ENSAI Welcomes a Delegation from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication – Statistical Policy division
On Thursday, June 18, 2026, ENSAI had the honor of hosting a delegation from Japan’s Directorate General for Statistical Policy Planning. The purpose of the visit was to discuss issues in related to training in official statistics and explore opportunities for scientific and academic collaboration.
This meeting follows up on a trip carried out last April by representatives of Rennes’s higher education institutions to Tokyo and Sendai.
A Day in Rennes
Mr. Kitahara, Director General; Mr. Nakamura, Director; and Ms. Nagatomo, Section Chief of the General Directorate for Statistical Policy Planning, were welcomed by Ronan Le Saout, Director of ENSAI; Todd Donahue, Director of International Relations and the Humanities; and Ikko Yamane, a faculty member and researcher in computer science.
The morning was devoted to discussions with ENSAI and ENSAE Paris, particularly regarding the programs offered and, more specifically, the curriculum for future French civil servants at INSEE.
ENSAI was represented by Ronan Le Saout, Todd Donahue, Stéphane Legleye, director of graduate studies, Guillaume Chauvet, faculty member and researcher, and Thomas Gardair, a student in the Master’s program in Data Science for Public Decision-Making. Odile Rouhban, deputy director of graduate studies, and Tania Castro, director of International Relations, represented ENSAE Paris at this meeting.
ENSAI also organized a meeting between the Japanese delegation and representatives from the University of Rennes. On the campus of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Rennes, discussions focused on potential collaborations, in the presence of Christophe Tavera, associate dean for international relations; Isabelle Cadoret, director of the master’s program in applied mathematics and statistics; and Fabien Rondeau, a faculty member and researcher in economics.
A Look Back at the Spring 2026 Mission to Japan
The Japanese delegation’s visit to ENSAI followed a week-long trip to Japan organized in April 2026 by the Brittany Region, the University of Rennes, and several partner institutions, including ENSAI.
During that trip, Ronan Le Saout and Todd Donahue met with their counterparts at the universities of Tokyo, Waseda, Keio, and Tohoku University in Sendai, one of Rennes’s sister cities. They also held discussions with representatives from Japan’s General Directorate of Statistical Policy Planning, which is part of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Through these exchanges, both in Japan and in France, ENSAI reaffirms its international presence and its commitment to developing new partnerships of excellence in teaching and research.
Learn more about internationalization at ENSAI.