NEWS

On Sunday, November 3rd, 2024, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and APU held a workshop for high school students, “Dye the world with the colors of Oita! ~What does it take to sell Oita’s traditional culture and handicrafts overseas?~”

This event was planned in coordination with APU’s Open Campus event, and high school students from 11 prefectures participated alongside APU students.

For the first half of the workshop, there was a lecture from Mr. Usami, a potter and president of USUKIYAKI, about regional revitalization and overseas expansion initiatives conducted through the Oita traditional handicraft of Usuki ware. Then Mr. Masaki, the assistant manager of the JETRO Miyazaki Trade Information Center, explained about JETRO’s vision as well as points to keep in mind regarding overseas business expansion.

Afterwards, the participants had energetic discussions in small groups about overseas development, and each group presented their plans in front of the judges. The judges were representatives from companies/organizations as well as from the organizers JETRO and APU. Upon evaluating the groups on criteria such as sustainability of the business model, feasibility, etc., the judges awarded two groups with the Best Presentation Awards.

From the participants, we received comments remarking on the difficulty of conveying one’s thoughts to group members that they were meeting for the first time, the joys of the groupwork, and how the specialized feedback from the judges regarding overseas business was extremely beneficial.

In 2022, JETRO and APU signed a comprehensive collaboration promotion agreement, aiming to promote collaboration between industry and academia, development of human resources, and academic research, as well as to contribute to regional development and cultivation of human resources, starting with Oita Prefecture and spreading to other regions of Japan.