Donation to help complex link research

RESEARCH into "one of the most complex and important national relationships in the world" has received a £1 million boost.

The donation to Edinburgh University will be used to create a top post leading research into relations between China and Japan.

University bosses said the Handa Chair in Japanese-Chinese Relations - in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures - would help expand its expertise in the field of East Asian studies.

It will also promote close relations in "one of Asia's most important partnerships", the university said.

The chair is named after Japanese philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa, the chairman of Worldwide Support for Development, the not-for-profit organisation that made the donation.

It is hoped the post will be filled by September.

School head, Professor Greg Walker, said: "The Handa Chair will allow Edinburgh to expand on its long-established expertise in East Asia, providing research into one of the most complex and important national relationships in the world."