Okahata & Co., Ltd.

The core of Okahata’s business both in chemicals and footwear is Japan but very closely related and intertwined with China, Korea, Taiwan and other East Asian countries. These countries are nearby neighbors but past historical experiences have created rather unfavorable impression of Japan in these countries. Similar to the Fulbright Scholarship Fund for Japanese students for studying in USA, we hope to encourage a more positive view and understanding of present Japan through the granting of scholarships to students from these countries to Japan.. With the help and advice of the Osaka International Exchange Center, the Seifu Scholarship Fund was established in August 2007.

Any students from these countries studying in the Kansai area of Japan can apply for the Seifu Scholarship. It is granted for 4 continuous years of university study period.
We firmly believe that the grantees in future will become the bridges between their home country and Japan regardless of the professional areas they join.

I studied Japanese at home on my own for about 3 months. Then I studied Japanese in language school for a year. I am the first foreign student in environmental engineering course at Kansai University. There is a big problem of desertification in China. Back home, my mother is engaged in the forest plantation business and her interests had influenced me to study city planning and designing. Also, hearing about the huge damage of Sichuan earthquake I decided to come to Japan to study planting desert and city planning. Studying takes up most of my time and I could not do any part time job to earn money and so the scholarship really helped me to continue my study. I am determined to study 4 full years now that I have the scholarship. I think I can overcome any difficulties by always remembering why I came to Japan for this study and by working hard. I have made a lot of friends in Japan and I am enjoying my university life too.

I have been dreaming of living alone since my childhood. I learned Japanese at high school and came to Japan for university education. It was very difficult to balance part time job and study but I am always optimistic enough to be able to manage the balance. I started finding jobs now that I am in 3rd year of university. I am eager to study English to be trilingual so that I could work at any place or country. My classmates at university are generally a bit younger than me so my closest friends are co-workers at my part time jobs and once in awhile I go to Karaoke with them. Food is delicious and people are kind in Osaka. I particularly like middle-aged Osaka ladies (Osaka obachan) who sometimes scold me like my mother.

I finished 4 years of university in Shanghai and came to Japan to study high technology. My father studied Japanese in Osaka and encouraged me to come to Osaka. Osaka is my second hometown. I feel relieved and relaxed when I come back to Osaka from gigantic city of Shanghai. No matter where you study you need to first have a firm determination to become independent and live alone particularly for Chinese as we favor to live together as a family. I could not do anything alone by myself until I became independent. Before coming to Osaka I gave a lot of headaches to my parents on this issue. Now I am alone but independent and think and act alone. I think this experience would enhance my future life. I wish to find chances to at least visit Hokkaido and Okinawa while I am in Japan.

The Qinhuai River runs through my hometown of Nanjing. When I was in elementary school, the litter and stench of the river were such that I couldn’t even go near it. Today the Qinhuai has become much cleaner; you can even see fish occasionally. The solution of environmental problems requires appropriate legislation, as much as morals and technology. That is why I decided to study law.Currently, many Chinese students are studying in the U.K. or U.S., but I chose to study in Japan, of my own free will. My grandparents were vehemently against my plans because of the sad historical relations between the two countries. After numerous discussions, my parents finally sent me off to Japan with the words: “We trust our son.” I spent the first two years in Japan studying the Japanese language. I was then admitted to Osaka University.My goal is to become an international lawyer. The Seifu Scholarship will enable me to concentrate on my studies without doing part-time work. I am looking to obtain my Japanese attorney-at-law qualification eight years from now, obtain my Chinese qualification within two years after that, and become an international lawyer serving as a bridge between Japan and China.

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