On November 4, 2026, the Center for Integrated Japanese Studies (CIJS) at Tohoku University concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on academic exchange with the Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism (Taiwan) and held a signing ceremony. In addition, the Institute presented the University with the complete 10-volume English edition of the Fo Guang Dictionary of Buddhism, a landmark work resulting from more than a decade of scholarship. Ahead of its official launch on November 9, Tohoku University became the first institution in the world to receive this donation.

Assistant Professor Sebastian Nehrdich of the CIJS has led the MITRA Project in close research collaboration with the Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Institute for over two years. By integrating MITRA’s multilingual AI technology with the Institute’s bilingual corpus, this collaboration has yielded pioneering results, notably the June 2026 launch of “Fo Guang AI Ver. 2.0,” an innovative translation support platform for Buddhist texts.

Key representatives from the Center for Integrated Japanese Studies attended the ceremony, including Professor and Director Hiroaki Adachi; Professor and Deputy Director Satoshi Kato; Head of the Research and International Development Unit, Professor Christopher Craig; Associate Professor Ryuta Kikuya; and Assistant Professor Sebastian Nehrdich.

The delegation from Fo Guang Shan (Taiwan/Japan) was led by Venerable Miao Guang (Deputy Chancellor of the Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, and Director of the Fo Guang Dictionary of Buddhism English Translation Project), joined by Venerable Man Run (Head Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Japan Region), Venerable Jue Yong (Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Tokyo), Venerable Miao Chong (Superintendent of Fo Guang Shan Tokyo), Venerable Ru Di (Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism in Japan), Venerable Zhi Yue (International Liaison, Center of International Affairs, Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, and Editor of the Fo Guang Dictionary of Buddhism English Translation Project), Venerable Ming Cheng (Intern, Fo Guang Shan Tokyo), and other members of the delegation.

Following the signing and donation ceremonies, the delegation from Fo Guang Shan visited the Rare Materials Room at Tohoku University Main Library, where Associate Professor Ryuta Kikuya of the Center for Integrated Japanese Studies gave an insightful presentation on the Derge edition of the Tibetan Kangyur preserved in the University's collection.

In the afternoon of the same day, the delegation from Fo Guang Shan visited Katahira Campus, touring the Tohoku University Archives and the historic "Lu Xun Lecture Hall," which has strong historical ties to the university.

Looking toward future academic exchanges, Director Adachi expressed his commitment to advancing multifaceted initiatives. These include integrating traditional Buddhist scholarship with advanced digital methods and AI technologies, pursuing research on multilingual Buddhist terminology, enhancing "FoGuang AI," and fostering researcher and student exchanges, joint symposia, and collaborative publications.

In addition, Venerable Miao Guang expressed high praise for Tohoku University’s distinguished tradition of Buddhist studies and the significant achievements to date through the MITRA Project (Dharmamitra). She also conveyed her hope that this MOU would serve as a catalyst to further deepen institutional ties, contributing to the digitalisation of Buddhist textual research and the expansion of international academic networks.