What’s New

Japan-Insights met in Tokyo recently with Dr. Sébastien Lechevalier, a labor economist and professor whose work addresses innovation, institutional change, and public policy. As president of a foundation that promotes scholarly exchange between France and Japan, he also leads INNOVCARE, a multidisciplinary initiative supported by TIFO that aims to put well-being at the center of technological innovation, particularly in the field of eldercare. The project has grown to involve 60 individuals from 18 member institutions, seven of which are in Japan. Now in its third year, it is entering a new phase where the research being done may eventually inform national policy goals in France with regard to the long-term care of older adults.

Interview by Susan Rogers Chikuba

2023 marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam, and the Department of Japanese Studies at Vietnam National University (VNU) in Hanoi has much to celebrate during this auspicious year. With ongoing support from TIFO, the department—part of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at VNU—has just launched Vietnam’s inaugural graduate programs in Japanese Studies, while also making significant progress in building an integrated international network with other academic institutions. Dr. Le Thi Thu Giang, Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, spoke with Japan Insights about what these developments mean for Japanese Studies in Vietnam, as well for the Japan-Vietnam relationship.

Interview by Louise George Kittaka

As the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) readies to mark its fiftieth anniversary at its triennial conference to be held at Ghent University in Belgium this August, president Verena Blechinger-Talcott spoke with Japan-Insights about the globalization of Japan Studies, and how support of early-career scholars has proven to be pivotal in fostering comparative perspectives and strengthening intra-Asian and transnational connections.

Interview by Susan Rogers Chikuba

Tara McGowan, a Princeton, New Jersey-based Japan scholar and executive director of the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC), met with Japan-Insights to talk about the council’s recent work, including livestreamed events and new website features supported by a TIFO grant that have helped to boost awareness of NCC’s many information services for the Japan Studies community.

Interview by Susan Rogers Chikuba

Music has the ability to unite us, transcending language, culture and time, and the work undertaken by Columbia University’s Institute for Japanese Cultural Heritage Initiatives in New York bears testimony to this power. Dr. Barbara Ruch is Director of the Institute, as well as Professor Emerita of Japanese Literature and Cultural History at Columbia University. Dr. Ruch shares her insights on the Institute’s Japanese heritage music initiative and how this music is finding new audiences around the world, supported by the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO).

Interview by Louise George Kittaka

British archaeologist and Sainsbury Institute executive director Simon Kaner speaks with Japan-Insights about a robust Silk Roads curation project supported by TIFO.

Interview by Susan Rogers Chikuba