In recent decades, global society has been experiencing some shared challenges, such as aging society and an increasing number of international migrants. Many governments have launched slogans and statements on building a sustainable society with diversity and inclusion to respond to the changes. To enhance understanding of this phenomenon, in the second session of the pre-study series, we were pleased to invite Prof. Fumiko Takahashi, associate professor at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of The University of Tokyo, to share her insight and observation on migration, inclusion, and education in Japan.

In the lecture, Prof. Takahashi started by asking the participants how to promote diversity and equality in education. Then, she briefly reviewed the ethnic and cultural minority groups in Japan and the policy flow regarding ethnic minority students at mainstream schools in Japan. Following these, Prof. Takahashi introduced sociological concepts and theories of education inequality to allow participants to further understand immigration and inclusion. The lecture enabled us to understand the issue of migration and education through the lens of Complex Difficulties, including economic, cultural, and social perspectives. She closed the lecture by sharing good practices for overcoming challenges and empowering immigrant students.

In the discussion, 30 students from Taiwan, Nanjing, Seoul, and Sendai were divided into six groups to exchange their knowledge of promoting diversity and inclusion in governments, companies, and organizations. The session was closed by arguing that there is a need for a systemic transformation from an economy-centered society to a more human-centered society to better achieve diversity and inclusion for all.

Thank you so much for joining the second session of the pre-study series. We look forward to seeing you all in the third session on Dec.14, 2023.