Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2022 Conference Book Launch: ‘Japan’s International Cooperation in Education: History and Prospects’ Presented in English by Senior Research Advisor Kayashima Nobuko

The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), a world-renowned academic society in the field of education, held its 66th annual conference from April 18-22, 2022. During an online book launch on April 21, researchers involved in JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (JICA Ogata Research Institute) project, “Japan’s International Cooperation in Education: History and Prospects” presented a book of the same title. The book, published in English in April 2022, is the core output of the project.

Editors Kayashima Nobuko (senior research advisor, JICA Ogata Research Institute), Kuroda Kazuo (visiting fellow, JICA Ogata Research Institute and professor, Waseda University) and Kitamura Yuto (professor, The University of Tokyo) introduced the book from their own unique perspectives, while Emeritus Professor Kenneth King of the University of Edinburgh, a renowned scholar in educational development, provided comments during the 90-minute session.

Kayashima presented an overview of the book’s scope and features, outlining the dual historical and empirical approach taken in analyzing Japan’s 70-year history of international cooperation in education. Kuroda examined Japan’s international educational cooperation policies against the backdrop of global trends in international cooperation such as Education for All, the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in his presentation “Evolution of Japan’s international education cooperation policy.” Kayashima then traced trends in educational cooperation in the fields of basic education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education utilizing Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) budget data in her presentation “History of Japan’s project implementation in educational cooperation.” Finally, in his presentation “Japan’s role in the global governance of international education cooperation,” Kitamura discussed gaps in the ideal versus reality in partnerships with global governance organizations and future roles in educational cooperation for these organizations and Japan. King then commented on the session, introducing unique features of Japan’s international cooperation in education such as classroom research, science and mathematics education and school construction. The comprehensive examination of such features in a single volume from both historical and forward-looking perspectives is highly significant for the future of international cooperation in education, King asserted. Further, he discussed the potential for reciprocal educational cooperation relationships between Japan and emerging donor countries such as China and India as well as evolving partnerships with cooperation project counterparts in Africa and Asia.