Neues vom JSPS-Club 01/2026

Neues vom JSPS-Club 01/2026 (1.7 MB)

EVENTS

F.I.D.ES Members Organizations at the EU House / Tokyo, 31^st October 2025

by Thomas Parkner, country representative Japan, and Wolfgang Staguhn, member of the JSPS Club

Photo: Presentation of T. Parkner (courtesy of W. Staguhn)

Photo: Discussion table, T. Parkner (middle) and other European participants (courtesy of Euraxess)

At the last day of October 2025 (13:00-20:00), the members of the four F.I.D.ES group held their 4^th Meeting at the EU-House in Tokyo. The subject of this year’s meeting was: European Researchers in Japan – Building Bridges Beyond Disciplines. In the years before, F.I.D.ES members had already met three times in Tokyo in order to find their way together.

This meeting was led by the Association of Italian Researchers in Japan (AIRJ), represented by Sarah Cosentino. New in this special event was the active co-organization of the European researchers’ associations in Japan F.I.D.ES together with EURAXESS Japan and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan.

The four F.I.D.ES member organizations are AIRJ (Italy), ACE Japon (Spain), German JSPS Alumni Association, and Sciencescope (France). Their common goal is to find opportunities to strengthen the connection between European researchers in Japan, share experiences, and build bridges across disciplines and institutions in both Japan and Europe, thereby contributing to shaping a more connected European research community in Japan.

The meeting started with the greetings and welcome remarks from the organizers, Dr. Sara Cosentino, AIRJ and the Head of the Science, Innovation, and Digital Policies Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Gijs Berends. He gave a brief introduction to the ongoing negotiations between Japan and the EU on participation in the EU Horizon research program. The final decisions are expected at the end of 2025.

All four F.I.D.ES associations from Germany, France, Spain, and Italy introduced their communities, achievements and challenges:

• Italy: Dr. Sara Cosentino, AIRJ
• Spain: Dr. Daniel del Barrio Alvarez, ACE Japon
• France: Dr. Cecile Laly, Sciencescope
• Germany: Dr. Thomas Parkner, JSPS Club
   

EURAXESS presented an introduction to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA-GLOPOL) by representative Dr. Judit E. Magyar, Regional Liaison Officer, Japan.

The next part was an interactive panel discussion with five speakers from F.I.D.ES member organizations about the “Life as a European Researcher in Japan” – Challenges, Surprises, Bridges, Experience in Japan and the research environment. Participants from France (biophysics), Italy (Marta Fanasca, Hosei University, Bologna University, Gender Studies), Spain (Dr. Andreo, Barcelona, vision-based AI) and Germany (Ralf Bebenroth, Kassel University, 25 years in Japan, Professor at Kobe University research in merger & acquisition business).

During the coffee break, the participants indicated their research locations in Europe and Japan on a common “wall map”. This was already the start of the Interactive Session I&II. Several members outlined their research community and how to build bridges.

• “Japan Bridges” describing concrete multidisciplinary cooperation ideas within Japan
• “Europe-Japan Bridges” extending previous activity to their European home institutions
   

Following this, all participants started an “interactive brainstorming round” divided into seven small groups (7-9 participants) with the focus on how to create a structure beneficial for all European researchers in Japan – not just those from the four represented countries.

The main goal of this special F.I.D.ES-symposium was to connect with the researchers from EU countries from different fields working in Japanese universities, institutions or companies.

The panel discussions showed the diverse experiences within their individual research environment. The situation of each researcher depends very much on the active support offered by the local members and their professors. The judging criteria are diverse and depend on personal opinions and educational background in Europe. The younger researchers focus on their short-term perspective. Comments from Bebenroth included his long-term Japan-experience.

Outcomes from the two Interactive Session I & II

The diverse opinions from the seven groups were interesting to listen to. Some statements selected:

• Increase the financial support for research projects
• Increase the exchange of young people even before university study
• Get familiar with foreign people and culture
• Enhance cooperation between host in Japan and home universities
• Motivate the exchange of students and researcher
• Work against “wrong pre-assumptions” in “both” countries
• Advertise to live and work in Japan
   

In terms of Attracting and Branding: Find ways to get positive branding for research and universities in Europe. One idea was to broadcast an “NHK special” on research in Europe, or finding famous Japanese persons (Nobel Prize winners, “Otani effect”) to advertise European Research in Japan media. Research can be given broader attention in high level political visits in both countries, increasing chances in future oriented fields like Energy, Semiconductors or Materials, which are important for both Japan and Europe.

