Report on the 17th EAJS International Conference 2023 in Ghent, Belgium
1. Time and place
The conference took place 17 August – 20 August 2023. The main activities, sections panels andpresentations as well as scientific events were held at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent
University, Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Ghent.
The conference was held in hybrid format. All sessions could be attended and papers could be given
either in person or via Zoom.
2. Conference schedule
The conference started on 17 August with an opening ceremony in the Aula Academica of Ghent
University. Welcoming remarks were held by the outgoing EAJS President, Prof. Dr. Verena BlechingerTalcott, the rector of Ghent University, Prof. Dr. Rik Van den Walle, the mayor of Ghent, Mathias DeClercq, Japanese Ambassador to Belgium, H.E. Masahiro Mikami, the Vice-President of the JapanFoundation, Dr. Yuri Sato and the President of the Toshiba International Foundation, Keisuke Omori.
The opening remarks were concluded by welcoming words by the head of the Japanese Studies
department and head of the local organization team and newly elected EAJS President Prof. Dr.
Andreas Niehaus.
The welcoming remarks were followed by a keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Shigeto Sonoda of theUniversity of Tokyo. The opening ceremony was concluded by a reception in the aula of Ghent
University.
All conference presentations and panels took place on days 2 - 4 (18 – 20 August 2023) of theconference from 9:00 to 17:30 CEST.
The EAJS General Assembly was held on 20 August, also in hybrid format.
The full conference schedule can be found at https://eajs.eu/2023-programme/#timetable.
3. Participants
Total number of registrations: 1122, of which 884 (79%) attended in person and 238 (21%) online.
3.1. Country of residence of participants
In total, 1122 participants from 45 countries attended the conference. Most of the participants werefrom Japan, but the United Kingdom, USA, Germany, Belgium and Italy were also strongly represented.
The percentage distribution by country of residence of the participants is shown below. It was thelargest Belgian participation ever at an EAJS Conference.
CountryJapan
United Kingdom
USA
Germany
BelgiumItaly
The Netherlands
FranceNo. of delegates
482102979258432825

Share of delegates
43,0%
9,1%
8,6%
8,2%
5,2%
3,8%2,5%
2,2%

Switzerland

242,1%

SpainAustria
Hungary
Australia
Czech RepublicHong Kong
SwedenCanadaFinland
China
Israel
NorwayDenmark
Ireland
PolandTurkeyCroatia
Estonia
Philippines
Romania
RussiaSlovenia
UkraineArmenia
Bangladesh
Bulgaria
GreeceIndonesia
LatviaNew ZealandPortugal
SerbiaSingapore
South Africa
South Korea
TaiwanTotal

23121099998
877
76
66
6
42
22222
1
11111
111111
11122

2,0%
1,1%
0,9%
0,8%
0,8%
0,8%
0,8%
0,7%
0,7%
0,6%
0,6%
0,6%
0,5%
0,5%
0,5%
0,5%
0,4%
0,2%
0,2%
0,2%
0,2%
0,2%
0,2%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%
0,1%

3.2. Active participants
During the Call for Panels and Papers 387 individual papers were submitted, 310 were accepted; 127
preorganized panels were submitted, 106 were accepted. In total, 713 papers were presented at theconference.

24. Registration data
There were two registration periods: early bird and late registration. Registration opened on 15 May2023. In total, 1,122 delegates registered. Of these, 785 (70%) had registered within the early bird
period by 26 June 2023.
Registration Option

Rate (EB/late) No.

%

F2F: Non-member

345

938%

F2F: Member (high income)

305

253

23%

F2F: Member (medium income)

235

239

21%

F2F: Member (low income)

175

141

13%

F2F: Member (student)

135

154

14%

Online: Non-member

235

303%

Online: Member (high income)

195

535%

Online: Member (medium income) 160

686%

Online: Member (low income)

135

545%

Online: Member (student)

105

373%

Total

1122

Registration numbers for early and late registrations are shown combined, as there was no realdifference between them in terms of income categories or mode of participation. As a rule, nonmembers tend to register late and colleagues who register for the low-income category tend to register
early.
5. Fee waivers and Conference Grants
5.1. Fee waivers• 3 representatives of the City of Ghent;• 3 representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Belgium;• 2 representatives of Ghent University;• 18 representatives of the Japan Foundation;• 1 representative of the Toshiba International Foundation;• 4 representatives of sponsoring companies (2 from Daikin Industries and 2 from DuvelMoortgat Brewery);• The keynote speaker;• 6 members of the local organizing committee;• The 28 sections convenors;• 11 members of the EAJS Council;• 3 staff members of the EAJS Office;• 10 members of the AJE;
• 23 participants of the 19th EAJS PhD Workshop;• 4 editorial board members of Japanese Studies Journals;• 1 Journalist.
5.2. Conference Grants
45 scholars, mostly at the beginning of their careers, who demonstrated their financial need, received
a Conference Grant, i.e. a waiver of conference fee and/or partial coverage of their travel costs.

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6. Companies and institutions exhibiting at the conference
The conference was supported by the attendance of several exhibitors:• Amsterdam University Press• Combined Academic Publishers• Japanese Archaeological Association• Kurosio Publishers• Liverpool University Press• Monumenta Nipponica• Roellin Books• Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC)• The Japan Times, Ltd.
• Verasia Bookstoresd
7. Funding for the conference was provided by:• The Japan Foundation;• The Toshiba International Foundation;• FWO (Flemish Research Foundation);• The University of Ghent;• The City of Ghent;• Daikin Industries;• Duvel Moortgat Brewery.
8. Events and meetings in connection to the conference
8.1 Special Japanese studies related events before and during the conference• Workshop “Creating ‘ethical bodies’ in health cultivation and medical texts”, 15 and 16 August• Workshop “Text Resources at Work: Public Tools and Educational Projects at Kokubunken(NIJL)”, 17 August• Joint EAJS-EACJS Panel “The Future of Japanese Studies from a European and AsianPerspective”, 17 and 18 August• Workshop “The Art of Herding Cats” on academic presentations, 17 August• Kimono exhibition “Kimono today”, 17-24 August• Japanese Garden Concert, 18 August• EAJS-TIFO Alumni reception, 18 August• Film festival "Japanese Margins" from 18-20 August• EAJS Panel “Publishing in peer-reviewed Journals”, 19 August• Research Workshop “Religious Space: Power, Worship, and Image in Medieval Japan”, 21August
8.2 Other meetings during the conference• EAJS General Meeting• Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe, AJE, General Meeting• JAWS (Japan Anthropology Workshop) Business meeting• BAJS (British Association for Japanese Studies) Annual General Meeting
9. Conference program
An overview of all papers, panels and special events can be found athttps://eajs.eu/2023-programme/#all
10. Volunteers
39 students worked as volunteers in shifts during the entire conference. They provided valuableguidance and technical support, especially to ensure that the hybrid sessions ran smoothly.
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