EDUCATION, CULTURE, SPORTS, COMMUNITY, LOCAL RELATIONS
2023-04-11
Diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan were established in 1972, and the Cultural Agreement was signed two years later in 1974. Since then, the cultural and educational relations between the two countries have significantly strengthened and are expanding every year.
As of January 2023, 3,453 Mongolian students are studying in Japan, and more than 150 students are studying with the scholarship program of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Japan. Out of these, more than 250 students are studying for doctoral degrees.
According to the cultural agreement between Mongolia and Japan in 1974, the first scholarship student from Mongolia was sent to Japan in 1976, and until the end of year 2022, a total of 1,783 people have studied with the scholarship program of the Japanese government.
To name but a few, the "Monbusho" program of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, "JICE Scholarship Program for Human Resource Development", "1000 Engineers Program to Support Higher Education in Engineering and Technology", "Sakura" for middle and high school in science and technology Projects implemented in schools are the scholarships that are being currently implemented. The "Engineering and Technology Higher Education Project" aimed at training human resources with high knowledge of engineering and technology and practical experience in the industrial sector is being successfully implemented, and "Kosen" School of Design in Mongolia is leading in the region. In 2022, 4 students came as interns within the framework of the Kosen project, and it differs by coming with a contract for further work. So far, 350 people from our government and private sectors have participated in the "Human Resource Development Scholarship Program" /JDS/, and as of December 2022, 36 people are studying for a master's degree and 4 for a doctorate. Also, 1 student from Mongolia studied under the bachelor's degree within the framework of the cooperation memorandum between the Embassy and the "APU" University.
As part of the plan for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, planned since 5 years ago and initiated by the Embassy of Mongolia in Japan, the historic performance of the Morin Khuur Ensemble, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, was held on the 30th November, 2022 at NHK Hall of Shibuya district, Tokyo. The full orchestra members’ performance of the Mongolian Morin Khuur Ensemble in Japan coincided with the official visit of the President of Mongolia. Playing in this hall, which can hold a total of 3,400 spectators for a single performance, was a rare opportunity to perform traditional morin khuur tunes on one of the few world-famous stages. After the concert, they continued to tour 12 prefectures and cities in Japan, successfully introducing the wonders of Mongolian music to the local people.
In addition, as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary, among the major activities carried out in 2022, to support the establishment of the "Chinggis Khan" museum of cultural heritage and historical items, replicas of 2 cultural heritages of Mongolia that were kept in Japan were received from the relevant organizations and handed over to Mongolia. The "Chinggis Khan Museum", which opened on October 12, 2022, now has a replica of the exhibits, which are:
1. "The Mongols attacked Japan" painting narrative kept in the Imperial Office of Japan,
2. "Golden gerege" stored in Tenri Prefectural University Museum of Nara.
In addition to the cultural heritages mentioned above, the replica model of the Yuan Dynasty ship stored in the Archive Facility /Shiryokan/ in Takashima Village, Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, was completed by "Gobi Support Japan" LLC by December 10th, 2022 and now we are working to deliver the model to the "Chingis Khan" museum.
In addition to the Activities plan approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia to celebrate the 50th anniversary, there are several other projects that has been initiated and completed by the Embassy of Mongolia in Japan:
1. Conducted speech about Mongolia to more than 2,000 students and 40 teachers from 45 primary and secondary schools in Japan in cooperation with host towns and cultural ambassadors as part of events organized by the Embassy as part of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan. During the performance "Discovering the world through art" on Japan's Culture Day, we made a speech about political, economic and social issues of Mongolia to more than 100 Japanese citizens.
2. In the framework of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, at the initiative of the Embassy of Mongolia in Japan, Japan Post Company issued a total of 10 different types of commemorative stamps, and the stamp acceptance ceremony was held on June 15th at the Embassy in Tokyo.
3. The Embassy organized a hand drawing competition among Japanese elementary and secondary school students on the theme "Mongolia I know", and a total of 89 children submitted their works. The award ceremony for the winners of the works was held at the Embassy on June 20, 2022.