Besides research, more common knowledge should be created. E.g. exchange of food culture, language and health aspects, philosophical aspects, education and open-minded thinking as “no one possesses the truth.”

F.I.D.ES AI Symposium: Connecting International Researchers with Japan’s AI Ecosystem

5^th Symposium of European Researchers in Japan, 2025 on EU-Japan AI Bridge at the EU House / Tokyo, 7^th November 2025

by Thomas Parkner, country representative Japan, and Wolfgang Staguhn, member of the JSPS Club

Just one week after the F.I.D.ES meeting, this symposium on AI in Japan was held at the same place at the EU house. It was organized by AIRJ, the Italian F.I.D.ES member, together with EURAXESS Japan and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan under the leadership of Ilya Kulyatin, TAI (Tokyo AI).

The goal was to create a space for the European AI community in Japan to interact and exchange ideas. Approximately 100 international participants took part (researchers, startups, and corporate representatives). From the four F.I.D.ES organizations, approximately 25 members took part, with seven members of the JSPS Club and others working in Japan on AI and related business fields. The Italian F.I.D.ES community is very active in the field of AI in Japan.

The program can be seen on the JSPS Club’s HP. A summary of the presentations and CVs of the speakers is available under: https://luma.com/9rf4lcov?tk=5gxYpr and https://euraxess.ec. europa.eu/worldwide/japan/events/ai-bridge-academia-meets-industry.

The following section summarizes the presentation titles:

• Introduction from the organizers, Dr. Andrea Sansica, AIRJ
• Greetings and opening by the Minister-Deputy Head, Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Thomas Gnocchi
• Strategies to promote AI in the European Union by Peter Fatelnig, Minister-Counsellor for Digital Economy Policies, Delegation of the European Union to Japan
   

Speaker academia session:

• Chance Discovery: Uncovering Future Opportunities through Shared Image of Knowledge, Yukio Ohsawa, Professor, University of Tokyo
• The AI-Readiness and Market Dynamics Disruption Index (AIMDDI) and Two Case Studies, Jorge Calvo, Professor, GLOBIS University, Graduate School of Management
• From Data to Action: Toward an Open Foundation for Embodied AI, Kei Ota, Head of R&D, AIRoA (AI Robot Association) / Tokyo Institute of Technology
   

Speaker start-up session:

• Federated Learning: Collaborative Training of High-quality AI Models, Mei Kobayashi, Research Engineer at EAGLYS
• Hardening the Hardware: Securing the Edge with AI, Russ Islam, Head of R&D at Scurid
• An Automated Factory for AI, Federico Berto, Member of Technical Staff at Radical Numerics
   

Speaker enterprise session:

• NEC’s Growth Strategy: Expanding New Business Areas through Digital Ethics and Open Innovation, Hirohiko Ito, Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Coordinator, NEC
• Empowering generative AI at KDDI through strong AI governance, Shinya Wada, Senior Manager, KDDI
   

Junior Forum 2025 in Bonn

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

Photo: Participants of the Junior Forum (courtesy of JSPS Bonn Office)

On the 8^th of November 2025, at the Stresemann Institute in Bonn, the annual Junior Forum event took place. As Members invite Members (MlMe) in fall, to which the Junior Forum is usually attached, did not take place due to the 30^th anniversary symposium in Tokyo coinciding with it, this was a stand-alone event organized by the JSPS Bonn Office.

Next to the Bonn Office staff, Science Attaché Dr. Mitsushi Suzuno from the Japanese Embassy in Berlin was present, giving a brief salutation. Eleven students who had recently visited Japan presented their research experience in urban development, structure analysis in civil engineering, battery research, mathematics, psychology, evolutionary biology and mechanics of compliant systems.

After that, Roman Bartnik, member of the JSPS Club and Professor at TH Cologne, presented his research experience from 20 years of Japan-related research and work experience in materials management and procuration. The Club was represented by board member Katja Koelkebeck, who introduced the Club to the participants. After a presentation of the JSPS programs, a panel discussion followed, featuring the question of how younger researchers´ needs can be met by the JSPS Bonn Office and the JSPS Club led by Prof. Masahiko Hayashi involving Katja Koelkebeck, Roman Bartnik and the present fellows.

