NEWS

The “I choose Oita” website, which features international students from APU and other universities in Oita showcasing the prefecture’s attractive features, is now online.

The site was created by local broadcaster TV Oita (TOS) on a contract from Oita Prefecture. The Prefecture conceived the idea as a way to entice more international students to Oita by communicating the attractive features of the area while also providing livelihood support to students whose income from part-time jobs has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each video runs about three minutes long and showcases the features of Oita that international students who live in the prefecture find attractive. The videos are being shared worldwide on social media by a group of multilingual students from numerous countries and regions. Each video features a student’s take on the best things Oita has to offer explained and/or subtitled in English, Japanese, or the student's mother tongue. The website also includes presentations and reports on Oita’s attractive features written by students.

The students who worked on developing this content were each paid \50,000 by the Prefecture. The videos the students created can be viewed here.