Recently, Centre for Asian Studies was invited to join the “Sakura Network”, which aims to enhance the quality of overseas Japanese language education and provides opportunities to learn the Japanese language. This opportunty is proposed for the institutions that have succeeded in launching a number of excellent projects. CAS is the first institution in Lithuania (and in the Baltic States) that has got this possibility.

Since 2008, Sakura Network members play a significant role in terms of enhancing Japanese language education in their region or country by utilizing various support programs provided by the Japan Foundation. By the end of the fiscal year 2014, the number of Sakura Network members had expanded to 127 institutions in 45 countries. (more…)

VMU Centre for Asian Studies invites to theDay of Japan events which will be held in the Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania in Kaunas ( Vilniaus 33, Kaunas) on the 23rd of October. Japanese Ambassador in Lithuania H.E. Toyoei Shigeeda and Ambassador of Japan in charge of Public Diplomacy in Europe H.E. Masafumi Ishii will come to Kaunas and they would like to invite all to discuss Japan’s position in the world and the future of Japan-Lithuania relations.

At the end of discussions Ambassador T. Shigeeda will officially present the award of gratitude to the Centre for Asian Studies that was issued by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The schedule of the event:
10:15 – Ambassador M. Ishii’s lecture about the security challenges in Japan.
According to the guest, in formulating security policy, one should make sober assessment of your own future strength, identify major regional and global trend and then decide what one should do now. What are the challenges Japan identifies behind its security policy and what can Europe do to cope with the common issues? These are the main theme of his talk. (more…)

Every year the Centre for Asian Studies at VMU organizes a conference on East Asia from the perspective of various research disciplines. In the past, annual conferences have focused on sociological or religious aspects of East Asian societies. This year’s topic is economy, and in particular – trade and other economic relations between the EU, its Eastern neighborhood, and East Asia. The event will take place on October 21-22, in VMU Small Hall (Daukanto 28, Kaunas).

“Information about the spectacular economic growth and rising global prominence of East Asia is abundant, but the role of the academic community is to make sense of the processes, connections and implications of this,” says the coordinator of this conference, CAS junior researcher Daiva Repečkaitė. (more…)

Simona Vasilevskyte, senior coordinator of the Centre for Asian Studies, has been accepted for the 6 months lenght fellowship at Japanese Language Centre in Urawa (Saitama prefecture), which is sponsored by Japan Foundation. During her fellowship, she will study the Japanese language teaching methodology.

Japan Foundation, established in 1972, is one of the institutions of Japan, promoting international cultural exchange through the implementation of comprehensive programs. Its main activities are: Arts and Cultural Exchange, Japanese language education overseas, Japanese studies and intellectual exchange. The JF contributes to developing Japanese studies around the world by supporting outstanding research topics both in the humanities and social sciences.

This October 13th the first screening of a movie about Chiune Sugihara will take place in the historical movie theater “Romuva”. During this exclusive premiere the viewers not only will be the first ones in the world to watch the film (the Tokyo premiere is set in December), but also will have a rare opportunity to meet with the director Cellin Gluck as well as the actors who played main roles in it – Toshiaki Karasawa (as Chiune Sugihara) and Koyuki (as Yukiko Sugihara).

The start of the premiere – 18:00, doors open at 17:00. The event is free of charge. The film will be shown in an original language (Japanese and English) with Lithuanian subtitles.

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese Vice-Consul in Lithuania who lived in Kaunas (in a current historical building “Sugihara House”) during the period of 1939 – 1940. While residing there, he saved thousands of Jewish people lives by issuing exit visas to Japan allowing them to flee from the holocaust and the occupation of Nazis. (more…)

On the 21st of September, CAS staff member Daiva Repečkaitė was taking part in an interinstitutional meeting of the Baltic Alliance for Asian Studies. The partners were discussing cooperation within Erasmus+, joint projects, etc. At the Latvian National Library, they learned about the culture of literati in medieval China and saw copies of rare maps and woodblock prints.

