Dr. Juan José Bonilla Palacios from Republic of Peru visited Gifu University on September 9. He studied at Internal Medicine Course I, School of Medicine of Gifu University for one year and half from October in 1983 to March in 1985 as the MEXT^*-financed student. He is currently working as a doctor specializing in gastrointestinal system in Peru. He also serves as an advisory doctor for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for many years as one of the few doctors capable of speaking Japanese.

Dr. Bonilla has been making a strenuous effort to be a "bridge" between Japan and Peru over the years. For instance, he created the Association of Peruvian Scholarship Students of the MEXT (APEBEMO) to put his invaluable experiences of studying in Japan into practice, and to encourage young students and researchers to deepen their understanding about Japan. He also is quite active as a promoter of a Japanese-Speaking Society to offer people more opportunities to get familiar with Japanese. His continued efforts for promotion of mutual understanding between the two countries culminated in his acceptance of Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendations in July 2009.

In his visit to Gifu University, Dr. Bonilla met with the President Hisataka Moriwaki, Dr. Mitsuru Seishima, Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine and Nobuo Murakami, Associate Director of the University Hospital, all of whom are the former classmates of Dr. Bonilla when he was studying at Internal Medicine Course I in Gifu University. In the meeting, they looked back on their days of studying, and shared old memories with one another. They also talked about future exchange of education and research in the field of medicine.

Dr. Bonilla introduced the clinical training program for infectious diseases (Lumbreras Tropical Medicine Course) implemented at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru, and mentioned the possibility of Gifu University students' joining this program.

Later, Dr. Bonilla met Dr. Fumiaki Suzuki, Executive Director for International Affairs and Public Relations and exchanged opinions about international activities of Gifu University.

*MEXT: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan