Overview: The East Asian Consortium of Japanese Studies (EACJS) was officially launched in September, 2015 after several years of effort by scholars from major Japanese research institutes in East Asia on purpose of invigorating academic exchange among East Asian scholars beyond their borders and fostering next generations of Japanese studies. A year later, representatives from major institutes assembled again and confirmed the significance of launching a new international conference, and the 1st international conference of EACJS was held at Incheon Songdo Convensia from November 30th to December 2nd, 2016. This conference was hosted by the EACJS and managed by the Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) at Seoul National University along with active participations from diverse institutions of Japanese studies in East Asian region.
The 1st International Conference
The 1st conference was composed of special lectures, 40 joint panels, 1 free panel, and 8 next-generation panels with 30 graduate students. Over 300 scholars in total participated in the event. After all panels had ended, AOKI Tamotsu (Director General of the National Art Center, former Commissioner for the Agency for Cultural Affairs) delivered a special lecture with the title of “The Era of Scholarship and Culture in East Asia.” On the last day, the EACJS working committee held a meeting and discussed future plan for the next conference. The committee agreed to 1) hold annual international conference at different countries and make round tours after each circle, 2) constitute a working group with the initiators and representatives of major East Asian institutes for Japanese studies for the stability and responsibility of managing the consortium, 3) design panels for future generation scholars in order to strengthen the foundation of Japanese studies in East Asia and expand the base of interest, and 4) endeavor to develop academic activities in East Asia along with the results of annual international conference. The 2nd conference was held at Nankai University in Tianjin, China from October 27th to 29th, 2017.
