On the afternoon of March 28, 2025, President YU Zujun met with the visiting delegation led by Mr. Okimura Kazuki, Honorary Chairman of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Visiting Professor of BJTU’s School of Economics and Management, along with Ms. Haruko Yoneyama, Executive Director of JST, and Mr. Shuichi Chayama, Head of JST’s Beijing Office, at Siyuan Building. Vice President Gao Liang also attended the meeting.

Prof. YU Zujun welcomed the delegation headed by Mr. Okimura Kazuki and gave a detailed overview of the university's discipline construction, international talent development, and contribution to the country's rail transit sector. He noted that the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Beijing Jiaotong University have established a solid collaborative partnership. Faculty and students enthusiastically participated in the "Sakura Science Program," which significantly enhanced scientific and technological interactions between Chinese and Japanese youth. He expressed hope for increased bilateral cooperation in the areas of joint research, talent development, and industry-academia partnerships in fields including information technology, transportation, and economic management.

Mr. Okimura Kazuki expressed gratitude for the warm reception. As a visiting professor, he has closely followed BJTU's recent developments. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), he emphasized, remains committed to advancing comprehensive academic exchanges between Chinese and Japanese youth. He expressed the hope to maintain close cooperation with the university and comprehensively promote academic and cultural exchanges between faculty and students in scientific, technological, and cultural domains.

Representatives from the School of Economics and Management, the School of Architecture and Design, the Office of Research and Development Affairs and the Office of International Affairs also attended the meeting.

Established in 2003 under Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) plays a pivotal role in advancing technological innovation, facilitating research commercialization, and fostering international collaborations. Its flagship initiative, the Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science and Technology (Sakura Science Program), has significantly strengthened scientific and technological exchanges between emerging generations of Chinese and Japanese scholars through sustained bilateral partnerships.