VMU has started a new academic year on the 24th of August. On this occasion RASK program lecturers and coordinators met with a huge number of first-year students. According to these statistics RASK program is the biggest in the faculty of Humanities and among the three most popular ones in the whole University.

During the meeting with new students coordinators presented the opportunities that rise in the RASK program and also encouraged pupils to engage in many activities that are offered together with the study program – join the culture clubs, visit the fast-growing library, participate in exchange progams and so on.

RASK students can always stay connected with the latest news about their program and CAS events while “liking” our CAS facebook page Azijos studijų centras. (more…)

On the 19th of August, 2015, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) awarded VMU Centre for Asian Studies for its contribution to spreading Japanese culture and language also for doing research related to Japan in Lithuania. Being awarded is a great honour also it is a sign of appreciation for the work which is being done for almost 20 years. Click here for the press release by MOFA (text in Japanese).

Presently, Centre for Asian Studies has 11 bilateral exchange agreements with Japanese universities, conducts various activities with Japan thus strengthening ties between the countries. (more…)

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This summer, Centre for Asian Studies (CAS) successfully continued participation in “Summer Internship (SIP)” programme initiated by Vytautas Magnus University. During it, various students from all over the world are invited to participate in international internship activities provided by partner institutions and university departments. This time, student from Soongsil University (Seoul, South Korea) Kyungmin Lee was granted an internship position in CAS.

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We are happy to announce a call for papers for the 5th annual international students’ conference on Asia. The conference will take place on April 9 at Vytautas Magnus University (V. Putvinskio 23, Kaunas).

If you are interested in East Asian cultures, languages, arts, economics or other areas, this event is just for you. The conference, organized by VMU East Asian Languages ​​and Cultures students, together with the Centre for Asian Studies and the Department of Cultural Studies, is a great opportunity to share your accumulated knowledge, work or research with colleagues in this field and not only, to gain experience and improve your public speaking skills, or even get some inspirations. (more…)

We are sharing the invitation to submit abstracts for the 4th annual Student academic Conference, focusing on Asia. The conference will be held on April 24, 11:00-14:00, V. Putvinskio 23-310 in Kaunas, Lithuania.

This event, which has become an integral part of VMU Asian Week, is organized by VMU Regional Studies Asian specialization students and VMU Center for Asian Studies together with the Department of Cultural Studies. As every year, students from various fields whose work and research touch on the topic of Asia are welcome, both from the humanities, social sciences, arts and other disciplines. (more…)

The National Taiwan Library announced “Guidelines to the National Taiwan Library Fellowship for International Visiting Scholars and Students”.
The library provides Fellowship for experts and scholars to pursue their academic goals in Taiwan studies or Southeast Asia studies. Please click here to read more.

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It is time for all who are interested in East Asian cultures, languages, economics, politics and more to come together for what has become an annual student research conference, organised by the VMU East Asia Cultures and Languages students.
This conference is a great opportunity to share your knowledge, work and research with colleagues in the field, to try and improve your public speaking skills, to gain experience and to listen to presentations by like-minded people. (more…)

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Are you interested in politics of Japan? Maybe you are interested in economy of China? Maybe you are fascinated in Korean art and traditions? It does not matter in which field you are interested in, as long as it is related to East Asia we have a very interesting proposition to you. (more…)

VMU Department of International Relations informs about ongoing studies exchange and internship contests as well as “Erasmus Days’21” which are going to take place on February 17th, 18th, and 19th, during which students will be able to learn more about exchange opportunities. (more…)

Beijing Normal University entrusts the European Federation of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Associations to recruit 100 candidates for MBA and MPA studies (conducted fully in English) from all over the world. Appropriate students are welcome to sign up. (more…)

Applications for scholarships for studies in China in 2021-2022 are open. Persons who are nationals of Lithuania, EU or persons from the third countries having the right to live in Lithuania are welcome to apply.

Applications may be submitted by representatives of various fields of Lithuanian science and studies institutions/ representatives of science fields – Bachelor, Masters and PhD students. (more…)