10

Kobe University
Brussels European Centre Symposium
Jointly organised with Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Open Science, Evolving Societies:
New Horizons for EU-Japan Research
Date: 22 October 2019

Preface
I am pleased to present this report on the 10th Kobe University Brussels European Centre (KUBEC)
Symposium “Open Science, Evolving Societies: New Horizons for EU-Japan Research", which washeld in Brussels on 22 October 2019. KUBEC has been holding an annual symposium in Brussels
since its establishment in 2010. Since then, we have succeeding in expanding our academic
network in Europe and raising the proﬁle of Kobe University and other Japanese universities. To
further our partnership with Europe, we place a high emphasis on holding academic workshops
and seminars at KUBEC or at partner institutions as well as the annual symposium in Brussels,
featuring guest speakers from both European institutions and Japanese universities.
This year marked the forth time that the symposium was held in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where KUBEC is located. In July 2015 KUBEC relocated to the internationaloﬃce buildings of VUB in order to fulﬁl its role as a base for international collaboration in education and research between Japan, Belgium, and Europe at large. This symposium is part of ourinitiative to strengthen collaboration with European partner universities and to further foster
joint research between Japan and Europe. This year, Kobe University welcomed participantsfrom Japanese and European organisations including the Delegation of the European Union to
Japan and the European Commission in order to bring in the perspectives of policymakers on thepartnership between Japan and Europe.
The theme of the 10th symposium, “Open Science, Evolving Societies: New Horizons for EU-Japan
Research", focused on the shared challenges Japanese and European societies face as they
pursue future development. The latest research results were introduced by both Japanese andEuropean researchers in ‘Economics’ addressing the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) andthe SPA (Strategic Partnership Agreement), ‘Natural Sciences’ for Food systems for quality, safety
and functionality, and ‘Social Sciences and Humanities’ covering cultural heritages. We hope thisexchange of knowledge will lead to future collaboration using advanced theories and technology. Furthermore, welcoming prominent researchers from around the world, we also discussed
perspectives on interdisciplinary research and education with regard to pressing global issues.
As a result of this symposium, collaborative projects and establishing a consortium are underdiscussion or have already begun. This event has strongly cemented Kobe University’s presencein Europe and contributed to expanding Kobe University’s academic exchange network toenhance Japanese and European research collaboration for the betterment of our societies.

President
Kobe University

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The 10th Anniversary Kobe University Brussels European Centre Symposium

Open Science, Evolving Societies:
New Horizons for EU-Japan Research
Organised jointly with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Tuesday 22 October 2019
Vrije Universiteit Brussels

Opening
Moderator
Opening Addresses

9:15-10:00(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM A)
Prof. Kazunari Sakai, Kobe University (Japan)
Prof. Hiroshi Takeda, President, Kobe University (Japan)
Prof. Romain Meeusen, Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
H.E. Mr. Kazuo Kodama, Ambassador of Japan to the European Union (Japan)
Mr. Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General, DG RTD, European Commission (EU)

Parallel Session 1: Economics

10:00-13:30(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM A)

EU ‒JAPAN EPA AND SPA: JOINING FORCES FOR A RULE-BASED INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER
Theme 1: EU-Japan EPA: A New Paradigm for International Trade
Theme 2: What next for EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)?

Parallel Session 2: Natural Sciences
FOOD SYSTEMS FOR QUALITY, SAFETY AND FUNCTIONALITY

10:00-13:30(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM B)
10:00-12:00
12:20-13:30

Theme 1: Food Systems for Quality and Safety
Theme 2: Food Systems for Functionality

Parallel Session 3: Social Sciences and Humanities

10:00-13:30(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM C)PRESERVING THE PAST, CELEBRATING THE PRESENT, EMBRACING THE FUTURE:
A NEW AGE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE RESEARCH IN EU AND JAPAN

Theme 1: Celebrating the Present, Embracing the Future: Communities & Cultural Heritage
Theme 2: Making History Come Alive: New Challenges and Opportunities
for Cultural Heritage Institutions

Interactive Workshops and Brokerage Events A
NEW HORIZONS IN ECONOMIC RESEARCHInteractive Workshops B
FOOD RESEARCH IN TRADITION AND FUTURE

Interactive Workshops C

10:00-11:35
11:55-13:30

10:00-11:35
11:55-13:30

14:30-17:00(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM A)
14:30-17:00(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM B)
14:30-17:00(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM C)TOWARDS A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CULTURAL HERITAGE RESEARCH: CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIESClosing
Closing Remarks

17:00-17:15(U-Residence CONFERENCE ROOM A)
Prof. Matsuto Ogawa, Executive Vice-President, Kobe University (Japan)
Prof. Hugo Thienpont, Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Organiser: Kobe University
Co-Organiser: Vrije Universiteit Brussel

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Opening SpeechProf. Hiroshi Takeda
President, Kobe University (Japan)

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to extend my heartfelt welcome to the 10th
Anniversary Symposium of the Kobe University Brussels European Centre (abbreviated to KUBEC),
entitled ‘Open Science, Evolving Societies:
New Horizons for EU-Japan Research’, jointly organised with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) for the
fourth year in a row.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of KUBEC’s establishment and it is a great pleasure and honour tocelebrate this milestone in the presence of many distinguished guests and familiar friends. Pleaseallow me to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude, in particular to our honourable guests,
1. His Excellency Ambassador Kazuo KODAMA (Mission of Japan to the European Union)
and
2. Mr. Jean-Eric PAQUET (Director-General, Directorate General for Research and Innovation,
European Commission).
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to
3. Professor Caroline PAUWELS (Rector, VUB), but she is not here now,
4. Professor Romain MEEUSEN (Vice-Rector, International Relations, VUB),
and the International Relations and Mobility Oﬃce of VUB, for their warm support in organising
today’s symposium together.
I have been proud to take on the role of University President for the past four years, and I am honored
to have been reappointed for a second term of two years from April 1, 2019. I would also like tointroduce the new faces of our international aﬀairs leadership, all of whom were appointed in April
this year.
1. Professor Masahiko YOSHII (Executive Vice-President, International Exchange)
2. Professor Hiroko MASUMOTO (Vice-President, International Collaboration and International
Education)
3. Professor Ken-ichi YOSHIDA, himself is not new, but new obligation as (Executive Director, Centre
for EU Academic Collaboration)
4. Professor Kazunari SAKAI (Executive Director, KUBEC)
Their research involves close collaboration with European partners, and they are all eminently
qualiﬁed to take over the former members’ obligations and continue to expand our activities in
Europe.

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Led by the former Executive Director Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida, who is now in charge of collaboration
with Europe as a whole, KUBEC has always been at the forefront of Kobe University’s international
activities in Europe. We now have more than 140 European partners, and students also enjoy mobility
programmes including Erasmus+. In recognition of these signiﬁcant contributions to ourcollaboration with Europe, the Centre for EU Academic Collaboration, including KUBEC and its
members, has been awarded the ‘Kobe University President Prize 2019’. This award also expresses myconviction that their initiatives will continue to provide the foundations for our activities with andwithin Europe.
KUBEC’s annual symposium have been a key event since its establishment in 2010. With theparticipation of researchers and students from Japanese and European institutions, the symposium is
an important occasion for all stakeholders to discuss academic collaboration. Last year’s symposium
focused on EU-Japan research collaboration in Secure Societies, Smart Cities and Cultural Transfer
between Orient and Occident. The event was a great success, with our largest audience ever.
International joint research among presenters started and expanded after the event, and it
strengthened the close partnership between Kobe University and VUB. Moreover, the event
contributed to launching research collaboration in the ﬁeld of Smart Cities and we were honored tohave a visit by Mr. Patrick Child to the university’s smart city project in Kobe city last year. I hope thisyear’s event provides the same opportunities for today’s presenters.
Today’s symposium will also introduce and enhance collaboration between Kobe University and other
European partner universities, such as Ghent University (Belgium), University of Hamburg (Germany),
ELTE (Hungary) and the University of East Anglia (UK).
This 10 th Anniversary Symposium opens with sessions in the morning focusing on the common
challenges in global society and technological innovation taking place in Europe and Japan.
1. Nationalist and populist sentiment is rising across the world, and we are being forced to reconsider
the nature of our relationships with other countries. Despite this turbulent era, the European Union
and Japan have maintained our spirit of cooperation and moved to the next stage for a cross-border
ﬂow under the Strategic Partnership Agreement and Economic Partnership. Led by Executive Vice
President YOSHII, who is one of the leading Japanese economists on EPA between Japan and the EU,
researchers and governmental oﬃcials will explore this partnership from various perspectives,
introducing the background and regulations under the agreements.
2. In our globalised and borderless world, suﬃcient food production and traceability are vital in orderto feed our growing population and to create a safer and healthier environment for future
generations. The world needs international joint research to apply advanced science andcutting-edge food technologies, and there is a growing trend towards raising awareness aboutsustainable production and consumption, minimizing food waste and transforming agri-foodby-products. Within this context, today we will be able to witness how researchers from Europe andJapan are working together on advanced research in food technologies. In the afternoon intensive
workshop, we also take up Japanese wine and Belgium beer as examples in a discussion of how tocontrol food safety. I hope that the audience has the opportunity to think about how foodtechnologies have progressed while tasting some samples of these items.

