILFEJA, PERSADA, JAGAM, OJSAT, JAV.
- ASJA-ASCOJA Symposia Series for FY2015
- Topics will generally be on Labor and Business Flows
- Frequency – once every three months; i.e., quarterly
- Venue – in different ASCOJA countries
- Budget coverage – travel expenses of participants (1-2 persons per country), venue rental, travel expenses of symposium speaker-expert (1 person per symposium), lecture costs, documentation and report costs
- Matters for Decision by the Board of Directors
- Election of new ASJA Chairman
- Minutes of the 29th ASJA International Minutes of Meeting
- Other matters
- ASCOJA to conduct pre-departure orientation for all ASJA-MEXT scholars
- ASJA-MEXT Scholars required to attend the Welcome Party and Orientation to be held on April 25-26 in Tokyo
- ASJA-MEXT Scholars staying outside Tokyo to bear all transport and lodging expenses to be incurred in attending ASJA Activities
- Contact details (email address, mobile phone, etc.) to be provided ASJA
- Students to allow ASJA to use personal information submitted to and provided the MEXT for their respective applications for scholarship
Asia Japan Alumni (ASJA) International arranged a courtesy call/dialogue with ranking Parliamentarians of the National Diet of Japan for its Board of Directors composed of ASCOJA Governors serving ASJA in ex-officio capacities. The group of Japanese members of Parliament who received the ASJA Directors last March 26, 2015 was led by Assemblyman Yasukazu Hamada, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the ruling LDP and Assemblywoman Toshiko Abe, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Assemblyman Tatsuo Fukuda served as the session moderator.
The following members of the National Diet attended the hour-long meeting:
- Yayoi Kimura
- Hideki Makihara
- Keitaro Oono
- Arata Takebe
- Jun Tsushima
- Kenichi Hosoda
- Aiko Shimajiri
- Keizo Takemi
- Kuniko Inoguchi
Each ASJA Director was allowed a minute of self-introduction. The Members of Parliament were all visibly impressed as all the Directors spoke in fluent Nihongo. PHILFEJA President Philip B. Sanvictores, concurrently ASCOJA Chairman informed the Japanese legislators about the forthcoming 21st ASCOJA Conference to be held in Manila. He talked about the conference theme: “ASCOJA in an Integrated ASEAN”, stressing the relevance of the topic given the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) within the ensuing year 2015.
Accompanying the ASJA/ASCOJA Delegation were ASJA Secretary-General Jiro Sato and ASJA Director for Japan, Amb. Tajima.
After the meeting with the Diet members, the group was given a tour of the National Diet building, a rare opportunity as tours are generally permitted only upon the endorsement of a Member of Parliament.
The construction of the Diet building was completed in November 1936 which took 17 years from 1920. It is located on a 10-hectare property in Nagatacho across the Imperial Palace grounds. It has a floor area of 53,464 square meters with its central tower rising 65 meters to the top.
A Diet guard escorted the group to the public areas. Along the route, it is easy to observe the elegance, the royal ambience, the architecture heavily influenced by European classical and baroque lines. Diet trivia interspersed the introductions to each room, corridor and hall. The red carpet that line the corridors and staircases run over 4 kilometers; the Central Gate is opened only when the Emperor enters the Diet; there is an Emperor’s Room for the exclusive use of His Majesty the Emperor, as there are three balconies overlooking the man chamber. All materials and structures in the edifice were made locally except for three items – the antiquated postal system made by Cutler of the US, the locks on all the doors (also made in the US since Japan did not yet have the technology for making master keys at that time), and the stained glass over the main chamber which was made in and imported from the U.K. The columns lining the central section of the building are made of marble from Okinawa which still bear fossil crevices, a unique feature décor of the Diet building.
No photos are allowed inside the complex, except in the meeting room where the ASJA-ASCOJA group was received. Tour guides were quick to restrain any form of digital recording while inside the premises. A photo session was however allowed outside, with the iconic Diet building blocking the looming sunset.
written by Ms. Keli Biscarra
With the aim of creating a network of young Asian leaders, Toshiba International Foundation, together with the joint sponsor Toshiba Thai Foundation and executor BeGood Café, organized the Toshiba Youth Club Asia (TYCA) Program, an all-expense paid one-week Exchange Camp to be held at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center in Yoyogi, Tokyo. In this program, 16 students from Japan and 6 ASEAN countries will gather from March 23 to 30, 2015, to think about critical issues such as world energy, disaster prevention, and advanced technology. The program also includes visits to museums and various Tokyo landmarks, cultural activities, several workshops including one with students from Keio University Shonan Fujisawa High School.
The Philippine representatives, who were selected on the basis of a qualifying essay and interview, are Sydney P. Mateo of Marikina Science High School and Mark Ulysis Romulo of City of Mandaluyong Science High School. They will be accompanied by their adviser, Carmencita Biscarra, a Japanese-language instructor of Nihongo Center Foundation and Japan Foundation Manila. Other participants who will join the program are from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan.
Click Here to view Ms. Keli Biscarra’s report
- L-R: Mr. Makoto Katsura, President of Toshiba Internatiional Foundation; Mr. Naoku Ishibashi, CEO of Governance Design Laboratory, Inc. and Assistant Professor, Faculty of Global Media Studiesof Komazawa University; Mrs. Glenda Ferma, Philippine Representative, Mr. Mark Romulo of Mandaluyong Science High School; Ms. Sydney Mateo of Marikina Science High School and; Ms. Keli Biscarra, Supervisor for the Philippine Delegates; and Mr. Kiyoshi Shikita, Chairperson of BeGood Cafe
