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The University of Botswana (UB) continues to strengthen its global academic partnerships marked by the recent donation of a collection of 141 Japan-related books to the UB Library by Japan under its globally recognised READ JAPAN PROJECT 2025.

The donation was made even more significant by the fact that it was handed over on World Book and Copyright Day, symbolising a shared commitment between Japan and UB to education, knowledge exchange and academic collaboration.

The handover ceremony, held on 23 April 2026 at the University Innovation Pod (UNIPOD), became a fitting platform for academic and cultural exchange. It was also an opportunity for UB Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, to urge the UB community to emulate the Japanese work ethic, widely admired for discipline, hard work and commitment to excellence that transformed Japan into a global economic powerhouse.

Delivering welcome remarks, Professor Norris said UB highly appreciated the generous donation of books from Japan. He noted that the University had enjoyed a long-standing and special relationship with Japan, having previously collaborated on several successful projects.

“There are many other projects that have been funded and successfully concluded in collaboration with the Japanese,” said Professor Norris. He added that Japan continued to show strong interest in working with UB in innovation-driven areas such as robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Turning to the book donation, Professor Norris said the gesture was important because it would serve as a bridge for both Batswana and the Japanese to learn more about each other’s cultures.

He described Japan as a country known for its rich and admirable culture, saying such exchanges through books could help Botswana grow further as a nation.

Professor Norris particularly emphasised Japan’s strong culture of work ethic which he said played a major role in making the country an economic powerhouse. “That is something we can learn from,” he said.

He expressed optimism that UB staff and students would make full use of the books to deepen their understanding of Japan. Providing an overview of the READ JAPAN PROJECT, Mr Kashima Kohei, First Secretary for Public Relations and Culture, said the initiative was an international project aimed at promoting a balanced, accurate and comprehensive understanding of Japan through carefully selected English-language publications.

Mr Kohei explained that the project was launched in 2008 to enhance global understanding of Japan through knowledge dissemination. Since its inception, he said, the project has donated books to more than 1,400 universities, research institutes and libraries worldwide, making it one of the most impactful academic donation programmes focused on Japan Studies.

For his part, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Japan in Botswana, Mr Ogawa Shin, said Japan’s concept of success was built on empowering people with knowledge and skills instead of simply providing short-term solutions.

He explained that such philosophy helped Japan during its development journey in the early 19th century and remained central to the country’s approach today. Mr Shin also noted that since 2008, the Nippon Foundation had played a key role in ensuring the successful rollout of the READ JAPAN PROJECT across the world. He said the donated books would provide students and the wider nation with a deeper understanding of Japan.

“The primary goal of this donation to UB is to give students and the nation a clearer picture of Japan,” he said. “These books, covering history, culture, society, politics, economy and international relations, serve as a bridge to foster mutual understanding and curiosity among the next generation of readers in both countries.”

The books are expected to strengthen academic research, teaching and cross-cultural exchange within the UB community and beyond.