Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
San Francisco Vo l u m e X X I V I s s u e J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

EVENTS OF FALL 2011
Symposium with Stanford University“Japanese Imperial Maps as Sources for East Asian History: A
Symposium on the History and Future of the Gaihōzu.”On 7‐9 October, the JSPS San Francisco held a jointly sponsored symposiumwith Stanford University on the theme “Japanese Imperial Maps as Sources for
East Asian History: A Symposium on the History and Future of the Gaihōzu.”Venued on the university’s campus, the symposium u lized the set of maps,
called gaihozu, produced in mainly the 1930s and 40s for the purpose ofJapan’s colonial rule in the Asia‐Pacific region. Many of them had recently beenfound in a state of disarray at Stanford University.

Inside this issue
Events of Fall

1-4

Visit JSPS Fellows

5

The Office Staff

6

SwitchBay Area & Japan
Related News :7-10“Kyushu University”“Tokyo Metropolitan
University”“Tokyo institute ofTechnology”

The aim of the symposium was to use “Osaka University”
these maps as valuable source material
across a spectrum of fields (e.g., history, Interview with JSPS 11
geography, environmental science) in ex‐ Fellows in the U.S. :ploring the modern history of rela on‐ Dr. Sayumi Yamazoeships between Japan and other Asian
countries. Japanese specialists in gaihozu
research and American and Japanesescholars in modern Japan‐Asia history
presented reports on their research andengaged each other in lively discussions.
A closed workshop was also held inwhich map librarians at Stanford report‐
ed on their work with the archived maps
and Taiwanese researchers, who arecompiling a gaihozu database, described
their eﬀorts to create a geographic infor‐
ma on system (GIS) using the gaihozu
collec on. The par cipants discussed en‐thusias cally possibili es of ini a ng
joint research, culmina ng the event on
an op mis c note.

2001 Addison Street, Suite 260
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Questions or Feedback?
Email: jspssf@jspsusa-sf.org
JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 2EVENTS OF FALL 2011
The 18th Gathering of JSPS Japanese Fellows in Boston
The JSPS San Francisco Oﬃce holds what it calls “Gatherings of JSPS Japanese Fellows.” This confabula on is held
three mes each year, one of them for researchers residing in the
East Coast, while the rest are held at JSPS SF Oﬃce for research‐ers residing in the West Coast.
The 18th such gathering was held on October 28th in Boston,and a ended by 25 fellows under both JSPS’s Research Fellow‐
ships for Young Scien sts and Postdoctoral Fellowships for Re‐
search Abroad along with other Japanese researchers laboring in
the U.S. Among them, two researchers came all the way from
California to join the gathering. Also, seven members of JSPS’s
Tokyo headquarters and San Francisco Oﬃce a ended thismee ng.
Oﬃce director Dr. Seishi Takeda opened the mee ng with welcoming
remarks, followed by Mr. Isao Oshiro, head of JSPS Research Fellowship
Division, who gave a briefing on JSPS fellowships for Japanese doctoraland postdoctoral researchers. Next Ms. Mariko Yanagita, who works for
the Consulate‐General of Japan in Boston, introduced their ac vi es to
the Japanese researchers. Then the par cipants introduced themselves
and their research ac vi es, each presenta on delivered in a personallyunique and crea ve fashion. They formed collegial es with each otherby asking ques ons about the research fields presented while exchang‐ing views, including their experiences of living and doing research in the
U.S. As a result, they appreciated that this mee ng provided a good opportunity to meet other researchers, because it
can be hard to get to know each other even while conduc ng research at the same university in the U.S.
The gathering gave the young Japanese researchers dispatched to the U.S. under JSPS fellowship programs an oppor‐
tunity to build mutual networks, which will be valuable in strengthening exchange among them not only while residingin the U.S. but even a er they return to Japan. Believing such opportuni es to be very meaningful, JSPS will con nue
to proac vely support them in the future as well.

