Our students participated in the "2025 SPF Northeast India Peacebuilding Human Resource Development Program."

Ayaki Takigawa (a fourth-year student at the time of participation), a graduate of the Faculty of Economics at our university, participated as one of the student representatives in the "2025 SPF Northeast India Peacebuilding Human Resource Development Program" organized by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. This program dispatches Japanese students to northeastern India and aims to promote dialogue among young people and cultivate the next generation of leaders through exchanges with local political leaders, students, and civil society organizations. Following a pre-departure program in November 2025, the 12-day on-site program in February 2026 included visits to Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Kohima in Nagaland, and Shillong in Meghalaya. The program included exchanges with local government officials and students, as well as homestays.

Ms. Takigawa learned about understanding a society based on assumptions different from her own, how economic development can be advanced while preserving tradition, the nature of economic development itself, and the importance of deepening each other's perspectives with other students who share a strong sense of awareness. She said: "Through this visit, I realized the importance of actively learning not only by immersing myself in the local environment but also by using all means, such as asking questions, analyzing, and articulating my thoughts. Rather than becoming more knowledgeable about Northeast India, this visit allowed me to understand the complexity of a society that is not easily grasped. People's lives are made up of a combination of diverse elements such as tribe, religion, language, region, and generation. That is why I felt it is important not to view things from one perspective, but to first acknowledge the complexity, break it down into parts that I can understand, and then try to grasp the whole picture again. I would like to continue to cherish this attitude and deepen my learning in the future."