On February 24, 2023, the largest medical institute in Hunan Province, China, Hunan University of Medicine, and SUMS, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for academic cooperation. The signing ceremony was conducted online.

Hunan University of Medicine is renowned for its research and teaching in Chinese medicine, pharmaceuticals, rehabilitation medicine, and healthcare. The university also has an excellent Japanese language education program, and many of its nursing graduates have obtained a Japanese national nursing license.

This agreement was concluded as a result of the long-standing friendship between Hunan Province and Shiga Prefecture, which has lasted for forty years, and Shiga Prefecture played an instrumental role in bridging the two institutions. In this regard, we invited Dr. Fumihiko Kakuno, Director of Health and Medical Welfare Department of Shiga Prefecture and Special Mission Professor of SUMS, to deliver a greeting speech.

The signing of this MOU is an exciting opportunity for the two universities to promote academic collaboration and for the municipalities to deepen their ties of friendship as well. It is hoped that this agreement will pave the way for many more collaborations between the two institutions in the future.