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3. As changes are taking place in our societies, we are facing the need for mutual respect andunderstanding, to value diversity and to overcome barriers. Cultural heritage could play an importantrole in contributing to society, harmony among communities and recognition of identities. Innovative
approaches are developing to enhance the value of cultural heritage within communities through thedirect involvement of residents themselves, working alongside specialists in local heritage
preservation. Today, researchers will discuss these new trends and practical examples from various
perspectives, based on each institution’s specialisms in Japan and Europe.
It is my sincere wish that today’s symposium will provide a meaningful opportunity for academic
dialogue between participants from Europe and Japan, and I hope you will share our vision of KUBEC
as the contact point to foster active academic collaboration and provide more eﬀective support for
further international exchange with European partners. I also hope that KUBEC will continue to play a
key role in academic activities between Japan and Europe, and enable us to celebrate another 10
years with our partners and colleagues just like today.
Thank you very much for your participation.

Prof. Romain Meeusen
Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Dear Mr. Ambassador,
Dear Director General, Mr. Paquet,
Professor TAKEDADistinguished guest, colleagues, and friends,
It is with pleasure that I address this opening of the 10th anniversary of the Kobe University Brussels
Symposium. Today, is a special day in Japan because the enthronement of your emperor NARUHITO
takes place, or because of the time diﬀerence it already took place probably. I want to congratulate
Japan for this important festivity. It’s a long tradition and long traditions are very important to have agood cultural interaction.
But another special anniversary takes place today: because it’s the 10 th time this symposium isorganised.
This symposium is co-organised by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Now welcome you in the
U-Residence which is one of the newest buildings on our campus. This year we celebrate us, as Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, our 50th anniversary, but together with our French-speaking mother University
ULB we already exist for 185 years. About one month ago, we had the grand opening of the academic
year of our both universities at the Cinquantenaire which is not far from here, we have the King, bothPresidents, and I also know the King is now present for the enthronement of the emperor. This gives6

me a good feeling, of course. Secondly, we have more than 5000 participants in that opening.
The VUB is an important university, because we are located and the place where the action is goingon, meaning in the center of Europe. We are close to the EU headquarters and we’re close to NATO,and for those who know the neighborhood, there is a very big, very alive neighborhood, not far fromhere, where all the action takes place and all the interaction takes place within the European Union.
Our university is constantly growing ‒ this academic year our student population grew with about 15
to 17%, which is enormous. Last Thursday we opened a new building complex, because we needmore auditoria, and it’s very close by, its beautiful complex. We not only have new auditoria but wealso have an exhibition hall with a very, very good position and this work in the exhibition, I don’t
have a lot knowledge of modern art to give you the explanation. But there are people who explain it
all and the pictures that are there. I must tell you I was impressed last Thursday when I went to the
opening.
Also we have a concert hall and 630 new dormitories for students, so we are expanding. Expanding
our relatively small campus, but also to inform you that, together with our mother university ULB and
the Brussels community, we have now taken the barracks of the police de caserne, just not this one
because Brussels still needs this precinct but the other one, which will become our international
campus in 2024. There are already occupied some prefabs there, we are renovating a lot of the spaces
there, but we will be expanding towards very historical buildings, because originally, this area where
the university is made is, let’s say, the exercise ﬁelds of the army in the 1800s, which became theexercise ﬁelds of the national police. And now, we are here. Now we enjoy it.
But it’s not only 17% increase of our general students for relations that is important, and I don’t have
all the ﬁgures yet, but we are approaching now up to 25% of international students in our university.
On the total of 16,000 plus students, which is a lot. One out of four students are not from Belgium, on
already a very international and very diverse campus. Because Brussels, as the feature of Brussels, isvery diverse city. We see people from all of the world that are living Brussels and also people that havecome to live in Brussels and became Belgian. I think that we have to emphasize this- that Brussels in
Belgium is open to everybody- from wherever you are in the world, and emphasize this, especiallywith our motto of free thinking here at the university. We enjoy to be in this cultural, multicultural city.
And if I look at the program of today’s Symposium, I see it is well balanced. Several topics haveimportant international speakers and show the best of both worlds.
Economics, it is so important for Japan & EU, especially in this speciﬁc time period where geopolitics
and geo-economics go through a storm and strategic partnerships are very important. In the ﬁrst
parallel session on economics, also the International Economic Order and relevant topics arepresented and they all give some possible solutions for the challenges of international trade.
The second theme on Natural science for the life also. Especially because when food and drinks are
involved, I think Belgians are with the champions. And I had the pleasure to stay in Japan, a few years
ago for lecture series for several weeks, and I must say I enjoyed the food and drinks of Japan
enormously. It’s even so that I hardly dare to go to eat Japanese food in Belgium because… it’s not thesame quality.
But anyway, both our countries have a very strong cultural heritage, going back to many centuries
with traditions which are very important, not to forget, but we also use that, need to use that tradition
to open up for the future. Because looking back you never know where you go and I prefer to look7

forward.
The format of this symposium always enables the participant to fully understand the topics and eventake the ﬂavor of the topics. Because the open interactive workshops in the afternoon gives you
plenty of time to interact, to learn, to network, and make plans for the future. And, I am alreadylooking forward to the stories about Japanese wine and Belgian beers.
I want to thank the organizers for putting the program together, but also those that worked behindthe scenes which is our International Oﬃce, especially Steven Verhulst who is always there and who isalways available when you need him. Of course also Mr. Patrick Vittet-Philippe, because he is also thedriving force of the connection between VUB and Kobe University.
Dear distinguished guests, dear colleagues, I wish you a very inspiring and fruitful symposium! Thankyou.

H.E. Mr. Kazuo Kodama
Ambassador of Japan to the European Union (Japan)

Prof. Hiroshi Takeda, President of Kobe University,
Prof. Romain Meeusen, Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
Mr. Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning,
I am delighted to have the opportunity to give my remarks at this opening session.
Today’s symposium marks the 10 th anniversary of the Kobe University Brussels European Centre
Symposium. As a Japanese saying goes, continuation is power. My sincere congratulations to all those
who have made this possible.
(EPA/SPA)
Since today’s symposium is expected to discuss both the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) andthe Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between Japan and the EU, let me say a few words about
these two agreements from the perspective of the Japanese Government.
The Japan ‒ EU Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force on February 1st of this year. The
EPA has created the world’s biggest free, open and fair economic zone, to date, comprising almost
640 million people, as well as covering about 30% of the world’s GDP and nearly 40% of global trade. I
would also like to emphasize that the Japan-EU EPA is a model of high-standard rules in the 21st
century for free, open, fair, rules-based trade and investment, and policy coordination, for boosting8

