04/07/2017
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has launched “Japan’s Friendship Ties Programs” which promote people-to-people exchanges between Japan and the various nations of the Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and to encourage an understanding of Japan’s economy, society, history, diverse culture, politics and diplomatic relations among participants. This program will include approximately 5,600 people who will be sent to or from Japan and these countries over the course of a year. Participants are expected to proactively disseminate information on Japan’s attractions and contribute to promoting sustained attention to Japan. The Europe regional component of this exchange program is called “MIRAI Program”.
“MIRAI Program” is a short-term youth exchange program to invite 166 graduate/undergraduate students from Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, who study Politics, Security Policies, Economics, International Relations, Asian Studies, Japan Studies or other related fields. The program is entitled as the “MIRAI Program” with a play on the Japanese word “MIRAI” (“未来”) (pronounced ”me-rye”) which means “Future”.
MOFA hopes that the program will offer a great opportunity to
Promote mutual-understanding
Promote a global understanding of Japan’s economy, society, history, diverse culture, politics and foreign policy
Disseminate information on Japan’s attractions through communication devices including SNS
Program Outline
Period of the Program:
Autumn Group: October 4-11, 2017
Program in Japan:
- To attend lectures on Japanese politics, society, history, and diplomatic relations to gain a deeper understanding of Japan.
- To visit education and research institutions, high-tech and traditional industries, fine arts and traditional crafts exhibitions, cultural heritage sites. Participants will interact and exchange ideas with people in these various sites through workshops and other events.
- To convey information about Japan’s attractions through reporting sessions or Social Network Services after the program.
Qualification for Participation
Applicants should meet all the following criteria.
Applicants must understand the aims of this program and commit to sharing and disseminating their experiences and the attraction of Japan through communication devices including Social Media and/or their writing for publication after returning to their countries.
Applicants do not have experience of residing in Japan for more than six months.
Applicants are nationals of the countries below and do not have Japanese nationality.
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Former Yugoslav Republic lf Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan
iv. After completing the program, applicants must answer the questionnaires which will be conducted three times; at the end of the program, six months later, and a year later.
v. Applicants must be in good health.
- Applicants are healthy physically and mentally.
-If a participant’s body temperature is 37.5℃（ 99.5 °F）or higher on the day of departure, he/ she cannot depart for Japan and will NOT BE ELIGIBLE to join in the inbound program in Japan.
vi. Applicants belong to one of the schools located in the countries above (ⅲ).
(The location is not necessarily the same as their nationality）
vii. Applicants are aged 20 or over.
viii. Applicants major in politics, law, history, international politics, economics, public policy, cross-regional comparison or other related areas.
ix. Applicants can communicate with other participants in English without difficulty.
Application Procedure
1. Apply via online (Autumn term) application form at the URL: https://www.jtbbwt.com/section/kasumidaiichi/mirai2017_autumn/login.html
2. Post the following documents to the Japanese Embassy (Embassy of Japan in Denmark, Information and Cultural Section, Havneholmen 25, 9F 1561 Copenhagen V)
i. Photocopy of the Applicant’s passport
Submit a photocopy of the photo page of the applicant’s passport.
* If an applicant does not have a passport with a remaining term of validity of no less than 6 months and one or two blank pages, he/she must immediately obtain a new/extended passport and submit the photocopy of the photo page as soon as it is determined that he/ she is accepted to this program.
ii. Essay - Personal Statement (Hardcopy)
Each applicant is required to express and describe their thoughts including viewpoints of this program or related matters in the “Personal Statement for MIRAI Program 2017 “ .
iii. Photocopy of certification of the Applicant’s latest academic grade
Submit a photocopy of the photo page of the applicant’s latest academic grade certificate.
ⅱ)・ⅲ)・ⅳ) should be posted to the Embassy/Consulate-General of JAPAN in your country before applying to the program.
Selected candidates will be invited for an interview at the Japanese Embassy in the week followed by the application deadline for each program.
➢ Application deadline for the Autumn Program : 10 August, 2017 (16:00)
For further questions, please contact Information and Cultural Section at 3345 5122 / 5121 (Shima H. Møller / Helle M. Schou Madsen).
Email: [email protected]
