Michiko Miyamoto

Professor
Akita Prefectural University,Japan.

Dear Conference Delegates,
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you to joint conferences in Nagoya, Japan, organized by the Higher Education Forum (HEF).

Nagoya is located at the center of Honshu (the main island of Japan) and has a long history dating back 1900 years, when Atsuta Jingu (one of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines) has a close relationship with the legendary people who appear in Kojiki (the oldest history book of Japan), was established.Nagoya is the birthplace of three notable feudal lords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and developed as the castle town of the Owari, one of the three branches of the ruling Tokugawa family during the Edo Period (1603 - 1867).Nagoya plays an important role in Japan's industrial society. The Toyota Motor Corporation, a global automotive industry leader, maintains its headquarters just outside of Nagoya. Today, Nagoya continues to draw attention and keeps on developing as a Japanese international city.