innovative technology.
With the entry into force of the EPA, Japan and the EU have demonstrated to the rest of the world an
unﬂinching political will to keep the ﬂag of free trade waving high.
With respect to the Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement, SPA, it is fair to say that by concluding
the SPA, Japan and the EU have committed themselves to enhance their deep and long-lasting
cooperation as strategic partners based on shared common values and principles, such as democracy,
the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms. With the SPA in place, we now have a ﬁrm
legal foundation for all things jointly pursuable. As we share values and hold principles in common,
anything can be incorporated into the “tool box” of the SPA, and accordingly the SPA text enumerates
as many as 40 areas including sustainable connectivity and quality infrastructure, climate change, anddata security and security cooperation. I understand that today’s symposium is going to discuss“What’s next for EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)? ” Since we are about to kick start theimplementation of the SPA in a full-ﬂedged manner, I look forward to any suggestions coming out of
this symposium.
(Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year: contribution science can make to a fossil fuel-free society)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Two weeks ago, we had great news from Stockholm. The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded
to Dr. Akira Yoshino, and two other academic researchers, for their contribution to the developmentof the lithium-ion batteries.
The Nobel Foundation praised their achievement by saying that “they created a rechargeable world ”
and that their battery was “making possible a fossil fuel-free society.”
This illustrates how science can contribute to protecting our planetary eco-system. Along withtechnology, it can be used to ensure sustainable development to which both Japan and the EU havecommitted ﬁrmly.
(Japan-EU Collaboration in research)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of Japan-EU Science and Technology Cooperation
Agreement. Under this agreement, we plan to hold the 5th Joint Committee meeting in Brussels soon,
co-chaired by Mr. Paquet. We hope such an eﬀort will enhance collaboration in the ﬁeld of research,science and innovation between Japan and the EU.
(Closing)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today in Tokyo, the Enthronement Ceremony was carried out in which His Majesty the Emperor
proclaimed his accession to the throne starting the “Reiwa” era meaning “beautiful harmony”. Manydignitaries attended the ceremony from abroad including Their Majesties, King Phillippe and Queen
Mathilda of the Kingdom of Belgium, and Her Excellency VP/HR Federica Mogherini representing the9European Union.
I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to His majesty the Emperor and Her majesty the
Empress on this auspicious occasion.
Let me conclude by wishing the 10th Kobe University Brussels European Centre Symposium a resounding
success in achieving a closer research partnership between Europe and Japan.
Thank you very much for your attention.

Mr. Jean-Eric Paquet
Director-General, DG RTD, European Commission (EU)Dear President, Ambassador, Vice-Rector, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a real pleasure to address this 10 th Anniversary Kobe University Brussels European Centre
Symposium on a day when a new era is opening in Japan. Reiwa, ‘Beautiful Harmony’, is a particularly
well-suited ambition, also for the work now taking place between Japan and Europe, particularly inthe areas of science, technology and innovation. Japan and Europe can jointly make a profounddiﬀerence in restoring the ‘Beautiful Harmony’ on our planet.
I have only two messages this morning. The ﬁrst is to tell you why research and innovation will be socentral in Europe, but also in Japan, as a key component of the public policies we need to address thechallenges of today’s world. And, secondly, to tell you why I think we need to do much more together.
Research and innovation are crucial to address our climate and ecologic transition, our socialtransition and our economic transition. This is not only about science. It is about research andinnovation based on science, about elaborating the solutions, through knowledge and social
experimentation, which will allow Europe, and in the today’s international context Europe and theworld, to tackle the urgency of the climate transition. Last week, the European Council used
remarkable language that the climate transition is an existential threat which we all need to live up to.
This climate transition is extraordinarily challenging because it cuts across all areas of our society andour economy. It requires deep changes in our behaviours. It calls for the deployment of technologies
which are not only challenging in themselves, but also in terms of the investments required to rollthem out. And all this against an urgency which is frequently misrepresented, and, I think, deeply
misunderstood, despite one year of remarkable advocacy by our young people ‒ including the young
people in the room today from the European Schools in Brussels. It is a political urgency as reﬂected in10the elections which took place earlier this year for the European Parliament and in Member States.
This urgency, and the depth of this climate transition, call for the deployment of technologies andsolutions which are not yet available, but which must be identiﬁed early on, and fully supported byresearch and innovation.
The same applies to the social transition we are confronted with. Our societies are faced withenormous pressures, in particular from the digital revolution and from the emergence of Artiﬁcial
Intelligence, both of them will profoundly impact the way we work. Beyond work, there is a diﬃcult
discussion on how the digital world and Artiﬁcial Intelligence impact the very fabric of our societies
and our lives as citizens. This social transition is highly complex, covers many areas, many disciplines
and will also require research and innovation to deploy a robust framework to successfully address it.
The last transition is an economic transition. Japan and Europe are both challenged by very sluggish
growth. This has many reasons. This transition will require that we look at the way economics works,
but also at how we promote and understand growth. This means allowing a growth which fosters
wealth creation, thus allowing to keep our societies together - but also a growth which takes into
account the limits of our planet. This is an extraordinarily diﬃcult transition, probably the mostchallenging of the three. There too, research and innovation will have a key role to generate thenecessary knowledge ‒ but also to provide a space for these discussions to take place, for new
narratives to emerge on economic policy and growth, which can then be deployed in social policy.
These three transitions are deeply challenging in themselves. They also interact with one another,with obvious trade-oﬀs between them. Research and innovation also have a crucial responsibility inhelping policymakers across government to join up their analyses, and deploy joined-up policies andsolutions.
We have such discussions at the European Commission and with the European Member States.
Increasingly, the issue is not only about how much research we do, or about the instruments of ourpolicy, our programmes. The European Research Council and the European Innovation Council are, ofcourse, key components. But there is now an important shift. Our focus is not only on the means andinstruments, but on the direction of research and innovation, on how best to deal with the urgency ofthese changes.
This is why our cooperation with Japan has an absolutely crucial role to play in the future ‒ a central
theme of today’s symposium.
Politically, Europe and Japan have entered an aligned new era, with an Economic Partnership
Agreement as well as a Strategic Partnership Agreement. These have generated a remarkable
momentum, institutional and political. This new era provides an opportunity to ramp up our
cooperation in research and innovation. Japan and Europe are confronted with the same challenges
and, more than ever, need to work together.
We are currently discussing with the Japanese Ministry of Science and Education the ‘Moonshots’currently prepared on the Japanese side. These broadly overlap with the focus of discussions in
Europe and echo our own Horizon Europe programme.

11Now, I must say that I ﬁnd it extraordinarily mind-boggling that EU and Japan cooperate so little inresearch and innovation. Of course, we have this symposium between Kobe University and the VUB,
and there is a lot happening in this room between these two universities. But if I look at the statistics
of participations of Japanese organizations in the European programmes, or if I consider our own
participations as Europeans in the Japanese programmes, there is not much to show. This makes nosense, if one takes into account the strong complementarity and the remarkable critical mass we
could achieve if we were genuinely working together.
We are well aware of the challenges on both sides. One of the reasons for this very limited
cooperation is the complexity of our own research programmes. Japanese participation is limited,which is a paradox as our programmes are fully open. Any university or research organization in Japan
is welcome to participate in any consortia being formed in Europe. But this does not happen. Our
respective policies and programs are, so to speak, next to each other, but do not interact. Anotherreason is that funding ‒ in terms of amount and predictability - is often diﬃcult to get in the Japaneseside. For a university like Kobe, ﬁnancing the participation of its researchers in a European project is
not available by default, but needs to be secured on a case-by-case basis.
Solutions are of two kinds. The ﬁrst option is to deepen ongoing discussions with Japanese agencies
and ministries in order to try making the existing framework more agile. On our side, we are looking at
how better to deﬁne the calls for proposals where Japanese participation is expected. And, on theJapanese side, how funding can be mobilized, announced, and made available in a more timely
manner. I am sure we can make progress on these issues.
But I think that this is only tinkering at the edges and not strategic enough.
The second option is far more ambitious, and more promising - the potential Association of Japan to
Horizon Europe. Initial discussions are taking place. We do not yet have a starting position, neither on
the EU nor on the Japanese side, and we cannot prejudge where discussions will lead. However, bothsides believe that new approach has enormous potential.
As regards European Programmes, we already have long-standing association agreements with ourneighbouring countries, such as Norway and Switzerland which are playing a central role in European
research and innovation. This is a very strong and well established tradition, and the countries
currently associated to Horizon2020 will remain so in Horizon Europe.
But we are now looking at another ‘wave’, the Association of key Third Countries - industrializedcountries with a strong research base and sharing the same values.
For a country, Association means that you are fully part of the same programme as EU Member Statesand other Associated Countries. Association means the the Associated Country pays into theProgramme, thus automatically ensuring the funding if its entities participating in that Programme.
For a university like Kobe, it concretely means that you are fully integrated in European cooperation,
and, most importantly, that you can beneﬁt from funding by default. If you are successfully involved ina European consortium, then your funding is automatically ensured. This is a huge step, not only interms of magnitude of funding, but also of policy choice ‒ and of opportunities to be fully involved in

12cutting-edge international research.
This is what Association is all about. It provides a strong strategic start, as well as predictability infunding joint research projects between the EU and Japan. And I truly believe that if we are successful
in ensuring that Japan becomes associated to Horizon Europe, this would radically change theintensity of our cooperation ‒ and truly be a gamechanger.
We are at a very early stage. On the EU side, we fully expect the European Council and Parliament tosupport the European Commission’s Association proposals. When this is done, hopefully early 2020,
we will actively engage with Japan. I would expect that Japan becomes one of the ﬁrst of the newly
Associated Countries. Discussions will focus on what part of the programme Japan wishes to be
associated with, and on the modalities of participation at the institutional and also ﬁnancial level.
It would be for Europe an absolute asset to have Japan associated to our Programme ‒ and to thewider network of industrialized countries with strong research base and sharing our common values.
We are currently discussing with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. If all these countries
all decide to associate, this would create a huge new research space. This global space would, ofcourse, not be exclusive of competition with the US and China. But it would provide an additional
alternative space for research and innovation, crucial for Europe but also for Japan.
I look forward to this exciting perspective, which, I hope, will be a reality by the time of the next Kobe
University Brussels Centre Symposium in 2020.

