Motivation letter

Hi!
I had to write a motivation letter for exchange. I am not a native English speaker so I would need some feedback regarding the letter I wrote. Feel free to point out any mistakes. It would help out a lot. Thanks!
Here it is:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I, John Smith, am writing to you in order to express my interest in applying for an exchange year at the University of Tohoku in Japan. I am a first year international degree student at the Contemporary East Asian Studies master’s program at the University of Turku.

My previous studies include a bachelor’s degree in economics, a master’s degree in international business administration and communication and a teacher’s training degree. My fields of interest lie in East Asian business and economy and my geographic focus is the country of Japan. I have always been interested in East Asian culture, history and especially business environment and therefore I have always tried to link my studies to this part of the globe.

Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to go to East Asia therefore I am applying to this program in the hope that I will be able to spend the next academic year in Japan.

The academic program at the University of Tohoku offers a wide range of courses taught in English in the fields of business and economics. It would be a great opportunity for me to learn more about these topics and gather research materials for my pro-grad thesis, as my research is related to Japanese business environment. Also, it would be a great opportunity for me to improve my Japanese language skills as I am a lower intermediate speaker and I am eager to advance as much as I can. The exchange year at the University of Tohoku would give me the chance to interact with scholars in my field of research which would help me with advancing in my research field. This program would offer me the possibility to interact with Japanese people and culture and learn more about the country from a cultural, economic and political point of view.

On a long term, one year spent at the University of Tohoku will help me with advancing my studies, improve my Japanese skills and learn more about Japan, which would help me in reaching my long term goal of being actively involved in research and perhaps teaching in a field that I love.

Thank You for considering my request. I am looking forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,