German President Gauck visits Kyoto University, presides over Siebold Prize ceremony (17 November 2016)

發表日期

2016/12/21

On 17 November, Joachim Gauck, president of the Federal Republic of Germany, visited Kyoto University to attend the 2016 Philipp Franz von Siebold Prize Ceremony and other events.

President Gauck first met with Dr Juichi Yamagiwa, president of Kyoto University, as well as Dr Kayo Inaba, executive-vice president for gender equality, international affairs, and public relations; Professor Masao Kitano, executive vice-president for education, information infrastructure, and evaluation; and Professor Yukari Mitsuhashi, vice-director of the International Strategy Office. After the meeting, focusing on advancing academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Japan, President Gauck participated in a German-language dialogue with sixteen students and early-career researchers from Kyoto University and other universities in the Kansai region. The informal dialogue touched on various political topics, including democracy and the social status of women.

The Philipp Franz von Siebold Prize is awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to Japanese scholars for outstanding academic achievements and significant contributions to cultural understanding and academic exchange between Germany and Japan. The award is traditionally presented by the President of Germany at Belluvue Palace in Berlin, the presidential residence. However, this year's ceremony was held at Kyoto University during President Gauck's stay in Japan, which also included visits to Tokyo and Nagasaki.

The ceremony was attended by approximately 110 participants from Germany and Japan. During his speech, President Yamagiwa discussed the activities of Kyoto University's European Center Heidelberg Office and Heidelberg University's Kyoto Office, each of which is located on the campus of the partner institution. The offices play important roles in supporting and promoting Japanese-German education and research collaboration, including the activities of the HeKKSaGOn German-Japanese University Network, an association of six leading Japanese and German research universities. President Yamagiwa also expressed his sincere appreciation to President Gauck and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for their support of academic exchange between the two countries.

President Gauck then took to the stage, telling the audience how happy he was to be in Japan, quoting Albert Einstein, who said of a 1922 visit to Japan (including a lecture delivered at the then Kyoto Imperial University), "I would never have forgiven myself for letting a chance to see Japan with my own eyes go by unheeded." He expressed his hopes that academic exchange between Germany and Japan will continue to grow and yield new discoveries. President Gauck and President Helmut Schwartz of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation then presented this year's Siebold Prize to Professor Takeshi Kawasaki of Sophia University.