A common dinner took place afterwards at the Stresemann Institute, giving room for informal exchange of experience and planning of future Japan-related experience.

18^th Meeting of the Rhein-Main-Neckar Regional Group

by Jörg Wennmann and Shiori Mochimaru, members of the JSPS Club

Photo: Prof. Dr. G. Wolschin, Dr. K. Nitzsche, J. Wennmann, Dr. S. Minami, Dr. K. Sugita and S. Mochimaru with their family members at Gorenshi (courtesy of S. Mochimaru)

The 18^th meeting of the Rhein-Main-Neckar Regional Group was held on the 21^st of November 2025 at the restaurant Gorenshi in Darmstadt, where participants enjoyed authentic Japanese sushi in a lively atmosphere.

Ten members, including several family members, joined the gathering. Two Japanese scientists from the GSI Helmholtz Centre participated as external guests, fostering exchange between Japanese and German researchers.

Conversations ranged from scientific topics to broader aspects of Japanese-German cooperation. The meeting provided a valuable opportunity for networking and for strengthening connections within the regional group.

First Conference of all JSPS Clubs’ Chairpersons at JSPS HQ

by Heinrich Menkhaus, former Chairman of the JSPS Club

Photo: Group Picture (courtesy of JSPS Tokyo)

On December 15^th and 16^th 2025, the first meeting of the chairpersons of the JSPS alumni associations took place at the JSPS headquarters (HQ) in Tokyo. Of the 21 JSPS alumni associations, 19 were represented. China and Malaysia were missing. Of JSPS HQ, the president and the two directors, the auditors, the head of the International Program Department, all directors of the local offices of JSPS and the JSPS science advisor in Brazil were attending.

The feasibility of such a meeting had been discussed in our Club several times. Finally, the author and the head of the JSPS Bonn Office had a chance to talk about this project with the president of JSPS in 2023. We suggested that the meeting should be held in conjunction with the 30^th anniversary symposium of the German JSPS Club, because our basic idea was scientific collaboration between the clubs. This however was not realized.

Prior to the conference, all clubs were asked about the points they wanted to have discussed. Our Club handed in a long list of questions. Whether other clubs also reacted to this wish of JSPS HQ is not known. In the end, discussion took place in three sections: Sustaining Alumni Associations and Fundraising, Crossborder Regional Cooperation and Enhancing Research Exchange with Japan; after that, all clubs had the opportunity to present their status and activities.

Not only the presentations, but even more the discussions in the three sections, disclosed that the clubs have very different structures. Not only are their legal foundations diverse; most of them do not collect membership fees and use other sources of financial support. Moreover, the activities featured are quite different. It can therefore be said that a streamlining of organizational structures might be necessary, before scientific collaboration between the clubs will be possible.

After the official program, the representatives of the European clubs sat together to discuss the possibility of scientific collaboration in Europe. In this meeting, the chairperson of the French JSPS Club said that she had attended the symposium that the German JSPS Club organized together with the French Club in Strasbourg in 2010 and showed strong interest in a repetition of such an event. Interest in a collaboration with the German Club was also signalled by the newly established Italian Club.

Thanks to the Former Head of Administration of JSPS Bonn Office

by Heinrich Menkhaus, former Chairman of the JSPS Club

Photo: From left: H. Menkhaus, E. Anno, T. Parkner (courtesy of H. Menkhaus)

In the editorial of NvC 1/2024, the author wrote on the great help that the JSPS Club regularly receives from the staff of the JSPS Bonn Office. To show gratitude for this help, the Deputy Director of JSPS Bonn Office is given a small gift at the end of her/his term.

When the term of Ms. Eri Anno ended in September 2025, the ceremony could not be held in Bonn because the author was not available at that time and Ms. Anno had to immediately continue her work at her employer, the University of Kobe. We had to wait for a day when she would be in Tokyo.

On January 29^th, 2026 she visited JSPS HQ in Tokyo. This opportunity was not only used to hand her the present, a mug with the logo of the Club, but also to introduce the new Country Representative of the Club in Japan, member Thomas Parkner, who had taken over from the author at the end of 2025, to the persons in JSPS HQ in charge of the alumni associations.

