On August 29, 2024, the President of The Japan Foundation, Mr. KUROSAWA Shinya, visited the Nihongo Center Foundation, Inc. (NCF) in Makati City. He was accompanied by Mr. SUZUKI Ben, Country Director of Japan Foundation Manila.  Mr. Francis C. Laurel, NCF Chairman, Mr. Philip B. Sanvictores, President, and Mr. Kenjiro Ogata, Academic Advisor welcomed Mr. Kurosawa.

Mr. Laurel first showed Mr. Kurosawa the memorabilia of Ambassador Jose S. Laurel III, founder of The Philippines-Japan Society, including all its affiliate organizations, including NCF.

Then, Mr. Kurosawa met with NCF Management to discuss challenges in Japanese language learning. They also exchanged ideas on areas improvement as well as opportunities for expanding Nihongo learning in the country. Given the current state of Japanese language education in the Philippines, the meeting highlighted the need for teacher training in the country to address the perennial shortage of qualified Filipino teachers of the Japanese language.

Mr. Kurosawa also met with some members of the NCF Faculty, including former Japan Foundation Grantees for Short-Term and Long-Term Teaching Training Program at JF Urawa. The teachers took turns introducing themselves and engaging in casual conversations wherein Mr. Kurosawa also shared his previous professional experiences in the Philippines.