13

14

Parallel Session 1: Economics 10:00-13:30
EU-Japan EPA and SPA: Joining Forces fora Rule-based International Economic Order
Theme1: EU-Japan EPA: A New Paradigm for International Trade
Theme2: What next for EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)?

Interractive Workshops
and Brokerage Events A 14:30-17:00
New Horizons in Economic Research

15

Report on Session 1: EU-Japan EPA and SPA: Joining Forces for a Rule-based International
Economic Order
Session 1 was organised by Professor Masahiko Yoshii (Kobe University) with great support from Mr.
Patrick Vittet-Philippe, Adviser to the Kobe University Brussels European Centre.
The economic relationship between the EU and Japan deteriorated from the 1970s to the beginningof the 1990s due to the surging surpluses of the Japanese trade balance (and the huge deﬁcits of theEU side). However political and economic relationships between the EU and Japan have progressedsince the 1990s, and the enactment of the EU-Japan EPA/FTA and SPA on February 1 s t 2019
symbolizes the dramatically improved relationship. The session discussed not only how the EU-Japan
EPA/FTA and SPA will aﬀect the relationships between the two partners but also how it will impact
upon the world order, including aspects such as protectionist waves, the WTO reform, the geopoliticalsituation in Eastern Asia, and so on.
The session was divided into three parts: ﬁrst: the EU-Japan EPA, second: the EU-Japan SPA, and third:a graduate student workshop.
The ﬁrst theme of the session focused on the topic of EU-Japan EPA/FPA: A New Paradigm forInternational Trade. The presentation by Prof. Masahiko Yoshii provided an introduction to thediscussion regarding the economic impacts of the EU-Japan EPA/FTA. He brieﬂy summarized thenegotiation agreement, and suggested some of the eﬀects that that the EPA/FTA will have on theeconomic relationships between the two partners, in addition to the wider impact on the world
economic order. Prof. Roberto Reyes Barrera (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), introduced various mega FTAs
in the Asia-Paciﬁc region, and emphasized that the EU-Japan FTA would be a benchmark for other
FTAs currently under discussion, such as RCEP. Ms. Eve Päärendson (European Economic and Social
Committee) foresaw the impacts of the EU-Japan EPA from the much wider perspective of civilsociety. In the independent chapter 16, the EPA/FTA aims to promote economically, socially andenvironmentally sustainable development. Civil society will monitor these developments throughDomestic Advisory Groups (DAGs).
The second theme centred on the EU-Japan SPA. Prof. Jean-Christophe Defraigne (IEE UCLouvain
Saint-Louis) explained the limited eﬀects of the EU-Japan EPA and SPA on Chinese international trade
policy and the BRI (Belt-Road Initiative). Dr Reinhold Brender (Head of Division Japan, Korea, Australia,
New Zealand and Paciﬁc, EEAS), and Ms. Namba (Councilor, Mission of Japan to the EU) explained theimportance of the SPA from both EU and Japanese standpoints. The two speakers emphasised how
the SPA will help both partners, having shared values, contribute to security and defense stability,
especially in East Asia. Prof. Sakai emphasised the SPA’s softpower and inter-regionalism aspects andnoted that the SPA will be a leverage for multilateralism in Asia and for political reform in Japan.
The Ph.D student workshop introduced three brilliant student speakers. Mr. Massimiliano Porto
introduced his survey on the opinions of Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
regarding the EU-Japan EPA, showing some interesting conclusions: Japanese exporting SMEs have a
low degree of internationalisation, and the EU markets account for only a small percentage of their
total revenues. In addition, most Japanese SMEs would have preferred the EU-Japan EPA/FTA to havebeen implemented earlier, and do not think that these agreements will help their EU market exports
to increase. Mr. Nishikawa picked up the Trade and Sustainability Development chapter of the
EU-Japan EPA/FTA, highlighting how the EPA scheme will provide a platform for future cooperation inother EPA/FTA negotiations. Finishing oﬀ the presentations in this session, Dr. Felice Farina focused on
the EU-Japan EPA/FTA from the agro-food industry perspective, and concluded that the EU-Japan
EPA/FTA will be a good starting point for these industries to export their food products to each other.
Through these presentations and active discussions, session 1 participants could obtain a clear
understanding of the EPA/FPA and SPA’s various roles, not only in bilateral relationships between the
EU and Japan, but also their important impact on global order, economic and political relations,especially in the Asia-Paciﬁc region. It is hoped that session 1 will inspire further discussions on
EU-Japan relationships and the global order.

16

Parallel Session 1
Theme 1: EU-Japan EPA: A New Paradigm for International Trade
Prof. Masahiko Yoshii

Moderator

Executive Vice-President, Kobe University (Japan)

Prof. Masahiko Yoshii is Executive Vice President in charge of International Exchange and Evaluation at
Kobe University. Prior to this, he was appointed a Jean Monnet Chair for 2015-2018. He has also served
as the Dean of the Graduate School of Economics for two years (2012-2014). Professor Yoshii has beenan economics researcher at Kobe University since 1987. He also has experience working at the
Embassy of Japan in Bucharest, Romania (1990-1992), and was a visiting researcher at the Vienna
Institute of International Economic Studies (WiiW) in 2001-2002. His major research interests arecomparative economic systems, and the economies of Central-Eastern European Countries. He is alsointerested in economic relationships between Japan and the EU.
Outline of the Japan-EU EPA/FTA and SPA
A group of Japanese big companies began to request the conclusion of the Japan-EU EPA/FTA in the
middle of the 2000s. After 18 negotiation rounds starting in 2013, the Japan-EU EPA/FTA was ﬁnally
signed in July 2018, and came into eﬀect in February 2019. The European Commission estimated theJapan-EU EPA/FTA would increase the EU’s GDP and bilateral exports by 0.14% (33.9 bil. euro) and13.2% (13.5 bil. euro) respectively. The Japanese government also estimated that the EPA/FTA would
raise Japanese real GDP by 0.99% (5.2 tril. yen). Furthermore, the Japan-EU SPA also provisionallycame into eﬀect in the same month. Although It is too early to give a ﬁnal conclusion on the impactsof the Japan-EU EPA/FTA and SPA, my presentation will ﬁrst of all outline the agreement and show
some short-term results of the EPA/FTA using trade data. Secondly, the Japan-EU EPA/FTA and SPA
cover the trade and security relationships between the third biggest country economically and thelargest economic region. Therefore these agreements shall have various eﬀects on other mega FTA
negotiations and WTO reforms, and on global geopolitical and security situations (especially in the
East Asia). My presentation will start a discussion on the dynamic impact of the Japan-EU EPA/FTA and
SPA.

17

Prof. Taiji Hagiwara
Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor at Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, Japan. Awarded MA Econ. from Kobe
University in 1983. After working at Research Institute of Economics and Business Administration,
Kobe Univ. as Research Assistant (1984-1989), moved Faculty of Economics on 1989. Visiting Fellow at
Science Policy Unit, Sussex University, UK 1991-92, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research,
Manchester University, UK 1996-97. The research focuses on Economics of Innovation, Input-Output
analysis and Marxian economics.
Value added trade between EU and JapanReﬂecting growing international fragmentation, share of intermediate trade has risen. I will show
value added trade using input-output table.

Dr. Roberto Reyes Barrera
Centre for Economic Law & Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel(Belgium)

Prof. Reyes Barrera obtained a Law Degree and studied international aﬀairs at the postgraduate levelat prestigious universities in Mexico and France. After a rewarding career of 20 years on the Mexican
diplomatic team in charge of international trade negotiations (mainly with the European Union), hejoined the University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB) in 2013. He now works as a seniorresearcher and lecturer at VUB’s Centre for Economic Law & Governance (ECOR) and the Brussels
Diplomatic Academy (BDA), focusing on topics related to International Economic Law and Regional
Economic Integration, including the new mega-regional trade agreements.
The EU-Japan EPA and its linkage with other regional trade agreements in the Paciﬁc Region
The EU-Japan FTA/EPA will not only increase the trade ﬂow between both parties, but it could have amajor impact in the international economic arena. This will especially alter the dynamic in the PaciﬁcRim, where a number of trade agreements are becoming the building blocks of new expanding
mega-regional trade alliances, unleashing signiﬁcant shifts in global supply chains worldwide.

