Japanese

On July 14, 2025, H.E. Mr. Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Minister of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, visited the Higashi-Hiroshima Campus of Hiroshima University (HU) and delivered a lecture. Prior to the lecture, he met with Executive Vice President (Global Initiatives) Shinji Kaneko to exchange views on how to strengthen cooperation between Japan and Indonesia through education and research, and how to nurture human resources who will lead the future.

In his lecture, on the theme of “Indonesia’s New Industrial Strategy for Food and Energy Resilience,” Minister Kartasasmita spoke about the food and energy security challenges facing Indonesia and the direction of the industrial strategy being promoted by the Indonesian government, while sharing his own policy vision and experiences in the field. Approximately 75 students, faculty, and staff from HU attended the lecture, and listened intently to Minister Kartasasmita’s powerful message.

After the lecture, Minister Kartasasmita visited the Research Institute for Semiconductor Engineering and the test water tank in the School of Engineering on the Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, where HU faculty members introduced their cutting-edge research and the results of their exchange with Indonesia.

The relationship between HU and the Indonesian Ministry of Industry has deepened rapidly in recent years. In September last year, HU and the Ministry signed an agreement on a scholarship program, and a new framework was launched to accept five administrative officers from the Ministry annually at HU. Through this initiative, HU is expected to contribute to the human resource development of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry and to strengthen its human network with Indonesian government agencies and industry. In addition to these contributions, Indonesia has been an extremely important partner for HU, and in September of the same year, HU conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Minister Kartasasmita.

Furthermore, with Minister Kartasasmita’s generous support, HU had the privilege of hosting the first award ceremony of the “Hiroshima University – Japanese Essay Contest for Indonesian Nationals” at the Ministry’s main building in March of this year. This new initiative aims to promote and expand Japanese language education abroad, and we intend to continue the contest in the coming years.

HU has 31 inter-university international exchange agreements with 25 institutions and 64 inter-faculty international exchange agreements with 51 institutions in Indonesia. Currently, 133 students from Indonesia are studying at HU.

The Hiroshima University Alumni Association Indonesia Chapter was established in 2022, and the alumni network is being strengthened.

Indonesia is one of HU’s strategic partners in international outreach, and Minister Kartasasmita’s revisit provided a valuable opportunity to further develop the trust and cooperative relationship that has been built thus far. Going forward, we expect even deeper collaboration between our two countries, particularly in the fields of education, research, and industry.