(NEWS) Expanding Research Opportunities with Japan Maritime Center

May

2015

Expanding Research Opportunities with Japan Maritime Center

On Thursday, 21 May, a joint WMU-Japan Research Center Networking Seminar was co-hosted by JMC and WMU at the newly inaugurated WMU building. Professor Neil Bellefontaine, WMU Acting President, made opening remarks as well as Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, WMU President Designate, who encouraged further research cooperation with JMC.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Academic Co-operation that was originally established in 2008 and was renewed in 2013, the Japan Maritime Center (JMC) and WMU have a long-standing relationship in regard to joint engagement in research, offerings of seminars and forums, and other activities as agreed to by the parties.

At the networking seminar, Mr. Hideo Osuga, Executive Director of JMC, introduced the general activities of JMC to the gathering of WMU faculty and students. Successive presentations by four prominent JMC researchers covered the current JMC research spectrum of topics.

Mr. Takuma Matsuda introduced the concept of the “Maritime Cluster in Japan” and explained how both the shipping industry and ship-building industry play key roles within the cluster. Mr. Setsuo Nomura presented his paper on “Japanese International Shipping: Current situation and policy measures” which was supported by a variety of statistics and showed how Japan heavily relies on foreign flags. Mr. Seijiro Morimoto talked about the current debates on “Energy & Environment, Prospects for the Maritime Industry -LNG Trade and GHG Reduction-”. Finally, Mr. Hideyuki Nakamura presented two topics, “Passenger Shipping in Japan” and “Shipping Policies in Maritime Countries”. Each presentation was followed by with a question and answer session that provided an opportunity for researchers from both institutions to explore areas of common interest.

Following the presentations, all participants were invited to a reception at the Clarion Hotel & Congress Malmö Live providing a networking opportunity between JMC and WMU to informally discuss future research collaboration opportunities.

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