Personal Changes in the Organs of the JSPS Club

by Heinrich Menkhaus, former Chairman of the JSPS Club

The internal structure of the Club features Country Representatives for Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Japan. For the time being, only the positions for Austria and Japan are filled. The position of Country Representative Japan was formerly handled by the former Chairman Heinrich Menkhaus himself, because since 2008 he has been working in Japan again. At the end of the calendar year 2025, this position was handed over to Club member Thomas Parkner, who is working as a scientist at the University of Tsukuba in Japan (please see his introduction in this NvC issue). The former Chairman had the opportunity to talk to him in detail about the tasks that the Country Representative Japan has and provided him with the necessary material.

As board member Katja Koelkebeck left her professorial position at the University of Duisburg-Essen and changed to the University of Bielefeld, she handed over the responsibility for the management of the Regional Group Rhein/Ruhr to board member Niklas Kolbe, who is working at the RWTH Aachen University. Katja Koelkebeck founded a new Regional Group (East-)Westphalia covering the Bielefeld, Münster, Paderborn triangle.

Board member Daniela Winkler changed from Kiel University to the University of Bonn and therefore had to give up her responsibility for the Regional Group North. As the board could not find a suitable successor, it was decided to preliminarily close this Regional Group. Should there be anybody among the members residing and working in the area of Bremen, Hamburg, Lüneburg or Kiel, the Club would very much appreciate the reestablishment of the Regional Group North.

The Regional Group Stuttgart was managed by former board member Wolfgang Staguhn in collaboration with Kay Nottmeyer, who also serves as an auditor of the Club. This Regional Group is now taken care of by newly appointed Chairman Christian Becker-Asano, who works for the University of Stuttgart.

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Thomas Parkner as the new Representative in Japan of the JSPS Club, effective as of 1^st January 2026.

Dr. Parkner has been working at the University of Tsukuba for more than 15 years and has devoted his career to research, student-centered teaching, and academic management in support of the university’s internationalization. His research focuses on geoscience, particularly large landslides and gully erosion. By combining field investigations with remote sensing methods, focusing on drone and aerial imagery, he studies sediment connectivity in Japan and New Zealand.

Having lived and worked in Japan for more than 20 years, Dr. Parkner has developed a strong intercultural perspective and a deep commitment to international education, academic exchange, and research collaboration. At the University of Tsukuba, he is managing the English-language undergraduate program in geoscience, overseeing the full student journey from recruitment to graduation.

Beyond university-level education and research, he is also actively engaged in geoscience outreach for Japanese high school students through his involvement in the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) and the International Geography Olympiad (iGEO).

In his new role as Club Representative in Japan, Dr. Parkner will focus on strengthening the JSPS Club’s presence in Japan and supporting its members and activities in Japan. His responsibilities include:

• member recruitment and support in Japan,
• promoting events through the JSPS mailing list in Japan,
• maintaining close cooperation with diplomatic institutions and science-funding organizations,
• fostering collaboration with German and European academic, cultural, and research‑support bodies, industry and trade associations, as well as political foundations in Japan,
• coordinating international networking with JSPS alumni organizations,
• organizing JSPS Club Meetings in Japan and the Science Circle.
   

With his broad academic background, long-standing experience in Japan, and strong commitment to scientific exchange, Dr. Parkner looks forward to contributing to the further development of the JSPS Club and to fostering even closer ties between the scientific communities of German-speaking countries and Japan.

Prof. Dr. Sonoko Bellingrath-Kimura, ZALF Müncheberg, Humboldt University of Berlin, and Visiting Professor in Tokyo.

She is an agricultural researcher, university lecturer, and a pioneer in land-use systems and digital agriculture. In 2022, she received the "JaDe Prize" for her active scientific collaboration with Japan as well as the JSPS Club’s “JACA Prize” in 2023.

REPORTS OF BRIDGE-FELLOWSHIPS

BRIDGE Report

by Saskia Schimmel, Chair of Electron Devices at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, board member of the JSPS Club

Returning to Japan for a Research Stay through the JSPS BRIDGE Program

Photo: Status of staff at the door of Chichibu Lab indicated using light emitting diodes - a technology to which the lab has made important contributions (courtesy of S. Schimmel)

Photo: Meeting with Prof. K. Ohnishi, Prof. Nitta, Prof. Yao, and their students at Mie University (courtesy of K. Ohnishi)

From September 3^rd to October 2^nd, 2025, I had the opportunity to return to Japan within the BRIDGE Fellowship Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The BRIDGE program enables former JSPS fellows to reconnect with Japan for short-term research stays of up to 30 days, with the aim of strengthening and expanding long-term scientific collaborations.