4. A total of 18 talks by the Ambassador of Mongolia were held on Mongolia's politics, economy, culture, education, business life, and society at Japanese universities such as Oberlin, Aoyama, Waseda, local governments, and tourism companies.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, a celebratory reception was held at the Embassy on February 24th, 2022. At the event, the Prime Ministers of the two countries delivered video greetings, and more than 70 guests have participated, including M. Hayashi, Chairman of the Japan-Mongolia Friendship Group in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament, N. Yamaguchi, Chairman of the Komei Party of Japan, I. Aisawa, a member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament, Deputy Minister of Forest, Fisheries and Agriculture A. Takebe, Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs T. Suzuki, and Sh. Miyake.
In addition to these, a total of 21 events were held in Japan as part of the 50th anniversary such as the exhibition "Photography and Storytelling, Mongolia 100 Years Ago and Now", Japan-Mongolia Research Symposium organized at Oberlin University, Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia’s joint seminar with the team of the "1000 Engineers MJEED" project, and the Embassy worked as supporting organization.
Consular division
According to the Statistics of Japan released as of June 30, 2022, there are 15,214 citizens of Mongolia between the ages of 0 and 80 residing in Japan. This number was 16 people in 1984, 246 in 1994, 3456 in 2004, 6160 in 2014, 12797 in 2019, and 13504 in 2020.
Among the citizens, there are 3453 students / 22.6 percent /, 2662 trainee workers / 17.4 percent /, 2516 /16.5 percent/ residents with work visas, and 3039 /19.9 percent/ their family members, totaling 11670 people, which is 76.7 of the total number of citizens. There are 11,037 young people of 19-40 years of study and working age, which is 72.5 percent of the total number of citizens. In terms of gender, 48 percent (7371 people) are men, and 52 percent (7843 people) are women. More than 440 couples have registered their families.
Mongolian citizens live in large numbers in the 6 prefectures of the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo and in large cities with a population of more than 2 million, such as Nagoya, Yokohama, Osaka, and Fukuoka, specifically 3526 in Tokyo, 1857 in Saitama, 1381 in Kanagawa, 857 in Aichi, 523 in Osaka, 520 citizens live in Hokkaido, 459 in Ibaraki, 385 in Gunma, and 282 in Fukuoka.
In terms of short-term passengers, 21,408 in 2016, 23,365 in 2017, 27,647 in 2018, 31,513 in 2019 (out of which 17,258 were tourists, 3,981 for business purposes, 10,276 for other purposes) 7,118 in 2020, and 1,685 in 2021. About 60 percent of them are tourists, 20-25 percent are passengers invited by relatives living in Japan, and 15-20 percent are passengers for business purposes.
The number of citizens living and working in Japan has increased significantly since 2015, when economic growth slowed down in Mongolia, and after the growth stopped temporarily during the spread of the coronavirus, it is expected to increase again from the end of 2022. As the number of long-term Mongolians living in Japan increases, the work load to protect the interests of citizens, such as providing public services, improving social security, spreading native language and culture to their children, and providing legal assistance to criminals is increasing.
For example, in 2020, when the spread of the Coronavirus-19 began, 2,567 citizens who expressed their request to return to their homeland in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, State Emergency Commission and "MIAT" JSC were returned to their homeland by 13 special duty flights. Also, we would like to extend our gratitude to those who acted upon the appeal to the Mongolian citizens living in Japan to provide assistance to some citizens who have no income or housing until their return, kind-hearted people have donated, provided voluntary assistance, provided food and drink, and provided them with temporary accommodation.
The Embassy of Japan is located in Tokyo, the Consulate General in Osaka, and Honorary Consulates of Mongolia are appointed in Hokkaido, Niigata, Kanagawa, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Tokushima prefectures. An honorary consulate in charge of the Hokuriku region is planned to open in Toyama Prefecture this year.
Mongolian citizens living in Japan have established about 10 non-governmental organizations in order to exchange information, support and help each other, participate in Mongolian-Japanese relations, and contribute to the prosperity of Mongolia. For example: "United Association of Mongolian Citizens in Japan", Association of Mongolian Students in Japan - YAMOH, Association of Doctors in Japan, Association of Mongolians in Niigata, Association of Mongolians in Hokkaido / Association of Mongolians in Kansai Region /KaMon/ NGO, Supporting Mongolia-Kansai Economic and Government Relations The community and "Minii Mongol" elementary school are a few to be mentioned.
In connection with the expansion of consular relations, we organized the first Consular Consultative meeting between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries on October 13th, 2022.