On December 20, 2025, a meeting was held at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo hotel between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, Minister Yohei Matsumoto (Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and presidents of several Japanese universities, with Nagoya University President Naoshi Sugiyama in attendance.
At the meeting, President Sugiyama expressed his gratitude to President Mirziyoyev for his visit to Nagoya University and special lecture in 2019, and for accepting an honorary doctorate from the university. They discussed progress regarding proposals made during the 2019 visit, as well as the success of collaborative efforts to date, including support for legislative development and the training of leading Uzbek professionals at Nagoya University’s Asian Satellite Campus Institute (ASCI). They also discussed plans for further cooperation going forward. President Mirziyoyev expressed gratitude for arranging Takuetsu Distinguished Professor Hiroshi Amano’s presentation at the Uzbek-Japan Innovation Center of Youth in 2024 and stated his hopes for Nagoya University’s continued success.
After meeting with President Mirziyoyev, President Sugiyama met individually with Minister Kongratbay Sharipov of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan. Minister Sharipov thanked President Sugiyama for Nagoya University’s contributions in Uzbekistan to date and explained his plans to strengthen collaboration going forward. President Sugiyama expressed his gratitude to Minister Sharipov for hosting the Fifth Japan-Uzbekistan University Rectors’ Forum held in Samarkand in October 2025. He also discussed Nagoya University’s past efforts and achievements in Uzbekistan, as well as its outlook for the future.
President Sugiyama’s meetings with President Mirziyoyev and Minister Sharipov provided an opportunity to reaffirm Nagoya University’s strong cooperative relationship with Uzbekistan, and the university anticipates even closer collaboration going forward.
