About GJS-ERI

Across all branches of the humanities and social sciences, the University of Osaka is home to a particularly eminent assortment of researchers engaged in the study of “Japan”. The University of Osaka’s Center for Japanese Language and Culture is at the heart of the national education of exchange students, and April 2022 saw the pivotal establishment of the Division of Japanese Studies in the new Graduate School of Humanities.

The Global Japanese Studies Education and Research Incubator (GJS-ERI) is designed to take advantage of these rich institutional resources in ways that cut across organizational boundaries.
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The Global Japanese Studies Education and Research Incubator (グローバル日本学教育研究拠点, GJS-ERI), established at the University of Osaka on December 1, 2020, aims to generate new advances in research and education by integrating the benefits of work done in both the humanities and social science disciplines.

In terms of research, GJS-ERI serves as an international and interdisciplinary platform for the exchange of advanced academic dialogue relating to the study of Japan. The research efforts of the Incubator are geared towards creating an environment conducive to the development of Global Japanese Studies and to the effective dissemination of research results from Japan to the global academic community.

Further, GJS-ERI endeavors to translate its research results into valuable interdisciplinary and society-oriented educational programs. For students in all fields, including the natural sciences, a broad understanding of culture and society is useful when considering the practical applications of research results. Therefore, the Incubator aims to create educational programs that incorporate the study of Japan as part of an essential foundation for the training of global talent.

The administration of the Global Japanese Studies Education and Research Incubator is overseen by the GJS-ERI Managing Committee, which consists of the deans of the University of Osaka graduate schools that concentrate on humanities and social science fields. Day-to-day operations are organized by the GJS-ERI Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is divided into three divisions: an Incubator Research Division that focuses on the development of international and interdisciplinary research projects, a Network Administration Division that coordinates activities between organizations inside and outside the university and engages in publicity, and a Human Resources Development Division that organizes cross-disciplinary and collaborative education programs. The essential activities of these divisions are implemented by jointly appointed faculty drawn from the various graduate schools of humanities and social sciences at the University of Osaka.