18

Indeed, the world economy’s center of gravity is shifting towards the Paciﬁc region where many trade
agreements, including some mega-regional ones, are been negotiated among countries bordering
the Paciﬁc Ocean. By setting new standards for multilateral and regional trade negotiations, these
agreements will be game-changers (like the RECP in Asia, the Paciﬁc Alliance in Latin-America, andnow the TPP11 or CPTPP across the Paciﬁc).
In fact, both the EU and Japan are separately negotiating a number of FTAs with some of thosecountries, notably with emerging economies in Southeast Asia and Latin-America. Consequently, theEU and Japan could us their EPA as a common base to join forces with some of those like-mindedcountries and trade groupings, in order to consolidate their position in regional economic hubs andglobal supply chains.

Ms. Eve Päärendson
President, the EESC’s EU-Japan Follow-Up Committee (EU)Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and President of the EESC’s
EU-Japan Follow-Up Committee (previously President of this cooperation structure (2009-2012). She
initiated the EESC-Japan civil society dialogue in 2005 and has been actively promoting EU-Japan
cooperation since then. Was the author of the EESC’s report “EU-Japan relations: the role of civilsociety” and Co-Rapporteur of the EESC’s report on the EU-Japan EPA.
Director of International Relations at the Estonian Employers' Confederation, and represents Estonian
businesses on BUSINESSEUROPE, Business at OECD (BIAC), IOE and on the European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
EU-Japan EPA and the role that is foreseen for civil society
The EU-Japan EPA is of major global importance. It is the biggest trade deal concluded so far by either side
and will have a huge impact on both our mutual trade and investment. But its signiﬁcance is far greaterthan merely economic, as it will develop international trade while taking into account environmental andlabour aspects. For the ﬁrst time ever, the EPA also includes references to the Paris Climate Agreement
through its Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter. This is also the chapter of interest to the EESC
and Japanese economic, social and environmental stakeholders, as Domestic Advisory Groups will beestablished on both sides, in addition to a Joint Dialogue with civil society organizations to monitor the
implementation and impact of the EPA (focusing on the SDC). These monitoring instruments must be
established within one year after the eﬀective date of the EU-Japan EPA (by 1 February 2020). The
presentation examines the foreseen role of civil society arising from the EU-Japan EPA, what mechanisms
and structures are to be established, and what beneﬁts civil society involvement will bring. It also
describes what additional cooperation opportunities the EU-Japan EPA will lead to.

19

Prof. Noritsugu NakanishiDiscussantGraduate School of Economics, Kobe University (Japan)

Noritsugu NAKANISHI is the Dean of the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University, Japan. He
ﬁrst studied economics at Hiroshima University, Japan, and obtained a doctoral degree in economics
from Kobe University in 1991. Subsequently he joined the faculty of Kobe University and waspromoted to full professor in 2004. His research interests cover both international trade theory andthe application of game theory to trade policy issues. He served as President of the Japan Society ofInternational Economics (JSIE) from 2016 to 2018, and he is now an Advisor to the JSIE.

Prof. Yo-ichi Matsubayashi

DiscussantGraduate School of Economics, Kobe University (Japan)

Yoichi Matsubayashi is a Vice Dean/Professor of the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University,
Japan. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Japanese Ministry of Finance's Policy Research Institute, in
addition to being a Visiting Fellow at the Bank of Japan's Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.
He holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Kobe University. He was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard
University and Bruegel Institute.

20

Theme 2: What next for EU-Japan StrategicPartnership Agreement (SPA)?
Mr. Piet SteelModerator

Honorary Consul General for Flanders region (Belgium)

Piet Steel is an experienced diplomat, an expert on economic and diplomatic diplomacy, with deep
knowledge of international trade and wide experience of Asia, especially of Japan, China, Vietnam andHong Kong. He gradiated with a Law Degree at Ghent State University. Between 1975 and 1997, he
was a Belgian diplomat. He held various leading diplomatic positions in Geneva, Ambassador of
Belgium in Vietnam and Consul General of Belgium in Hong Kong. He retired from the Belgian Foreign
Service in 1997 to work as Publix Aﬀairs Director for the Solvay Group and later as Vice President for
European Aﬀairs for Toyota Motor Europe. Currently, Piet Steel is Chairman of the Board of Special
Olympics Belgium and Board Member of various private and social organizations.

Prof. Jean-Christophe Defraigne
UCLouvain Saint-Louis (Belgium)

Jean-Christophe Defraigne holds a MSc in Economic History at the London School of Economics and a
PhD in Economics at the University of Brussels. He is currently professor of International and European
Economics at the Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles’ Institute for European Studies, and at the Louvain
School of Management UCL. He is also a research fellow at the Leuven Centre for Global GovernanceStudies at KULeuven. He has been visiting scholar and professor at UIBE Beijng (Jing Mao Da Xue) andZhejiang Da Xue.
The EU-Japan Strategic Partnership in the context of the international development of China
This contribution will analyse how the new trade policy and foreign policy of China constitute achallenge to the multilateral rule-based governance concepts of Japan and the EU. It will discuss theimpact of China’s rising inﬂuence among developing countries and to what extent it could impact

21

global governance, forcing Japan and the EU to adjust.
A special focus will be made on the China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese strategic asset
seeking ODI, as economic and strategic tools used by China to foster its international development. It
will analyse the motives of these two tools and highlight the points of friction with Japan’s and theEU’s concepts of global governance and strategic objectives. It will provide elements to assess theirimpact on recipient countries from economic and geopolitical perspectives to see how much they
could aﬀect the world trading system and the current geopolitical situation.
Finally, the contribution will outline the main responses made by the US, Japan and the EU to thedevelopment of these two tools. It will attempt to show to what extent these responses areconverging or diverging and if the EU-Japan Partnership could be appropriate in this regard.

Dr. Reinhold Brender
Head of Division, European External Action Service (EU)

Dr. Reinhold Brender within the European Union's External Action Service is Head of the Division in
charge of the EU's relations with Japan, DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and 15
countries in the Paciﬁc region. He has worked for more than 20 years in the European Union
lnstitutions. From 2013 to 20'17 he served as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt (rank of
Minister), Earlier, he held responsibilities in Brussels for the EU's relations with the Eastern neighbours,
i.e. Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. This followed work in the European
Commission on a number of EU external relations issues, including on a four-year posting as
Counsellor (Political) to the European Commission Delegation to the U.S., in Washington D.C. On
secondment from the European Commission, he also served as spokesperson of the EU Pillar of theUnited Nations Mission in Kosovo. He had started his career as a foreign aﬀairs journalist and staﬀ
member of the Frankfufter Allgemeine Zeitung, a leading German daily newspaper. He studied Political
Science, History and Languages in Germany, France and Switzerland, obtaining M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees from Freiburg University, Germany.
What next for EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)?
Japan is a natural partner for the European Union. Our relations have never been stronger. We havelongstanding economic links, but we also share common values and interests. Earlier this year westarted implementing the two new landmark agreements that we signed at the 25th EU-Japan
Summit last year, the Economic Partnership Agreement and the Strategic Partnership Agreement. As
Prime Minister Abe said in Brussels on 27 September: “The EPA and SPA work in tandem to propel Japanand the EU forward into the future".

22

The importance of the Economic Partnership Agreement is huge, its economic value considerable. lt
also sends a powerful message: in the current context of resurgent protectionism and challenges
faced by the WTO, we both pursue beneﬁts of free-trade.
Our growing economic relationship goes hand in hand with our strategic partnership. The StrategicPartnership Agreement reﬂects our ever stronger links. lt is the ﬁrst-ever bilateral frameworkagreement between us, and it promotes political and sectoral cooperation and joint actions on issuesof common interest, including on regional and global challenges. Almost a year on, our cooperationon connectivity, digital policy and cybersecurity, and security and defence illustrates our closealignment and capacity to deliver under the auspices of this agreement.

Ms. Keiko Namba
The Mission of Japan to the European Union, Ministry of Foreign
Aﬀairs of Japan (Japan)● Counsellor for Political Aﬀairs at the Mission of Japan to the European Union since August 2019.

