A passionate message to the youth who will lead the future of Sri Lanka – JICA Chair Special Lecture by Dr. Shinichi Kitaoka, Special Advisor to JICA

A Special Lecture "Sri Lanka-Japan Relationship and the Making of Modern Japan" was delivered by Dr. Shinichi Kitaoka, Special Advisor to JICA, at the University of Peradeniya on December 11 and at the University of Colombo on December 12.

Dr. Kitaoka served as President of JICA for six and a half years from October 2015 to March 2022, when he established and promoted the JICA Chair Program to share the Japanese experience with the developing countries. In his lecture, he reviewed the relationship between Sri Lanka and Japan that began with the late former President Jayawardena's words at the San Francisco Peace Conference, "hatred ceases not by hatred, but by love," and introduced JICA's cooperation through ODA.

He also shared Japan's experience in modernization, noting that after the isolation of the country by the military government (shogunate) during the Edo period, Japan achieved decisive reforms by young leaders who flexibly adopted new values through interactions with other countries. This lecture deepened the students' interest in Japan and provided them with suggestions on what they can do to help Sri Lanka recover from its economic crisis and achieve further growth.