The Mizuki (Moon Viewing) Party was held on October 4, 2012, and over 350 faculties, students and staff participated. Hosted by the President, this event is held annually for international researchers and students to develop closer ties with Japanese faculties, students and staff.

The party started with a hearty welcome from President Kunio Suzuki, followed by a toast from Executive Director (International Affairs) Kazuhisa Matsuoka. Some international students wore traditional costumes and caught lots of attention.

For entertainment, “Minken”(Japanese folk club) played the Wadaiko (Japanese drums), and international students from Vietnam performed beautiful traditional dance. Also, two international students from China and Uighur played the erhu(Chinese two-stringed fiddle)and fulusu, and dutar(Uighur instrument) respectively. Their performance received great applause.

Along with the party, a monitoring session of some commercial products was held in cooperation with Kanagawa Prefecture.

The party ended with a closing speech by Prof. Masayoshi Kobayashi (Director of International Student Center). We hope that all the participants enjoyed a variety of foods, meeting friends and chatting with new people.