At the Japan Study Abroad Awards, which recognize universities recommended for exchange students, OKU secured a distinguished position in the National/Public University in Western Japan Division. OKU President Sumio Kuribayashi accepted the award at the ceremony held on August 10 at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center.Established in 2012 by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education, the awards are presented to the best universities and vocational schools for foreign exchange students based on a survey of counselors at Japanese language schools from around the country. The purpose of the awards is to contribute to a better environment for foreign exchange students who wish to study in Japan. Now in its fourth year, the awards saw 471 votes from 166 Japanese language schools from all over Japan, and 41 schools were selected as distinguished across the different divisions. OKU was selected for its campus life and learning support for students, as well as educational content.At the award ceremony, President Kuribayashi stated, “Compared to other national universities, we are a small university, but I believe we were selected because of the way we work with people of the region to support exchange students. We’ll keep working to make our environment even better so that we’re chosen again.”