University of Tsukuba awarded an Honorary Doctorate to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

The Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad was conferred the Honorary Degree of the Doctor by the University of Tsukuba at Tokyo Campus on November 5.

In his busy schedule such as attending the conferment ceremony of the "Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers" at the Imperial Palace and a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad visited Tokyo Campus of the University of Tsukuba.

Earlier, before the honorary doctorate conferment ceremony, President Kyosuke Nagata expressed gratitude for Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad's work; his famous "Look East Policy" led the higher education models in ASEAN and Malaysia to a Japanese education style, and the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) was opened in 2011, and then bilateral academic exchanges have been conducted actively. Then President Kyosuke Nagata handed the Honorary Degree to Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.

After the ceremony, he stated the fact that Japan has recovered in a very short period of time from war damage, in addition to his impressions of Japanese diligence, discipline correctness, and dedication in his visit to Japan in 1961 made his motivation to put forward the "Look East Policy". Many young people in Malaysia who studied in Japan have been supporting the development of Malaysia today. He said he hopes that the University of Tsukuba provides an opportunity to deliver Japanese culture and education to Malaysia.

The University of Tsukuba will continue to develop academic exchanges in cooperation with Malaysian people who are important friends of Japan in the future.

President Kyosuke Nagata handed the Honorary Doctorate to Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad gave a speech