The 19th Gathering of Japanese Fellows on January 27th
JSPS San Francisco will hold the 19th Gathering of JSPS Japanese Fellows on January 27th. This
time we will hold the gathering in Berkeley, CA. We are looking forward to a lot of researchers’
participation!!

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 3

EVENTS OF FALL 2011
The 7th Meeting for University Administration Officers in the U.S.
JSPS San Francisco held the 7th mee ng for university administra on oﬃcers in the U.S. on November
4th. Its primary purpose is to exchange informa on and establish a network between administra on oﬃcers
from Japanese universi es and educa onal ins tu ons.
This me, focusing on “the future prospec ve of the Japanese administra ve staﬀ”, Koichiro Aoshima,a coordinator at the Interna onal Student Services &Outreach, Oﬃce of Interna onal Programs (OIP) at San
Francisco State University (SFSU), was invited as a guest speaker. SFSU is part of the 23‐campus California
State University (CSU) system and about 1500 interna onal students from more than 100 countries study at
SFSU. OIP supports interna onal students who would like to apply to SF State and also who are already stu‐
dents at SFSU to get accustomed to life in the U.S. Mr. Aoshima originally came from Japan to study at SFSU
and has worked in this field since he started a ending SFSU. Other than suppor ng the interna onal stu‐
dents at SFSU, one of his main tasks is recrui ng foreign students as well.
Through his engaging lecture on his experiences in his field and the decision‐making system in his
oﬃce, par cipants discussed what they have learned through the comparison between U.S. universi es
and Japanese universi es. And also, through awareness of these diﬀerences, discussed how an ideal uni‐
versity staﬀ should support their university. The par cipants, staﬀ from Fukuoka Ins tute of Technology,
Kyushu University, Tohoku University, University of Tokyo, High Energy Accelerator Research Organiza on,
Tokyo University of Science, Osaka University, Shimane University, Hokkaido University and Ministry of Edu‐
ca on, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology（MEXT) engaged each other in lively discussion and ex‐changed opinions amongst each other. JSPS San Francisco would like to con nue mee ngs like this in the
future so that par cipants can reflect on the diﬀerences and similari es between U.S. and Japanese universi‐
es, thus gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be a produc ve university administrator.

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 4EVENTS OF FALL 2011
JSPS San Francisco joins“Asia Research Funding Workshop” at UCDavis
On 17 November, JSPS San Francisco joined the workshop, “Asia
Research Funding Workshop” held at UC Davis. Two ins tu ons, theConsulate General of the People’s Republic of China and JSPS SF pre‐sented at the workshop which began with an introduc on by William B.
Lacy, Vice Provost University Outreach & Interna onal Programs Oﬃcesof the Chancellor and Provost, University of California Davis.
JSPS SF introduced their fellow‐
ship programs and following that,
two UC Davis students talked about
their wonderful experience in Japan while they were on the JSPS Sum‐
mer Program. A ended by over 40 par cipants, there were many ques‐ons about fellowship programs and the life in each country as well.
JSPS SF encourages as many researchers as possible to enjoy a wonder‐
ful research experience in Japan and firmly believes that it will lead tostronger academic partnerships between the U.S. and Japan.

Message from William B. Lacy, Vice Provost University Outreach & International Programs
Offices of the Chancellor and Provost, University of California DavisJapanese universities have been major partners with UC Davis
primarily because of the quality and excellence of the students andfaculty. We have developed formal partnerships and agreementsof cooperation with 20 of the leading Japanese universities. Over
200 students and another 200 scholars from Japan attend classes
and collaborate with our scientists each year. We look forward toenhancing and strengthening these important educational and scientific relationships.

