Kazuyuki Katayama gives a talk entitled "Flying to the World - You Are the Leaders of Tomorrow.

Organized by the New Taipei City Government's Secretariat, this year, the Ambassadors on Campus Lecture Series will be jointly held in collaboration with numerous junior and senior high schools in the city. The first event kicked off today (6th) at Hsin Chuang Senior High School. Kazuyuki Katayama, Chief Representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, took the stage and had an in-person exchange with nearly 300 teachers and students, encouraging students to expand their horizons from school to the world.
 
In his presentation entitled "Flying to the World: You Are the Leaders of Tomorrow," Kazuyuki Katayama shared his over 40 years of experience as a diplomat and anecdotes from his postings in various countries. He also encouraged students to learn foreign languages and widen their professional knowledge—foreign languages are the key to unlock the world, go international, and accept different challenges. The students listened attentively to the talk and showed great enthusiasm posing questions during the Q&A session. They sought Katayama's insights on the core qualities of a diplomat, his outlook on Taiwan, and how to enhance exchanges between young people in Taiwan and Japan. Yan-Hsi Lin, a student, even asked a question in Japanese, which gave Katayama much surprise and delight.
 

Chin-Cheng Hsieh, Principal of Hsin Chuang Senior High School, presents Kazuyuki Katayama with a commemorative gift.

In an interview after the event, another student, Chin-Hao Huang, expressed interest in diplomacy and international relations, and said that he had participated in the "Diplomatic Power Boost!" program under the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative organized by the New Taipei City Government last year. He learned a lot from listening to Katayama's speech today and hopes to become a diplomat in the future. Yuan-Chen Li said she loves Japan, so she participated in a school educational trip to Fukuoka Girls High School for exchange in January this year. She was looking forward to today's talk and researched Katayama's experience online before the event. Her interest in the field of diplomacy grew after listening to the talk.
 
Chin-Cheng Hsieh, Principal of Hsin Chuang Senior High School, remarked that the school holds frequent exchanges with Japan. In addition to annual educational trips to Japan starting in 2024, paying visits to schools in Kumamoto, Ehime, and Fukuoka prefectures, the school also signed a cooperation agreement with Fukuoka Girls High School in January this year (2026) to deepen the friendship between the two institutions. Students and teachers alike felt excited about Katayama's talk in the school. Through his insightful sharing, the students gained an understanding of diplomatic work and explored different perspectives about Japan, a nation that shares a profound friendship with Taiwan.
 
Hui-Mei Juh, Director General of Secretariat, New Taipei City Government, pointed out that the Secretariat officially launched the Ambassadors on Campus Lecture Series this year, inviting diplomats from various countries to visit junior and senior high schools in New Taipei City. Through the experience sharing by these envoys, the program aims to bring real and diverse international perspectives to schools, allowing students to gain firsthand knowledge of diplomatic affairs. This will broaden their international outlook and foster their sense of civic pride. The Secretariat has planned more than 10 ambassador talks this semester. The next one will be given by Tamara Vér, Head of Mission from Hungary, at the New Taipei Municipal Sanduo Junior High School in Shulin District.


Katayama and the attendees.