For me, this was the first return to Japan after I had concluded my two years as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow in Japan in 2021. The BRIDGE fellowship thus marked not only a continuation of long-standing professional and personal connections but also the further development of scientific collaboration and exchange.

As during my initial stay, Nagoya University served as my host institution, and while my BRIDGE fellowship included visits to several additional institutions, Nagoya University functioned as my “base camp”. The program began with participation in the 86^th JSAP (Japan Society of Applied Physics) Autumn Meeting 2025 at Meijo University in Nagoya. At this conference, I presented results on ammonothermal GaN crystal growth in a talk in the session “Bulk crystal growth,” building on collaborations with partners from Nagoya University and Tohoku University. Beyond my own contribution, the conference offered valuable opportunities for exchange across institutions and career stages. Given the still insufficiently resolved language barrier, the poster sessions proved particularly valuable due to the opportunity to communicate in whichever common language or mixture thereof. One discussion during a poster session has already led to plans for a short-term research stay of a doctoral student from Shizuoka University at the Chair of Electron Devices at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg - a concrete example of how academic mobility grows from such encounters.

At Nagoya University, I held extensive discussions with Prof. Hiroshi Amano, Prof. Yoshio Honda, Prof. Daisuke Tomida, Prof. Kentaro Kutsukake, and other researchers. Our conversations ranged from scientific challenges in III-nitride materials and ammonothermal crystal growth to broader strategic questions of long-term cooperation. Two important outcomes emerged from these exchanges. Firstly, a German-Japanese Colloquium will be held in Erlangen (Germany) on “Nitride Semiconductor Materials and Devices”, which has already been approved by the JSPS Bonn Office. Secondly, a joint symposium proposal for the EMRS 2026 Fall Meeting in Warsaw (Poland) entitled “Emerging nitride materials with novel combinations of functional properties – fundamental properties, crystal growth, and prospective applications” has been accepted. The co-organizers are Prof. Hiroshi Amano (Japan), Prof. Bernard Gil (France), and Prof. Izabella Grzegory (Poland). Both events, which are scheduled in close temporal proximity to reduce travel load for participants from Japan, are intended to serve as visible platforms for international cooperation and to further strengthen the German-Japanese research network in the field of advanced materials and devices.

A visit to the “High Pressure Materials Science Group” of Prof. Masashi Hasegawa and Prof. Ken Niwa (Nagoya University) complemented the program in Nagoya. Discussions addressed not only scientific topics, but also structural aspects such as international student exchange and institutional collaboration frameworks.

The fellowship also enabled me to visit my collaborators at their institute at Tohoku University in Sendai. Within this domestic trip, I met members of the group of Prof. Shigefusa F. Chichibu, including Prof. Tohru Ishiguro and Prof. Kohei Shima. During a seminar, I introduced the current development of my Emmy Noether Junior Research Group in Germany and discussed future cooperation opportunities. Furthermore, I met Prof. Akira Yoko for a lab tour including discussions on supercritical fluids and nanoparticles. This led to my role as session chair in a seminar series organized by him within the International Solvothermal and Hydrothermal Association (ISHA). I had the honor of relaunching their seminar series, for which I invited Dr. Tomasz Sochacki and Marek Zak from the Institute of High Pressure Physics in Warsaw, Poland, which initiated lively discussions and significantly increased participation.

Another important stop was Mie University, to which I was invited by Prof. Kazuki Ohnishi. After visiting laboratory facilities for semiconductor characterization and epitaxy, I delivered a lecture to students from several research groups. Beyond presenting my research, I spoke about international mobility, academic career paths, and the value of intercultural experience. A lively exchange with students followed once they had overcome their initial hesitation in speaking English, which seemed to be insightful and a good practice for them.

