Past EU-Japan Forums have proven themselves successful research incubators resulting both in joint projects and shared scientific publications across the Social Sciences and Humanities. Bearing this in mind, while seeking to reflect the ever-evolving and expanding agenda of common research interests linking European and Japanese academics, the 2024 EU-Japan forum will seek to broach new research avenues.
Format
This year the forum’s scientific coordination was again a joint effort between ULB and Waseda scholars, while the Forum’s organizational committee included both the IEE and the Waseda Brussels Office (WBO). Ultimately, over half a dozen Japanese and European academics were mobilized in the run-up to this year’s gathering which is expected to include about 50 scientific presentations, with over a dozen different nationalities represented among the contributors. The Japanese delegation attending this year’s Forum is set to include 18 academics and researchers from 12 Japanese universities.
In 2024, the Forum will include three topical workshops dedicated to nascent joint initiatives, followed by a closing information session on Japanese research funding opportunities. Each of the three sequentially organized workshops was jointly set up by a specific team of EU- and Japan-based scholars.
Workshop I – Political Narratives in Europe and Asia Compared
Mon. March 4 | Coord. by Prof. F. Foret | IEE-ULB | 39 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt | Campus Solbolsch – ULB
The first day-long workshop co-coordinated by F. Foret and F. Ponjaert (IEE-ULB) on Political Narratives in Europe & Asia Compared, brings together political scientists, sociologists, historians, Japanese and European studies scholars as well as practitioners in a shared effort to explore political narratives on international cooperation in light of Japanese and European Leadership Styles, Higher Education policies, or Collective Memory and Heritage practices.
Workshop II –Hate Speech and Abusive Language
Tue-Wed. March 5-6 | Coord. by Prof. S. Detey | IEE-ULB | 39 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt | Campus Solbolsch – ULB
The second two-day-long workshop co-coordinated by S. Detay and N. Morita (SILS-Waseda) entitled Hate Speech and Abusive Language: Investigation of Verbal Violence, Regulation & Education, brings together Linguists, political scientists, sociologists, political philosophers, historians, legal scholars, as well as film, Japan and EU studies. 5 disciplinary panels are thus set to unpack the responses to hate speech and abusive language in Europe and Japan in education, public institutions, multicultural societies, modern cinema, as well as political and social media debates.
Workshop III – European and Japanese Approaches to International Criminal Justice
Thu. March 7 | Coord. by Profs. A. Weyembergh, C. Brière & S. Furuya | IEE-ULB | 39 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt | Campus Solbolsch – ULB
The final day-long workshop co-coordinated by A. Weyembergh, C. Brière (IEE-ULB), and S. Furuya (Waseda) on Japanese and European Approaches to International Criminal Justice, gathers several renowned legal scholars to discuss Japanese and European approaches to international criminal justice.