The 76th SGRA Forum Successfully Held at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

As the Department of Japanese Language Teaching, we successfully hosted the 76th session of the Sekiguchi Global Research Association (SGRA) Forum on May 2, 2025, in collaboration with the Atsumi International Foundation.

The forum brought together nearly 15 scholars and Japanologists from Türkiye, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, and Kazakhstan. Participants engaged in a comprehensive discussion on the current state of Japanese language and culture studies in the Middle East and South Asia. In the first session, presentations focused on the historical and sociological background of academic interest in Japanese language education and culture within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The second session explored Japan’s process of internationalization from a non-East Asian perspective, particularly through the diverse experiences of Muslim communities living in Japan.

As part of this meaningful event, commemorative plaques were presented to two esteemed faculty members of our department, Lecturer Ahmet Gülmez and Lecturer Miyuki Ichimura, in recognition of their more than 20 years of dedicated service and invaluable contributions to student development and institutional growth.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Melek Çelik for her leadership in bringing this significant forum to Çanakkale, to all faculty members of our department who contributed to the process, to our students who supported the event with dedication, and to our moderators, Irmak Kılkesen and Berke Dalkılıç, for their outstanding efforts. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Özdemir, for his valuable support and presence.