Keio University and Latin America – Welcome to Fascinating Latin America (1)

At the end of the Edo period, just as the nation was awakening from centuries of isolation, Keio Gijuku, which first opened as a school of Dutch studies, had already established itself as an institution with an international and progressive outlook. Over 150 years have passed since then, and Keio University has formed relationships all over the world through language education, area studies, and international exchange of students and its alumni. This issue will focus on Latin America and discuss its relationship and history with Keio University.

The Faculty of Law of Keio University established an exchange with the Faculty of Law of University of São Paulo, which was ahead of any other universities in Japan. There are different stories as to when the interaction first begun, but the “academic exchange” was formulated in 1979, and the two faculties officially forged its partnership in 1981. At first, the leading professors from the Faculty of Law of Keio, Susumu Ito (Department of Law) and Toshichika Totoki (Department of Political Science) were engaged to promote the exchange with the help of Jiro Sudo (Assistant Professor at the time) who had previously lived in Brazil. Subsequently, Professor Seiichi Mori from the Faculty of Law of Keio (Professor Emeritus at present) served as chief representative of Keio for many years until recently, while three faculty members from Keio have been dispatched to the University of São Paulo for research and study. Currently I have succeeded the role of chief representative and have visited São Paulo to attend symposiums on five different occasions. In 1999, commemorative event and symposium were held in Mita campus to celebrate the 20 years of academic exchange between the two universities. At the event, the chief representative of the University of São Paulo, Professor Kazuo Watanabe (former São Paulo High Court judge), was awarded an honorary doctorate from Keio University. Furthermore, in celebration of the 25th year of academic exchange, Keio University Faculty of Law presented a testimonial to the Faculty of Law at the University of São Paulo. Professor Masato Ninomiya from São Paulo must be noted here for his distinguished services as a reporter and interpreter for all the symposiums. His contribution also includes his work as lecturer at Keio University specializing in Latin American Law.

Among past projects, the 100th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil and 150th Anniversary of Keio University Symposium” held in 2008, must be noted for its large-scale endeavor. Prof. Seiichi Mori, the Vice President of Keio at the time, and seven others have visited Brazil for this occasion. In recent years, the international symposium titled "Japan-Brazil Present and Future of Consumer Law" was held in April last year in Mita, with around 70 participants including the Minister of Brazil in Japan. In March this year, the "Symposium on the Evolution of International Law in the 21st Century" was held to commemorate the 35 years of academic exchange between the two faculties, and Professor Koichi Miki, Associate Professor Michiyo Maeda, and myself were among the six representatives from Keio to attend the event in São Paulo. This extraordinary exchange between the two faculties, both in quantitative and in qualitative is something to be proud of for the Faculty of Law, and especially for the Department of Law. The University of São Paulo is one of the leading universities in South America, and will continue to occupy an important position in Keio University's internationalization efforts. It is hoped that this relationship will progress and grow beyond the two faculties to expand to a university-wide partnership.

The International Medical Association (IMA) is a student society at the Keio University School of Medicine for the advancement of overseas medical practices which continued on from former student organizations called the Overseas Medical Development Association and the Tropical Medical Research Association. In 1978 the then-assistant professor Yasuhiro Hisoda assumed the role of head of the 1st Mission bringing three medical students to Brazil and Paraguay: Masahiro Ohgami, Hiroshi Shimizu and Masaki Komiyama. Every summer since, the association has carried out activities in the South American region, centered around Brazil for one or two months at a time.
　The first IMA Chairman, Parasitologist Professor Keizo Asami wrote about the significance of working in the South American region. "In many cases the contraction of tropical diseases is concerned with various social factors that are separate from medical factors, but even if we have solved a considerable extent of the problem medically, I expect that solving social problems will take much longer. The impressionable but energetic, young medical students will be able to see with their own eyes prototypical forms of diseases, experience this type of medicine, and have the opportunity to think about how these diseases are influenced by societal factors, and I think it will have a very meaningful influence on them in the future. We are not expecting them to specialize in medical care in tropical regions in the future but it is about the fundamental way of thinking of medicine and medical care." In this way, The IMA has always looked ahead to a new future by setting up opportunities for young medical students to come in contact with medical care overseas in order to gain a wider international perspective.
　From the practical training at the hospital ward of the University of São Paulo, to giving health care in Japanese immigrant communities or the Amazon basin--and all the transborder work in South America--none of this would be possible without the years of great support from the many people in the areas we visit, and from those back in Japan. Every year in São Paulo, a Mita Kai (Alumni Association) meeting is held to coincide with the students' visit. Having the opportunity to get to know their seniors who are actively making contributions to their communities through their respective professions is a unique aspect of Keio University, and these broad-ranging social experiences are a source of growth for the students.
　This summer, three sixth-year medical students and a young faculty member (also an alumni of IMA) will be dispatched on the 37th Mission and spend 42 days in Brazil. We are expecting big things from these students who are striving to lead society through the advancement of medicine and medical care.