Prof. Atsufumi Yokoi, Vice President (Global Engagement) and UNESCO Chairholder of Okayama University, has been appointed as an Advisor to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.

He has also been invited to speak as a representative of the Government of Japan at the “Japan Session” and to participate as a specially invited speaker in the plenary session, “Global Outlook Spotlight Panel,” at the 2026 Annual Conference & Expo of the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), to be held from May 26 to 29, 2026.

Vice President Yokoi will participate in the Japan Session in his capacity as a MEXT Advisor. In addition, he has been selected as one of the conference’s Featured Speakers, recognizing him as a globally prominent voice at the event. He is the first university-affiliated representative from Japan to receive this distinction in the past five years since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NAFSA Annual Conference is one of the largest and most influential international education conferences in the world, bringing together approximately 10,000 higher education professionals, researchers, and policymakers from more than 150 countries. The conference features numerous official sessions organized by governments and universities, including the Japan Session, which highlights Japan’s higher education policies and initiatives.

At the Japan Session, Vice President Yokoi will speak on behalf of the Government of Japan, addressing key issues such as international education in the digital era and approaches to multicultural collaborative learning. He will also share institutional practices and perspectives on higher education in Japan with an international audience.

Okayama University has been actively advancing diverse educational and research initiatives under international frameworks. These include the MEXT-supported project “Multicultural Campus Project Towards Social Impact” (adopted in FY2024), the development of multicultural collaborative learning programs utilizing digital tools, and participation in the United Nations’ Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), particularly in the Action Group on “AI and Higher Education.”

Okayama University will continue to collaborate with global education networks and partners, including NAFSA, to enhance the international presence of Japanese higher education and to contribute to the co-creation of a sustainable future through multicultural collaborative learning.

NAFSA 2026 Annual Conference: https://www.nafsa.org/2026
Featured Speakers
Global Engagement Center