By the end of this month, five Wayne State University students who are enrolled in the university's Near Eastern and Asian Studies program will undoubtedly have some interesting stories to tell about their experiences during an eight-day visit to Japan.

Boarding a Northwest Airlines plane headed for their Far East destination June15 were Brejitte Gibson and Roland Vinson III of Detroit; Mathew Cantoni of Clinton Township, Katherine Stojonic of Sterling Heights and Jaime Kennedy of St. Claire Shores. Gibson is a graduate student, Vinson a senior and Kennedy a junior. Cantoni and Stojonic are freshmen.

They were selected for the trip, which was made possible by the Japanese consulate in Detroit, the airline and Bank One, on the basis of test scores, class participation, interviews conducted in both English and Japanese and an essay on the subject "Why I Want to Go to Japan." Naoto Amaki, consul general for Japan, hosted a reception recently in honor of the recipients at his Bloomfield Hills residence.

The trip was proposed by the consul general's office as a way of giving students a chance to learn about Japanese culture firsthand. "It will be an opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture for several days and to augment what they have learned in the classroom," explains Aleya Rouchdy, chairperson of WSU's Near Eastern and Asian studies department.

The students, who will be accompanied by faculty member Rie Masuda, will stay with Japanese host families for three days each in the cities of Toyota and Otsu. The itinerary for each city was planned to maximize the students' learning experiences during their brief stay in Japan. They will return to Detroit June 24.

The travel opportunity also will give a boost to the Japanese language and culture study program at the university. Lawrence Scaff, dean of WSU's College of Liberal Arts, complimented Consul General Amaki, Northwest Airlines and Bank One for their involvement. He also indicated that he would like to see such travel experiences become a regular part of all foreign language programs in the college.

Contact the WSU Public Relations home page on the World Wide Web for a list of university.