09/25/2026
Fall Welcome Reception at Showa Boston
It was our honor to host our local university partners, and SBI staff and faculty at our Fall Welcome Reception on September 2.
The event began with Chancellor Mariko Bando, announcing officially the start of Dr. Shinju Fujihira’s appointment as the new President of Showa Boston Institute. She noted her collaborative relationship with Dr. Fujihira for the past two decades, when she was the visiting scholar of Harvard University’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations. She expressed her confidence that Dr. Fujihira will work to improve Showa Women’s University students’ learning and growth, and continue to make Showa Boston Institute an important center of teaching Japanese language and culture.
Consul General Seiichiro Takahashi congratulated Dr. Fujihira’s appointment, noting his long-term commitment to building people-to-people exchanges in U.S.-Japan relations among scholars, practitioners, and students. Professor Andrew Gordon, Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Research Professor of History, highlighted Dr. Fujihira’s record of advising and supporting many Harvard undergraduate and graduate students for many years.
In his remark, Dr. Fujihira expressed his gratitude to be given the opportunity to lead Showa Boston Institute. He noted three goals for Showa Boston. First, Showa Boston must continue to develop and practice the most advanced content-based English language teaching methods. Second, Showa Boston will develop new programs which would enhance further Showa Women’s University students’ opportunities to network with local university students and community members. Third, he expressed the need to invest more to make Showa Boston the center of learning and teaching Japanese language and culture in the greater Boston area. He concluded by thanking Showa Boston’s outstanding staff and faculty, and Boston-area university faculty and community members for their continued support.
We thank your local university and community supporters for their continued partnership and collaboration with our students, and look forward to active fall programming on our campus.
