On Monday, 5 October 2009, UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder and Vice-Rector Kazuhiko Takeuchi were warmly welcomed by Mr. Shigehiko Hattori, Chair of the Board of Directors of Shimadzu, at the Shimadzu Corporation headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. They were treated to a tour of the company’s manufacturing facilities, which produces some of the world’s leading chemical analysis equipment.

As one of UNU’s longest-standing corporate partners, Shimadzu Corporation has been a vital supporter of a UNU project to enhance environmental monitoring of water and air pollution in developing countries throughout Asia. The project, “Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the Asian Coastal Hydrosphere“ has been active since 1996 in eleven countries. More than 80 trainees have acquired chemical analysis and research capacities using equipment provided by Shimadzu. The fifth phase of the project runs from 2009 to 2011.

From left: UNU Vice-Rector Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Shimadzu Board of Directors Chair Shigehiko Hattori, and UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder at Shimadzu headquarters. Photo: Fukuya Iino/UNU.