On June 2, 2026, Tohoku University held ‘Belgium Day’, an event to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan. It was attended by members of the Embassy of Belgium to Japan, including the ambassador, His Excellency Antoine Evrard and Deputy Head of Mission & Minister Counselor Eduard van Kleunen.
In addition to participating in the event, the visitors paid a courtesy call to President Teiji Tominaga, met with university leadership, spoke to Belgian international students studying at Tohoku University, toured the Koda Laboratory at the School of Engineering, and visited the 3GeV synchrotron radiation facility, NanoTerasu.
During their meeting, Executive Vice President Toshiya Ueki (General Affairs, International Relations, and Academic Resources), Executive Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi (International Strategy and Global Education Initiatives), and Prof. Atsufumi Hirohata (Center for Science and Innovation in Spintronics) introduced the university’s initiatives and status of collaboration with Belgian institutions. They also discussed the possibility of strengthening collaboration through ‘imec’, a world-leading R&D hub for semiconductors and nanotechnology which is driving semiconductor research, and the European research funding programme, Horizon Europe.
Ambassador Evrard expressed strong interest in Tohoku University’s initiatives as a ‘University for International Research Excellence’ and in NanoTerasu, and there was mutual agreement to deepen student exchanges and research collaboration with Belgian universities and research institutions.
This visit commemorating the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Belgium is expected to serve as an opportunity to deepen cooperative ties between Tohoku University and institutions in Belgium.
Meeting with university executives
Group photo with Ambassador Evrard (4th from left), Deputy Head of Mission & Minister Counselor Eduard van Kleunen (3rd from left), President Tominaga (6th from right), EVP Ueki (5th from right), EVP Yamaguchi (4th from right), and Prof. Atsufumi Hirohata (3rd from right)
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