● Principal Deputy Director of the Second Middle East Division, Middle Eastern Aﬀairs Bureau, from
July 2017 to July 2019.

● Deputy Director of the Second North America Division, North American Aﬀairs Bureau, from
November 2015 to July 2017.

● Deputy Director of the Management and Coordination Division, Minister’s Secretariat, from July
2014 to November 2015.

● Deputy Director of the G7/G20 Summit Oﬃce, Economic Division from July 2011 to July 2014.
● First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in the U.S., from May 2009 to May 2011.

● Graduate of Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University (M.B.A., 2009), University of Tokyo(Faculty of Law, 2005)
The Japan-EU SPA: Our Path Ahead
Japan and the EU already has a very close relationship, but the signing of the Japan-EU SPA has
brought about broader cooperation between Japan and the EU. The SPA is meant to further promote
our cooperation on issues of common interest in wide areas, since Japan and the EU share common
values and principles, such as democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedom. It
will serve as a legal basis for strengthening the strategic partnership between Japan and the EU. The
SPA has brought our relationship to a higher level.
In order to implement the SPA, the Joint Committee was established, and its ﬁrst meeting was held inMarch. In this Joint Committee, we agreed on priorities for cooperation to be: 1) sustainable
connectivity and quality infrastructure, and 2) global issues. In light of this, Prime Minister Abe

23attended the EU-Asia Connectivity Forum that took place on September 27, 2019, in Brussels. Japanand the EU signed “The Partnership on Sustainable Connectivity and Quality Infrastructure between
Japan and the EU” on this occasion, and we are now in the process of implementing our agreement.
Close relationship between Japan and the EU also owes to close personal relationship between Prime
Minister Abe, President Tusk, and President Juncker. As the new EU leadership is expected to be inplace, Japan hopes to maintain our close relationship with the EU and also close personal relationshipamong our leaders. The Japan-EU Summit meeting is expected to take place in Tokyo next year, so wehope to continue working with the EU to prepare for the Summit.

Prof. Kazunari Sasaki
Executive Director, Kobe University Brussels European Centre
Professor, Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University(Japan)Awarded MA from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1994 and PhD from Kobe University in 2007.
After working for the Ministry of Education of Japan and Tokyo Institute of Technology, joined Kobe
University as an academic member. Previously an invited professor at Sciences Po, Université Paris
Nanterre and Université Panthéon-Assas Paris Ⅱ. His research focuses on the EU’s external relations
with neighbouring countries, migration issues across the Mediterranean Sea, and global governancerelated to migration.
Signiﬁcance of the Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) from soft power andinterregionalism point of view
The Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) was concluded in order to strengthen theirpolitical cooperation based on shared values. It encompasses a broad range policy areas, including
security cooperation. Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution limits the usage of military forces for security
purposes. The EU’s security strategy is diﬀerent from that of the United States, which ismilitary-oriented. In this situation, what kind of security cooperation can be realized between the EU
and Japan? This presentation tries to clarify the signiﬁcance of soft power and interregionalism withthe aim of creating national and regional stability. This means focusing on human security throughthe institutionalisation of multilateralism, rather than putting military aspects at the forefront.

24Prof. Tongﬁ Kim

DiscussantInstitute for European Studies, Vesalius College (Belgium)

Dr Tongﬁ Kim is an assistant professor of international aﬀairs at Vesalius College and a seniorresearcher at the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels, Belgium. He
received his Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University and previously worked at Purdue
University, Griﬃth University, and Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. His research centers on security
studies and the international relations of East Asia. He is the author of The Supply Side of Security: A
Market Theory of Military Alliances (Stanford University Press, 2016).

25

Interactive Workshop andBrokerage Event A
New Horizons in Economic Research
Prof. Masahiko Yoshii
Kobe University (Japan)

Session producer/leader

Mr. Massimiliano Porto
Graduate School of Ecnomiocs, Kobe University (Japan)

Awarded with the MEXT scholarship by Japanese government in 2016, Massimiliano Porto is PhD
candidate in Economics at Kobe University, Japan. Before starting his PhD, he worked for 3 years as
business consultant in Italy and has previous experience at the OECD in Paris and at the ItalianChamber of Commerce in Tokyo. He cooperated with IsAG, an Italian think-tank based in Rome
specializing in Geopolitics.
His areas of interest include international trade, investment and global production mainly related toEurope and Asia.
He enjoys coding with R and Python.
Expectations of Japanese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises regarding the EU-Japan Economic
Partnership Agreement.
An Analysis from an independent survey
We investigated the expectations of small and medium-sized Japanese enterprises regarding theeﬀects of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement on their exports to the European Union
through the analysis of their responses to an independent survey. The survey targeted small andmedium-sized Japanese exporters, including those that currently do not export to the European
Union. We built a database of these enterprises from available information on the Japan External
Trade Organization, business associations’ websites and local trade directories.
The survey contains 26 questions structured in three parts. The questions aim at identifying the proﬁleof the respondent ﬁrms in the ﬁrst part, their approach to the European Union's markets in the second

26part, and their opinions on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement in the third. In addition,
we modelled the responses to the survey using binary response models.

Mr. Taro Nishikawa
PhD Candidate, Japanese Studies, Department of Area Studies,
Faculty of Arts, KU Leuven (Belgium)Awarded B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University, Japan in 2013. Worked at the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and at the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan
from 2013 to 2016. As a double degree program student, awarded the Master of European Studies:
Transnational and Global Perspectives (M.A.) from KU Leuven, Belgium in 2018 and M.A. from Kobe
University, Japan in 2019. His research focuses on International Relations (IR) on trade, especiallyJapan-EU trade relations, and Japan’s and the EU’s trade policy-making process.
Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter in the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA):
Potential Impacts on Japanese Trade Policy and Future Japan-EU Cooperation
The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force on 1 February 2019,
includes the chapter on trade and sustainable development (TSD chapter). This chapter deals with thenexuses of trade and environmental and labour issues. For the EU, since the European Commission’s
trade strategy “Global Europe” (2006), this chapter has been one of “standard” and “essential”
elements for “new generation” FTAs with emerging and major trading partners. On the other hand,
while Japan has started negotiating EPAs since the Japan-Singapore EPA (2001) and some EPAs
includes provisions on environmental and labour issues, Japan has not introduced separate chaptersfor these issues expect the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Paciﬁc Partnership(CPTPP). This presentation discusses potential impacts of this TSD chapter model on Japanese trade
policy, as well as future Japan-EU cooperation on this ﬁeld at both bilateral and global arena.

27

Mr. Felice Farina
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Asia, Africa andMediterranea, University of Naples “L'Orientale" (Italy)

Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Asia, Africa and Mediterranean, University of Naples“L'Orientale", Italy. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at University of Naples
L'Orientale and was awarded a Ph.D. in East-Asian Studies at the same university, for a thesis entitled“Japan's food self-suﬃciency decline: a food regime analysis".
His research focuses on Japan's food security, Japan's diplomatic history and the history of theinternational trade of agri-food products.
The EU-Japan EPA: implications and prospects for Japan's agri-food sector
In December 2017, Japan and the European Union (EU) concluded an Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA), that entered into force on 1 February 2019. The agreement is meant to boost tradeties between the two partners. In fact, Japan will eliminate approximately 94% of tariﬀs on imports
from the EU, whereas the EU will eliminate about 99% of them.
The European agrifood sector is likely to be one of the sectors to beneﬁt the most from the EPA.
Japan's agriculture has been inward oriented, highly protected by trade barriers from foreigncompetition. Nonetheless, Japan is the EU's fourth largest market for agricultural products and, withthis agreement, approximately 85% of EU's agri-food products will eventually be allowed to enter
Japan entirely duty-free. According to some, the increase in food imports will further reduce Japan's
already low self-suﬃciency, negatively aﬀecting the country's food security. On the other hand, there
is also support for the claim that this partnership will allow Japan to improve national agricultural
production and increase agri-food export towards EU countries.
This presentation will discuss the implications of the Japan-EU EPA for the Japanese agri-food sector,
highlighting the risks and the opportunities of the partnership.