Following the BRIDGE fellowship, I participated in events marking the 30^th anniversary of the JSPS Club, including the anniversary symposium in Tokyo on “Quantum Physics.” These events vividly demonstrated the breadth of disciplines represented within the alumni community and the long-term impact of JSPS funding. A particular highlight was the joint presentation by JSPS alumni on the stage of the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka (see NvC 3/2025). As a board member of the JSPS Club, I was closely involved in the preparation of this event. We presented examples of German-Japanese cooperation to a broad international audience, with bilingual slides and Japanese language elements as far as feasible for speakers. The presentation was a great opportunity to extend alumni engagement beyond academia and contribute to science communication to the general public.

Looking back, a highly dynamic interplay between research in Japan and Germany, institutional cooperation, and alumni engagement was characteristic of this stay. Now that I have a team in Germany (unlike during my first stay), my evenings were often reserved for online meetings with my team and colleagues in Germany – making good use of the time difference to stay flexible during the day in Japan. As such, both stays were fundamentally different, but the scientific and personal networks were largely based on my initial stay. The current stay further expanded my networks and opened new perspectives. I am deeply grateful to JSPS for making this continued dialogue possible, and I look forward to following up on the various ideas and preliminary plans that came up during or as a result of this visit.

Dr. Tim Bauer is a theoretical physicist specializing in condensed matter and highly frustrated quantum magnetism. In 2025, he received his PhD in physics from Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf and was awarded a short-term JSPS Fellowship hosted by Prof. Yukitoshi Motome at the University of Tokyo. Prior to the start of the fellowship in summer 2025, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie.

During his stay in the amazing city of Tokyo, he investigated non-equilibrium dissipative dynamics in quantum spin liquids under the supervision of Prof. Motome, who is a leading expert in the field. Quantum spin liquids are exotic states of matter that are predicted to emerge in frustrated magnets and are characterized by striking quantum effects. Understanding these phenomena is important both for fundamental physics and for potential applications in robust quantum information processing.

After completing his fellowship in December 2025, Dr. Bauer accepted an ERC-funded postdoctoral position at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. He continues to collaborate with Prof. Motome and looks forward to returning to Japan for conferences and future research visits, with the goal of further strengthening his academic ties with this beautiful country.

Dr. Benjamin Bode is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain. His research interests are topology and knot theory, as well as their applications in singularity theory and theoretical physics. He completed his PhD at the University of Bristol, UK, in 2018.

At a conference in 2016, he met Prof. Mikami Hirasawa from the Nagoya Institute of Technology, who introduced him to Prof. Seiichi Kamada from Osaka City University (at that time) and encouraged them to apply for a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship. The application was successful, and Dr. Bode spent two years in Osaka as a JSPS Postdoc (2018-2020), first at Osaka City University (now Osaka Metropolitan University) and then at Osaka University.

Many physical systems can contain knotted curves in one way or another. For example, the field lines of a magnetic field can form closed knotted loops. Dr. Bode obtained several theoretical results on the existence and mathematical construction of such configurations. His findings have been presented at numerous workshops and conferences both in Japan and abroad.

After his time in Japan, he moved to Madrid as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow and is now an Assistant Professor. He maintains ties to researchers in Japan and made short research visits to Nagoya and Osaka in 2023.

As a member of the JSPS Club, he hopes to meet like-minded people and promote international research collaboration.

Dr. Jonas Kiemel studied Electrical Engineering at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His academic path has been shaped by a deep interest in robotics and artificial intelligence. In his research, Jonas focuses on the safety aspects of robot motion generation, developing methods that prevent safety violations when using neural networks to generate robot movements. With this work, he hopes to contribute to making humanoid robots safe and accessible to everyone.

Before his JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship at Osaka University, Jonas Kiemel gained international research experience through visits to New York University and Seoul National University. His connection with Japan began long before the fellowship. He first met his host, Prof. Erhan Öztop, during a conference in Okinawa in 2022, and Japan’s strong position in robotics research, together with his personal passion for Japanese culture, motivated him to apply for the JSPS Fellowship.

During his stay in Japan, he had the pleasure of meeting many JSPS Club members at the 30^th Anniversary Symposium in Tokyo. He also appreciated the networking opportunities through the Club, such as the EJEA (European Japan Experts Association) Conference in Nagano and joint events with the European researchers' associations of the F.I.D.ES Group (European Science organizations in Japan).

