The ambassador said it had received over 1,000 applications from Nigerians alone.

Kazuyoshi spoke in Abuja on Friday during the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) First Chair event with the theme: ‘Post World War II: Reconstruction and Economic Development in Japan -Lesson for Nigeria.’

The event was organised in collaboration with the University of Abuja.

The ambassador said: “This month, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is reviewing applications for Japanese Government Scholarships.

“We have currently received over 1,000 applications from Nigerians.”

Kazuyoshi said Japan had modernised and created a rich, prosperous, free and democratic country focused on the rule of law, while maintaining its tradition and identities.

This, he noted, had earned Japan as the first non-Western country to become a developed country.

He said one of the secrets of the Japanese economic miracle after the Second World War was the Meiji Restoration which marked the beginning of the transition from a non-western culture to modernity in Japan, not only in dress, but also in the social system and the mindsets of the Japanese people.

“Today, the Japanese Government offers opportunities for people abroad to study in Japan,” the ambassador added.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’allah, said the establishment of a Japanese Language and Culture Institute in the University was to help Nigeria emulate Japan’s technology and scientific development.

He said: “The university of Abuja has understood the importance of instilling in our students the spirit that will lead them to succeed in life. You see around the world that such spirit is the Japanese.

“This is a nation that has not got so much in resources but has focused on human resources to make sure that it is at the top of the whole world and consistently continues to develop and we think that young Nigerians should learn from this.

“So the University of Abuja has established the Japanese language and culture institute and we teach Japanese language along with options to our students and JICA is now working with us closely to make the University of Abuja as a major centre for Japanese language, education and culture in Nigeria.”