:  This paper reports the development of an international dental hygiene educational programme between Japan and Canada, and the evaluation of its outcomes. In 2004, a unique collaborative programme with Canadian dental hygiene schools was introduced as part of a 3‐year dental hygiene curriculum. This international programme mainly consists of three parts: a spring (full Japanese faculty and student exchange to Canada), fall (select Japanese faculty and student exchange to Canada for focused professional development) and summer (select Canadian student exchange to Japan) component. The spring component provides an opportunity for all Japanese students to visit the Canadian dental hygiene schools at the end of their second year. Students and faculty members share information about their programmes and culture through instructional presentations, chair‐side hands‐on clinical simulations, and table clinic presentations. For the fall component, selected Japanese students and faculty re‐visit the Canadian school for more extensive learning and exchange with Canadian students. Workshops are held for faculty on educational and research topics. For the summer component, selected second year Canadian students visit Japan. The Japanese students’ basic knowledge of Canada and Canadian dental hygiene showed statistically significant improvement (P < 0.001) as assessed by pre‐ and post‐tests. Other programme evaluations including faculty and students’ surveys have so far identified positive outcomes in learning and research. The programme has offered opportunities for faculty professional development and joint research projects. In conclusion, the findings reported here demonstrate that incorporation of the international collaborative programme can be a significant addition to dental hygiene education.

In this paper, the authors examine the recent state of the studies in the history of Japanese geographical thought, both traditional and modern. They remark that the increased interest in the history of geographical thought in recent decades in Japan is the reflection of the increasing concern over the epistemological and methodological interest in Japanese geography. The examinations con ducted in this paper are also made in the context of methodological and epistemological reflections with regard to the intellectual activities of Japanese geographers. The main emphases are put on problems of the articulation of traditional or indigenous Japanese geographical thought with modern academic geography, the roles played by the authors of geographical writings in the early Meiji period, the significance of the pioneers and outsiders of modern geography and characteristics of various schools of academic geography in Japan.

Résumé: Les caractères principaux de la géographie de Vidal de La Blache et de son école étaient connus au Japon jusque vers1940. Le mouvement de démocratisation du Japon après la deuxième guerre mondiale a mis la géographie française au premier plan pour reconstruire la géographie japonaise. En effet, la pensée géographique française était considérée comme un antidote à la géographie fasciste ou à la géopolitique. En ce qui concerne le redressement de la géographie japonaise d'après guerre, deux éléments ont influé pour la diriger vers les sciences sociales: d'une part, la tradition de la géographie vidalienne et, d'autre part, l'environnement scientifique, surtout marxiste. Même si les géographes japonais s'intéressaient beaucoup à la tradition française de la géographie régionale, ils ne l'ont jamais mise en pratique jusqu'à présent.

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