On May 26 (Wed), 2021, members from Niigata University participated in the “Japan-Russia Far East Medical Cooperation Forum: Towards the Establishment of a Medical Network Between Japan and Russia”, organized by the Japan Association for Trade with Russia and NIS (ROTOBO). Niigata University gave presentations on the history of the university’s exchange with Japan and Russia, as well as on medical and medical-related projects between Japan and Russia that are being promoted jointly by industry, academia, and government.

The forum was conducted online with the aim of further strengthening cooperation between Japan and Russia in the Russian Far East by sharing case studies of medical projects conducted jointly by Japan and Russia, as well as projects conducted between regional administrations and universities. About 150 participants from universities, medical and research institutions, mass media, and private companies in Japan and Russia were in attendance.

From Niigata University, Associate Professor Shihoko Yamakawa of the Division for the Promotion of International Collaboration participated in the seminar and gave an introduction on the history of medical exchange between Japan and Russia at her university. In addition, she gave a presentation on the activities of the Niigata Consortium for Japan Russia Medical Sciences and Educational Exchanges, which consists of the university, local government, trading companies, and financial institutions in the prefecture, and she was able to report on the unique exchange between Japan and Russia, which is not limited to medical education and transcends the boundaries of industry, academia, industry, government, and the finance sector. The participants of the forum expressed appreciation for the fact that the exchange and cooperative relations undertaken by the universities have been developing in response to the changes in the environment surrounding Japan and Russia, and that the exchange projects between Japan and Russia are progressing in a sustainable manner.