On the afternoon of Monday, March 28, a degree conferral celebration ceremony was held for the 4 students of the 25th graduating class of the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program in the Cafeteria in the South School Building on Mita Campus. The purpose of this program is to provide scholarships from the World Bank to successful applicants of World Bank member nations in charge of tax administration in developing countries, selected through a rigorous selection process, in order to develop future leaders in tax administration in these countries through research conducted in the master's degree program at the Keio University Graduate School of Business and Commerce.

In addition to the 4 graduates and their families, 7 members of the university including Professor Eri Yokota, dean of the Graduate School of Business and Commerce, and Professor Eimon Ueda from the Graduate School of Business and Commerce, one official from the World Bank as well as 3 members of the National Tax College who collaborate in educational and research activities, were in attendance. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of preventing the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) infections, attention was given to the ventilation of the venue, and the event was held with the participants wearing masks and in an environment that avoided the 3 Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings). At the ceremony, following congratulatory speeches by Dean Yokota, Mr. Koichi Omori of the World Bank Tokyo Office and Professor Noriko Taniguchi of the National Tax College, the 4 students of the 25th graduating class were presented with certificates of completion of the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program and commemorative gifts.

The graduates will now return to the tax administration of their home countries in the expectation that they will play an active role based on the knowledge and skills they acquired through this program.