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 5

VISIT JSPS FELLOWSJSPS staffs visited the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellows for Research Abroad at MIT
On October 28, two of the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellows for Research Abroad at MIT received a visit from Head Isao
Oshiro, Research Fellowship Division, Administra on Department of JSPS, along with four other staﬀ members. In theinterviews, the young scholars both expressed that they found their research life in the US gra fying.
Dr. Yutaka Yawata, whose research theme is “Microfluidic tech‐
nology‐based measuring system for CO2 produc on velocity of ma‐rine biofilms”, was the one whom the visitors met first. He wasthriving in a rather laid‐back environment of an MIT laboratory,
since he was used to foreign cultures having par cipated in several
interna onal conferences as early as in his undergraduate years.
Being an emerging researcher, interes ngly enough he men oned,“I would tell young people to think very cau ously about going on
to a doctoral course,
before thinking ofresearch abroad.”
But smiling, he added, “Only those who never give up can choose thiscareer,” and he did seem he very much enjoyed the path he took so far.

The visitors next interviewed Dr. Ryuma Niiyama, whose research
theme is “Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal Robot and its Applica on to
Cyberne c Device.” While one of the reasons he came to the U.S. was tohone his English skills so that he could discuss his ideas with his colleagues
in the interna onal research community, he now appreciates the environ‐ment where he can connect with dis nguished researchers and create
new robots freely. As a ma er of fact, the laboratory where he worked
was filled with many kinds of mysterious machines. Yet the highlight ofthe mee ng with Dr. Niiyama
was the video image of his
signature robot; the visitors
could not help but be wowed
when the mechanical cat legs
jumped as naturally as theanimal does!

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 6

THE OFFICE STAFF SWITCHJSPS San Francisco Wishes a Heartfelt Farewell to two Members

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto , an Adviser from MEXT
Mr. Yamamoto stayed in California for two years as an Advisor to JSPS San
Francisco.
During his stay, he mainly advised and supported JSPS SF to improve our many
ac vi es. Moreover, he did research on the educa on system in the U.S., es‐
pecially within the state of California by visi ng UC campuses, conduc ng in‐terviews about university opera ons, and a ending various mee ngs and sem‐inars related to post‐secondary educa on. He visited a lot of elementary andsecondary schools as well. He compared the educa on system between Japanand the U.S. and exchanged a lot of informa on related to educa on withpeople who are from various areas.
What he thought most important during his me here is the network ofpeople. Reflec ng back on his first visit to California two years ago, he recalls
he had no acquaintances at all. Now, he is surrounded and supported by a large network of people. He said he could
complete his work here thanks to the support from the staﬀ of JSPS SF and the people whom he met during his stay.
Now, he wants to use his experiences here to enhance his work in the Japanese government by suppor ng the Jap‐
anese educa on system a er returning to Japan.
From the JSPS SF staﬀ, we appreciate your warm support on many points and we wish you all the best of luck inyour future endeavors!

Chihiro Akatsu, the new Deputy Director of TUS San Francisco Office
Chihiro Akatsu is the 6th deputy chief of the TUS (Tokyo Universityof Science) San Francisco oﬃce. She has worked for TUS for 4 and ahalf years at the Oﬃce of Science and Technology, Noda Campus, pri‐or to working for the San Francisco oﬃce. This is actually the second
me for her to stay in a foreign country; she studied for a year at auniversity in London as an exchange student in the past. However,this is s ll a good opportunity for her to see universi es in the US
from the viewpoint of an administra ve staﬀ, instead of a student.
During her stay, she hopes to visit various educa onal and researchfacili es around the Bay area, and to meet as many people as possible
to expand her view. She is glad that UC Berkeley is near her oﬃce.
She would like to have lunch breaks on campus, watching students and seeing many events there. She also looks for‐ward to enjoying her life in Berkeley.