After returning to Germany, Jonas Kiemel plans to deepen his collaborations with Osaka University and other Japanese research institutions to further strengthen the research ties between the two countries.

Joshua Schulte is a Master’s student in Biochemistry at the University of Heidelberg. He first experienced Japanese research culture during his undergraduate studies at Tohoku University, where he investigated genome stability in yeast within the laboratory of Prof. Chihiro Horigome. This formative experience led him to return to Japan for his Master’s research, joining Prof. Noriko Saitoh’s group at the Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR) in Tokyo. His recent work has focused on the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), specifically the ELEANOR group, and their interaction with the ESR1 super-enhancer in the context of breast cancer dormancy and late recurrence.

In the summer of 2025, Joshua Schulte was awarded a JSPS Summer Program fellowship, allowing him to pivot toward translational research. Under the mentorship of Prof. Ryohei Katayama at the Chemotherapy Center of JFCR, he studied resistance mechanisms in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. This fellowship provided a crucial link between his background in basic cancer biology and the clinical challenges of cancer resistance.

Starting in October 2026, Joshua will begin his PhD at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. Joining the laboratory of Prof. Michaela Frye, he will investigate RNA modifications in collaboration with Prof. Monika Gullerova at the University of Oxford. His doctoral research aims to bridge the fields of RNA biology and genome maintenance, maintaining the international collaborative spirit fostered during his time in Japan.

What does it take to be recognised as a Japanese-speaking member of society in contemporary Japan? How do couples negotiate linguistic identities as part of their relationship? How do norms of linguistic correctness operate in online communication spaces? How are fictionalised registers of video game characters created? What role does tourism play in the reclamation of Indigenous languages? The study of communication extends far beyond language as a system or the analysis of spoken language in face-to-face settings. It encompasses the dynamic interplay between individuals employing language and other semiotic resources across diverse social and spatial contexts. In Japan’s late modern society, shared ideologies can no longer be taken for granted. This, in turn, requires researchers to adopt new methods focusing on interaction, micro-perspectives, and ethnographic participation.

Divided into three larger sections, the book features the following chapters:

Ideologies of Communication in Japan: An Introduction and Overview (Florian Grosser, Patrick Heinrich, Saana Santalahti)

I. International encounters

1. Constructing the “seikatsusha” through Japanese as a Second Language: Ideologies of Communication in Language Education Policy and Locally Produced Learning Materials (Riikka Länsisalmi)
2. The Impact of Monolingual Bias on Beliefs about Unwanted Code-Switching: L2 Japanese Speakers and Language Ideologies (Jae DiBello Takeuchi)
3. Emotion, Competence, and Context in a Multilingual Relationship: A Metapragmatic Perspective (Florian Grosser)
4. Monolingual Approach and Multilingual Learners: A New Phase of Japanese Language Education Policy (Kayoko Hashimoto)
5. Ameyoko Shopping Street in Tokyo: Urban Space as an Ideological Palimpsest (Patrick Heinrich)

II. Mediated representations

6. Orthography, Identity, and Ideology: Script and Social Conflict in Post-War Japan (Wes Robertson)
7. Normative Practices of Linguistic Correction on Hatsugen Komachi: A Corpus-Assisted Approach to (Meta)discourses around Linguistic “Mistakes” (Eugenia Diegoli)
8. Enregisterment, Indexicality, and Iconization in Contemporary Japanese Fictionalised Orality: Creativity of Independent Game Developers in Written Video Game Dialogue (Lorenzo Moretti)
9. Language Ideologies and Gender Stereotypes: Representation of Adult Masculine Speech in the Japanese Dub of the American Series Never Have I Ever (Francesco Vitucci)

III. Minoritized communities

10. Ableism toward Language by People with Disabilities: The Relationship between the Body and Ideology (Takeshi Nakashima)
11. “Sowing Seeds of Knowledge for Future Generations”: Possibilities to Empower Ainu Language and People through Tourism (Saana Santalahti)
12. Questioning, Challenging, and Reformulating Dominant Language Ideologies in Japan: The Cases of Ainu and Uchinaaguchi (Yumiko Ohara)

Conclusions: The creation and contestation of difference (Saana Santalahti, Florian Grosser, Patrick Heinrich)

Published: Patrick Heinrich, Florian Grosser & Saana Santalahti (eds.) (2015), 226 pages, ISBN: 9781800419247