28

Parallel Session 2:
Natural Sciences 10:00-13:30
Food Systems for Quality, Safety and Functionality
Theme1: Food Systems for Quality and Safety
Theme2: Food Systems for Functionality

Interractive Workshops
and Brokerage Events B 14:30-17:00
Food Research in Tradition and Future29

Report on Session 2: Food Systems for Quality, Safety and Functionality
2-1: Food Systems for Quality and Safety & 2-2: Food Systems for Functionality
Food safety refers to the avoidance and management of hazards, whether chronic or acute,that may make food injurious to health. Guaranteeing the safety of food is paramount. On the other
hand, food quality includes all other attributes that inﬂuence the value of such products, including
properties such as nutritional value, taste, and functionality. The distinction between safety andquality has implications for public policy and inﬂuences the nature and content of the food control
system most suited to meet predetermined international objectives. Nowadays, food products that
promote good health have been attracting more attention than before. Therefore, a number ofscientists have developed various ways to precisely verify food functionality, which is required for safe
consumption.
This parallel session 2 was moderated by Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida, Kobe University, and Prof.
Stefan Weckx, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It discussed and compared the current status of food quality,
safety, and functionality in Japan and Europe.
In the ﬁrst part of the session, ‘2-1: Food Systems for Quality and Safety’, Prof. Hideyuki
Mannen, Kobe University, and Prof. Stefaan de Smet, Ghent University, presented their studies on thequality of beef. Their presentations clearly emphasised the diﬀerence in quality guidelines between
Japanese Black cattle “Wagyu” and Belgian Blue; the meat of former is intended to feature marblingwith intramuscular fat, while that of latter characterized by its extreme muscularity. In addition, Prof.
Hiromichi Itoh, Kobe University, and Prof. Wendy Meulenbroeck, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, explained
how food quality and safety could be monitored by the non-destructive ways. These emerging
technologies can eﬀectively ensure the level of food quality and safety currently required by oursocieties. Prof. Itoh explained how machine vision or near-infrared spectroscopy can be applied to atransfer function model of the relationship between environmental input and lettuce growth, or thecontinuous monitoring of a lettuce’s nitrate concentration. Prof. Meulenbroeck talked about how her
research into using photonics to detect foreign bodies could play a vital role in food safety, explaining
how this technology can be utilized in quality classiﬁcation and the detection of carcinogenic
substances such as mycotoxins and acrylamides.
In the latter part of the session, ‘2-2: Food Systems for Functionality’, Dr. Philippe Langella,
INRA France, and Prof. Ro Osawa, Kobe University, delivered lectures on the latest microbiology
research relating to food functionality. Their studies on intestinal microbiota, in particular symbiotic
microﬂora in our intestinal tract, provided new insight and understanding as to how food-related
microbiology could be utilized to promote health. Through the presentation of his recent research
progress, Dr. Langella revealed the high potential of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii as a next-generation
probiotic. Prof. Osawa presented “KUHIM”, Kobe University Human Intestinal Model, which simulates
human intestinal environments. He explained how this simulation can be utilized not only to evaluate
the functionality of speciﬁc food components but also to help obtain better diagnosis, prognosis, andtreatment for patients with internal illnesses.
These morning sessions were followed by a workshop in the afternoon, entitled ‘Food
Research in Tradition and Future: Japanese wine and Lambic beer’. The two aspects were presented
by Dr. Hideaki Shimizu, National Research Institute of Brewing Japan, and Prof. Luc de Vuyst, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, respectively, with an opportunity to taste some of the real products. The twopresentations impressed us with the methods of traditional food production developed in Japan andEurope involving the historical usage of microbes. Finally, all participants took part in a fruitful
discussion, sharing ideas as to how we can cultivate international cooperative studies on food quality,
safety and functionality. The session and the workshop were so successful that every single
participant could appreciate not only the cutting edge technologies but also the art of traditional
food production. These two aspects provide common ground for possible collaborations in the near
future.

30

Parallel Session 2
Theme 1: Food Systems for Quality and Safety
Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida

Moderator

Executive Director of Centre for EU Academic Collaboration
Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University (Japan)

He obtained a PhD at Kyoto University in 1993, and has held positions at Fukuyama University (-2004),
INRA France (1996-97), and Kobe University (2004-). He has specialized in the structural and functional
genomics of bacteria since the very beginning of his career to date. He once served as a Program
Oﬃcer in MEXT (2005-07). He was the executive director of Kobe University Brussels European Centre(2014-19). Currently, he is a Professor of Applied Microbiology (2009-), in parallel acting as FEMS
Ambassador (2019-) and the Executive Director, Centre for EU Academic Collaboration of Kobe
University (2019-).

Prof. Stefan Weckx

Moderator

Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology(IMDO), Faculty of Sciences Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels (Belgium)

Prof. Dr. Stefan Weckx is associate professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences of
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He obtained a MSc. in Biochemistry in 1996 and a PhD in Sciencesin 2004, both at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. As PhD student, he stayed as a Marie-Curie
training fellow at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, Cambridge, UK. After obtaining his
PhD, he joined the MicroArray Facility of VIB in Leuven, Belgium. In 2006, he joined the ResearchGroup IMDO at the VUB, headed by Prof. Dr. ir. Luc De Vuyst, to supervise the molecular(micro)biological research and to initiate research on (meta)genomics and bioinformatics toinvestigate food fermentation processes.

31Prof. Hideyuki Mannen
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Japan. Graduated from the
Graduate School of Science and Technology at Kobe University and was awarded a PhD (inagricultural science) in 1994. Has been an academic at the university since obtaining a PhD. His
research focuses on animal breeding and genetics based on DNA technologies and information.
Identiﬁcation and utilization of responsible genes associated with beef quality in Japanese Wagyu
Marbling (intramuscular fat) is one of the most important factors determining beef quality, especiallytexture and ﬂavor. Japanese Black cattle, one of the Wagyu breeds, are characterized by their ability todeposit very large amounts of intramuscular fat. In addition to its high level of marbling, Wagyu beef
has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) than other breeds. A higher
percentage of MUFAs leads to a lower melting point for the fat, which contributes to the softness ofbovine fat and improved beef ﬂavor, and may decrease the circulating concentration of LDL
cholesterol in humans. Therefore, the fatty acid composition has recently become an importantconsideration in the beef industry, especially in Japanese Black cattle. Therefore, we have strived to
identify these responsible genes and/or related DNA markers using several molecular technologies,
including functional genomics, transcriptome, proteome, GWAS and whole genome resequencing,since 2003. After 15 years of research using DNA technologies, we discovered several responsible
genes and then developed genetic markers for fatty acid composition and beef marbling. In this
symposium, I would like to brieﬂy talk about the research background and our ﬁndings.

Prof. Stefaan de SmetLaboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Ghent
University (Belgium)

Professor in Animal Science at Ghent University. Graduated in 1986 as Agricultural Engineer fromUGent. PhD from UGent in 1993 on the role of rumen protozoa. Then moved to meat quality researchwith particular interest in the relationship between carcass quality and sensory and technologicalmeat quality traits in cattle and pigs. His current research focuses on meat quality and on the
nutritional and health value of meat and meat products with emphasis on optimisation of the fatty
acid composition and oxidative stability of meat from diﬀerent species.

32

The Belgian Blue beef breed ‒ brief overview of its meat quality characteristics
The Belgian Blue beef breed is characterized by extreme muscularity due to intense selection and thealmost complete segregation of a mutation in the myostatin gene. The ‘double-muscling’ phenotype
not only results in a high meat yield and lean to fat ratio, it also aﬀects the post-mortem muscle
metabolism and the consequent eating quality of the meat. In this presentation, a brief overview will
be given of research conducted at Ghent University over several decades on the muscle and fat
characteristics of this particular breed and the eﬀects thereof on eating quality traits and fatty acidcomposition of the meat.

Prof. Hiromichi Itoh
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor at Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Japan. Graduated from the
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan. Awarded Doctor of Agriculture from Kyoto
University, 1995. After working at Kinki University in Japan as an academic member between 1993 and2000, joined Kobe University as an academic member from 2000. His research focuses on controlling
the growth of plants in closed systems such as greenhouses or plant factories.
Non-destructive Measurement of Plants for Environmental Control in Plant Factory
The plant factory production system provides an environment conductive to the production of plants
throughout the year. Plant factories have been constructed in 200-odd cites in Japan. However, thisproduction system is not complete and should be improved. The most important issue is the highproduction cost. One of the causes of the problem is that environmental control has not been
optimized for plant production. In order to improve the present production system, plant information
should be taken into account in the environmental control. This method is called the “Speaking Plant
Approach” (SPA), in other words a “dialogue with a plant”. In SPA, adequate environments areprepared at appropriate growth stages, according to the condition of the plant. For SPA to beeﬀective, the following are necessary; (a) the elucidation of plant reactions to their environments, (b)the development of technology to measure plant growth. Non-destructive and continuous
measurements for the same plant are necessary to realize (a) and (b). I will present research results
regarding the application of machine vision or near-infrared spectroscopy to a transfer function
model of the relation between environmental input and lettuce growth, or the continuous
monitoring of a lettuce’s nitrate concentration.