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

BAY AREA & JAPAN RELATED NEWS

Page 7

Kyushu University
International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research(I2CNER)On Saturday, November 12th, I2CNER hosted the first All‐WPI (World
Premier Interna onal Research Center Ini a ve) Research Center
Joint Symposium. The event, which was developed as a means to in‐
troduce cu ng edge science to younger genera ons, was themed“Leading Science and Your Future.” The response was overwhelmingly
posi ve, with 623 par cipants, many of whom were high school stu‐
dents.
The day oﬃcially began with some remarks from Setsuo Arikawa, President of Kyushu University, a keynote
lecture presented by Toshio Kuroki, WPI Program Director, followed by six WPI research center presenta ons(AIMR, IPMU, iCeMS, IFReC, MANA and I2CNER) who each introduced their center’s research. The lectures
drew great a en on and par cipants eagerly listened to each speaker’s presenta on.
A er the center presenta ons, twelve high school students and each of the seven speakers engaged in apanel discussion, which was led by Ms. Hiroko Edahiro, an environmental journalist. Time was also set aside
to provide the audience with a chance to ask ques ons of the presenters.
The day concluded with an opportunity for the par cipants to view the booths that each center developed
and allowed the opportunity for the high school students to personally meet and engage the WPI speakers
and staﬀ.
The symposium was a fantas c opportunity to publicize the WPI program and its goals to the public.

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 8BAY AREA & JAPAN RELATED NEWSTokyo Metropolitan University"Nagasaki Archive" and "Hiroshima Archive" Send out Memories of A-BombSuffering to the World via Web Communities
Hidenori Watanave Laboratory, Graduate School of System Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University

Hiroshima Archive

The East Japan Earthquake Archive

August this year saw the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fu‐
kushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, however, have made this summer quite diﬀerent from usual years.
Sixty‐six years ago, atomic bombs brought catastrophic disaster to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devasta ng each city in a
moment, killing and injuring vast numbers of people, and, even now, aﬄic ng many atomic bomb survivors, or hiba‐
kusha (survivors of A‐bomb), with radia on damage. Fears of radia on damage a ributable to the nuclear accident inMarch this year, and Japan’s rehabilita on eﬀorts from the great earthquake and tsunami disaster, vividly remind us
how Japan rebuilt itself from the atomic bomb disasters and the destruc on of World War II.
On July 23, 2010, we created a website "Nagasaki Archive." We came up with this project to send out to the world
and pass on to future genera ons the memories of the atomic bombing. Making much use of the most advanced digi‐tal technology including Google Earth, a digital globe, and Twi er, we thought, “We have to keep the historical evi‐
dence.” On July 10 of this year, we also opened a "Hiroshima Archive."
If you click on the Hiroshima Archive, the picture of each hibakusha and his/her narra ve appears on a three‐dimensional map, showing you where he/she was at the me the bomb fell. You can also follow how Hiroshima haschanged from the me of the bombing to the present through rehabilita on, as the past and present photos of Hiro‐shima are shown in a mul layered way.
These two archives objec vely let you know what actually happened and what evidence s ll remains in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. The archives will be con nually built up over a long period of me collec ng data. The narra ves of sur‐viving witnesses are very convincing. As the archives have English pages, they will surely make+‐the most eﬀec ve tool in this age of the Internet in dissemina ng the experiences of the atomic bombing to the pre‐sent and future genera ons of the world and in enabling the younger genera on to ponder upon war and learn
about the atomic bombings once again.
The original purpose of the archives was to ins ll the devasta ng reality of the atomic bombings to the younger
genera ons, but the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear accident have changed themission of the archives completely. We are also developing "The East Japan Earthquake Archive." with the same de‐sign method as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Archives.
Hiroshima Archive: h p://hiroshima.mapping.jp/
Nagasaki Archive: h p://e.nagasaki.mapping.jp/
The East Japan Earthquake Archive: h p://e.nagasaki.mapping.jp/p/japan‐earthquake.html(You need to plug in to use Google Earth)
JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

