BTA Director General Kiril Valchev has donated issues of LIK magazine to university libraries in Japan. The issues will reach Japan with the assistance of Prof. Ivo Vladimirov, who teaches Bulgarian and Old Bulgarian at Osaka University, Kyoto University, and Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. Thanks to this initiative, the three universities will now have in their libraries the Japanese-language edition of LIK, while Prof. Vladimirov’s students will also use the Bulgarian-language editions from the beginning of 2025 as part of their language studies.
“Prof. Vladimirov came to BTA with a request from three major Japanese universities to receive the Japanese-language edition of LIK magazine from April this year, dedicated to Bulgaria and world expos,” Valchev explained. He added that a large part of that issue focused on Bulgaria’s participation at the World Expo 1970 in Osaka, as well as the country’s presence at EXPO 2025 in Osaka.
In addition, Prof. Vladimirov received Bulgarian-language issues of LIK from earlier this year for his students, who use the magazine to practice Bulgarian. Valchev emphasized that Japan also features prominently in several issues.
Prof. Vladimirov told BTA that he teaches Bulgarian to about 30 students and Old Bulgarian to another 30 students. He described them as bright and dedicated, stressing that his achievements in Japan are largely due to the students’ enthusiasm and initiative. Among their efforts, they have organized two highly successful Bulgarian speech contests at Osaka University and even introduced a new Balkan Studies course – the first of its kind at the university. To launch it, he proposed bringing in Bulgarian lecturers via online teaching, an idea embraced by the university. Today, he serves as the course coordinator, while specialists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia deliver weekly lectures in English. “The first year, the course had 160 students, the second year 130, and this year there are 150. It has become one of the most attended courses at Osaka University,” Vladimirov noted.
He recalled that on Bulgaria Day at the Bulgarian Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka (May 18), his students performed in Bulgarian before Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and BTA Director General Kiril Valchev. On that occasion, the LIK issue dedicated to Bulgaria and world expos was presented in English and Japanese. “The students loved the magazine. In today’s age, where most communication is online, I was amazed at how much they enjoyed it, not just the content but also its aesthetics,” Vladimirov said.
Looking ahead, Prof. Vladimirov announced that on November 29 his students will take part in a theatre festival at the Osaka University, which has an 80-year history. Traditionally, only plays in the official teaching languages are staged, but this year his students insisted on performing in Bulgarian. After his request, they received official approval. “For the first time in 80 years, a language without an official major will be represented with a play,” Vladimirov said. His students will stage “We, the Sparrows” by Bulgarian writer Yordan Radichkov.
Bulgaria celebrated its National Day at EXPO 2025 with a rich cultural and musical programme. Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hisayuki Fujii greeted the audience in Bulgarian and highlighted the traditionally warm relations between the two countries. During the celebration, the April issue of LIK, dedicated to Bulgaria and world expos and published in Bulgarian, English, and Japanese, was officially presented to Japanese university students studying Bulgarian, with the event led by BTA Director General Valchev.