BAY AREA & JAPAN RELATED NEWS

Page 9

Tokyo Tech students rank in the top 10% and win the iGEMers Prize
iGEM (The Interna onal Gene cally Engineered Machine Compe on) is a worldwide synthe c biology
compe on aimed at undergraduate university students. Standardized biological parts called BioBricks areprovided to the student teams and they compete by presen ng their design and formula on of a new biolog‐
ical system.
Following the iGEM 2011 Regional Jamboree–Asia held in mid‐October, the iGEM World Championship
Jamboree was held at Massachuse s Ins tute of Technology from November 5th to 7th. Three teams from Ja‐
pan who won at the Regional Jamboree–Asia including the team from Tokyo Tech par cipated in the WorldChampionship Jamboree.
As a result of the review by a jury that consisted of university teachers, Tokyo Tech’s team was selected as
being in the top 16, making them the top 10% among the 160 par cipants. In addi on to this evalua on, To‐
kyo Tech received the iGEMers Prize, an award voted for by the par cipa ng students. The achievements
therefore show appraisements of high ability by both teachers and students.
Tokyo Ins tute of Technology has won the gold medal at this compe on five years in a row. Among all
the par cipa ng teams, only 5 universi es, Tokyo Tech, UC Berkeley, Imperial College London, the Universityof Edinburgh and the University of Freiburg have this record.
Comments from the students‐ It has been a challenging six months but I have gained a lot of skill and knowledge. Above all, it was agreat event to devote my extra me to during the long summer vaca on. And also this is a rare opportuni‐
ty to do research under such a unique theme.
‐ I used my youth and passion as fuel over the summer!
‐ I experienced far more than I imagined at iGEM. Not only obtaining skills, but also, I gained confidence anda strong ambi on.
‐ Now, a er this experience overseas, I have started to consider studying abroad.
‐ It was an amazing experience to mix with students from all over the world. We usually don’t have such op‐
portuni es in our undergraduate years. I advise Tokyo Tech students to join this event.
For details of iGEM: h p://2011.igem.org/Jamborees
For details of the Tokyo Tech project: h p://2011.igem.org/
Team:Tokyo_Tech

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Page 10BAY AREA & JAPAN RELATED NEWS

Science Cafe Events for the FIRST Program: AKIRA Project
The Funding Program for World‐Leading Innova ve R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST Program) wasestablished by the Cabinet Oﬃce, Government of Japan, for the purpose of enhancing Japan’s interna onal
compe veness and capabili es and using research achievements to benefit the Japanese people and socie‐ty.
The research project, tled “Comprehensive understanding of immune dynamism: toward manipula on of
immune responses (AKIRA Project)” being conducted under the leadership of Prof. Shizuo Akira, Director of
Immunology Fron er Research Center (IFReC), Osaka University, was selected as one of 30 cu ng‐edge re‐search projects for the FIRST Program. The AKIRA Project was launched in March 2010 and will end in March2014 and aims to achieve a greater understanding of the immune system and control of immune responses
by elucida ng dynamic mechanisms of innate and acquired immunity through collabora on between re‐searchers in the fields of immunology, biological imaging and bioinforma cs.
Star ng in 2010, a series of “science cafe” eventswere held as part of the AKIRA Project outreach ac vi‐
es with the aim of introducing the research ac vi es
and achievements to the general public. A total of eightworld‐class researchers, including Prof. Akira, spoke ateach event introducing their respec ve research ac vi‐
es. Recent events were held in Osaka on October 27th
and November 19th with the sub‐project leaders of the
AKIRA Project Prof. Fuyuhiko Inagaki (Faculty of Ad‐
vanced Life Science, Hokkaido University) and Prof.
Kenta Nakai (The Ins tute of Medical Science, The Uni‐
versity of Tokyo) as guest speakers respec vely.
Science Cafe Event with Prof. Shizuo Akira

Prof. Inagaki, who is an expert of structural biology,(January 18th, 2011)
explained how altera ons in protein func ons arecaused by flexible changes in the protein structure aswell as the features of nuclear magne c resonance (NMR) used to inves gate protein structures. Meanwhile,
Prof. Nakai, who is a specialist of computa onal analysis of genome sequences, spoke about methods of ana‐lyzing molecular interac ons based on molecular biology from the standpoint of a computer scien st. At
each event, an ac ve ques on and answer session was held, with around 40 par cipants engaged in directtalks with each guest speaker about the latest topic in their respec ve research fields. More “science cafe”
events are scheduled to be held with other sub‐project leaders and sub‐project members of the AKIRA Pro‐
ject.

JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011

Interview with JSPS Fellow in the U.S.

Page 11

Dr. Sayumi Yamazoe
2005: B.S., College of Agrobiological Resource Sciences, University of Tsukuba
2006: M.S., College of Agrobiological Resource Sciences, University of Tsukuba
2007-2010: JSPS Research Fellow (DC1)/Ph.D.candidate, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto
University
2010: Ph.D., Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
2010-2011: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at School of Medicine, Stanford University
2011-present: JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow at School of Medicine, Stanford University

zebrafish and organic chemistry, which
to work at Stanford University as a
Sayumi Yamazoe was born andI have very limited experience. My
postdoctoral fellow.
raised in Shiga, Japan. She attended
supervisor assists me by giving me very
The University of Tsukuba; obtaining
practical and precise advice. With thisher Master's degree in the field of Ag- Q2: What is your impression of theinformation, I am able to achieve proricultural Chemistry and studying bioac- research environment in the U.S.?
fessional experience in both research
How is it different from your lab intive molecules in medicinal plants.
fields at the same time. Also, my English
While working on her research project, Japan?
I have worked in only two laborato- is very limited, but a long stay in theshe recognized how powerful chemicals
can be used as tools for biological re- ries in Japan for extended periods of U.S. gives me a great opportunity tosearch. With this knowledge, she decid- time. The most obvious difference to me improve my language skills.
is that in the U.S., there are no partition
ed to pursue her Ph.D. degree in thewalls between adjacent laboratories. I Q4: What is your dream? And do you
chemical biology laboratory of Prof.
think there are several advantages to have any advice about doing reMotonari Uesugi at Kyoto University.
During her studies at Kyoto University, this. First, we can get to know each oth- search abroad for young researchers?
I owe my current laboratory life to
Sayumi completed a cell-based pheno- er better because there are more
typic screen for small molecules, result- chances to talk individually with people many people including current and foring in the discovery of an organic com- from different laboratories. Second,mer supervisors, co-workers, and famiwe can easily share the experimental
pound that affects cell adhesion andly. If I could acquire knowledge andinstruments. I received great benefit
other biological processes. As a postexpertise and could do something forfrom this. I was able to get opinions
doctoral fellow in Professor James K.
them, I would be very happy.
Chen’s laboratory at Stanford Universi- and ideas from people with different
backgrounds and also a chance to do aty, she hopes to apply her chemical
biology training to study zebrafish de- collaboration project. We have common “break rooms”, which people fromvelopment.
several laboratories can use for lunch
or coffee breaks. There are many other
Q1: Why did you choose the U.S. toopportunities to get to know potential
pursue your research?
During my doctoral course, I had the collaborators through conferences,meetings, and parties open to reopportunity to visit Baylor College ofsearchers with various research fields.
Medicine in Houston, Texas. While
working on experiments in the lab, I
Q3: What merits do you derive fromwas impressed with the department’s
conducting your research in the U.S.?
structure; including laboratory set-up,
The principal investigator of my lamanagement’s ideas, and people’s attitude towards experiments. One week boratory, Dr. James K. Chen, has extensive experience in both zebrafish
was not enough time to fully appreciate these differences. I wondered if I developmental biology and organic
would ever get the opportunity to work chemistry.
There are many experienced researchin a laboratory in the United States.
ers in each field, but there are few
My former supervisor, Dr. Motonari
Uesugi, encouraged me to experience people who have knowledge and techniques in both. My current project reworking in an American laboratory.
With his guidance, I got the opportunity quires techniques working with both
JSPSSFNewsletter/Vol.24/December 2011