33

Prof. Wendy Meulebroeck
Applied Physics and Photonics Department, Brussels Photonics,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Wendy Meulebroeck is a professor and post-doc researcher of engineering of the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (VUB). She is coordinating and working on multiple projects focusing on the spectroscopic
characterization of diﬀerent types of materials in 3 main research ﬁelds: (1) food safety, (2)archaeometry and (3) biophotonics for a better health care and for the replacement of animal models.
She graduated as an Electrotechnical Engineer with majors in Photonics in 1998 and received her PhD
in Applied Sciences in 2004, both at the VUB.
Photonics enhanced sensors for monitoring of solid food products
The Brussels Photonics Team (VUB/B-PHOT) has been collaborating for more than 20 years withcompanies active in the food sorting industry. During this presentation an overview will be given of
the most important food safety applications that were investigated: foreign body detection, quality
classiﬁcation and carcinogenic substance detection (such as mycotoxins and acrylamides).
On the basis of some case studies we will clarify which optical phenomena are especially useful infood safety queries. We will follow the full development chain starting in the optical lab and ending
with a commercially available sorting machine.

Theme 2: Food Systems for Functionality
Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida

Moderator

Prof. Stefan Weckx

Moderator

Kobe University (Japan)

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

34

Dr. Philippe Langella
ProbiHôte Team, Micalis Institute, INRA (France)

Philippe Langella is microbiologist and Research Director of First Class at INRA (France). He’s the
Headof the "Commensals and probiotics-host interactions" Laboratory (50 people; acronym
ProbiHôte) and Vice-Head of the Micalis Institute (350 scientists and technical staﬀ) in charge of theDigestive and Food Ecosystems Research Department. His work is focused on the crosstalk between
commensal and probiotic bacteria with the host in both physiological and patho-physiologicalcontexts especially in gut inﬂammatory conditions. He has authored 222 peer-reviewed international
publications at the interface between microbiology and human health (ISI H factor of 53, Google
Scholar H factor of 65). Co-inventor of 22 patents in the ﬁeld of gut microbiology, he has developed
important partnerships with several food and pharmaceutical companies. He’s one of the threeco-founders of the startup biotech company Exeliom Biosciences (created in November 2016) whichaims to use commensal bacteria as Live Biotherapeutics.
Our intestinal microbiota as source of next-generation probiotics for animal and human health
In 2008, we identiﬁed Faecalibacterium prausnitzii as the ﬁrst anti-inﬂammatory commensal bacterium
detected on the basis of human clinical data and validated in an acute TNBS-induced colitis model.
Since this discovery, diminished prevalence and abundance of F. prausnitzii have been reported in
gastrointestinal disorders such as Inﬂammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS). Today, it is well established that the absence of F. prausnitzii is associated with several humandysbiotic diseases and can be thus considered a biomarker of human health.
F. prausnitzii is now a major component in novel preventive and curative strategies for gastrointestinal
disorders and diseases. We will thus describe its beneﬁcial eﬀects, as shown in i) a chronic
inﬂammation model; ii) a chronic low-grade inﬂammation model to mimic the disorders observed in
IBS patients; and iii) an acute stress model, which is based on neomaternal separation in mice. Morerecent data on the mode of action (MoA) will also be introduced, including the identiﬁcation of apotential anti-inﬂammatory F. prausnitzii MAM protein. All these recent results conﬁrm the highpotential of F. prausnitzii as a next-generation probiotic for both IBS and IBD patients. We will alsopresent other possible next-generation probiotics.

35

Prof. Ro Osawa
Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Japan. Graduated from theveterinary school of Hokkaido University, Japan. Awarded PhD (in veterinary medicine) from
Queensland University, Australia in 1987 and another PhD (in agricultural science) from Tohoku
University, Japan in 1992. After working for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Australia as a research
director between 1988 and 1992, Tokushima University as a research assistant between 1993 and1995, and Kanagawa Prefectural Health Laboratories as a senior investigator between 1996 and 2000,
joined Kobe University as an academic member. His research focuses on food and intestinal
microbiology.
A New Horizon in Evaluating Functionality and Safety of Food Components-An Introduction of Kobe University Human Intestinal ModelThe fate of so-called functional food components varies, from those that are readily absorbed into thehuman body to exert their health maintaining or promoting properties, to those that become
functional, non-functional or even hazardous after being exposed to gastric acid, digestive enzymes,
bile acids, or intestinal microbiota of the host. The practical functionality of a given food component
should be therefore evaluated based on “nutrikinetics” within the human alimentary tract. However, it
is diﬃcult to yield the required comprehensive results using conventional tissue culture or laboratory
animal based tests. Conventional human intervention trials would be again diﬃcult to perform due tothe heavier economic cost as well as higher ethical clearance. In order to bypass this dilemma, wehave recently developed what we call “Kobe University Human Intestinal Models (KUHIM)” thatsimulates human intestinal environments. KUHIM is now successfully being used not only to evaluate
the functionality of a given food component but also to help obtain better diagnosis, prognosis, andremedy for patients with internal illness such as ulcerative colitis and coronary artery disease, which
will be brieﬂy described in the talk.

36

37

Interactive Workshop B
Food Research in Tradition and Future
Dr. Hideaki Shimizu
Analytical Research Division, National Research Institute of Brewing(Japan)Ph. D. at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Japan. Awarded an
MSc and PhD from Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Japan in 2004 and 2007,
respectively. After joining the National Tax Agency in 2007, worked as a technical oﬃcial at the
National Tax Agency, and Regional Taxation Bureaus in Nagoya and Kumamoto from 2007 to 2013,
moving to the National Research Institute of Brewing in 2013. His research focuses on the mineralcomposition of wine and the eﬀect of maceration techniques on red wine quality.
Wine making in Japan
Even though wine consumption in Japan has recently increased, two thirds of the wine consumed isimported and the remainder is mainly made in Japan from imported concentrated grape juice. On theother hand, there has been a recent increase in the number of wineries that make wine only fromgrapes harvested in Japan. Beginning about 140 years ago, wine making in Japan still has a relatively
brief history. Unlike the Mediterranean climate, which has little rain in the summer, the Japaneseclimate is rainy, hot, and highly humid. Damp and hot conditions during the growing and ripeningstages of grape production tend to cause disease and inhibit the development of characteristic colorand ﬂavors. However, with improvements in viticulture and winemaking skills, the quality of Japanesewine has improved signiﬁcantly. The major grape varieties used in the production of Japanese wine
are Koshu, which is native to Japan, for white wine and Muscat Bailey A, which was bred in Japan, forred. Recently, the cultivation of European varieties like Merlot and Chardonnay is increasing. Highquality Japanese wine has received good ratings at recent international wine competitions. At this
symposium, I would like to brieﬂy talk about “Japan wine” including recent research.

38

Prof. Luc de Vuyst
Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology,
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (Belgium)

Professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB),
Brussels, Belgium. Awarded MSc in Agriculture and Chemistry Engineering and PhD in Agricultural
Sciences from Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, in 1986 and 1990, respectively. After research stayedin The Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand. Working for Ghent University and VUB as postdoctoral
researcher (FWO), he became a professor in industrial microbiology and food biotechnology at theVUB in 1994. His research focuses on food fermentation processes (fermented dairy products;
fermented meat products; sourdoughs and other fermented cereals; cocoa, coﬀee, and otherfermented fruits; lambic beer; water keﬁr; etc.) and human colon fermentation of prebiotics(inulin-type fructans and arabinoxylans). His h-index is 66.
Lambic beer fermentation and maturation, a matter of years
The environmental inoculation of wort composed of water, barley malt, unmalted wheat, and aged
dry hops initiates a fermentation and maturation process, which is carried out in wooden barrels. This
process proceeds for up to three years and results in a noncarbonated sour beer, called lambic.
Lambic beers are traditionally produced in Belgium in the proximity of the Senne river valley. The
wooden barrels are reused for many years and are often more than 100 years old. The unique andcomplex ﬂavor of these beers originates from the metabolic activities of various yeasts, lactic acidbacteria (LAB), and acetic acid bacteria (AAB). A systematic, multiphasic study in several lambic
breweries, making use of various microbiological and metabolomic analyses, has allowed us tounravel the microbial community dynamics, substrate consumption and conversion kinetics,
metabolite production and conversion kinetics, including volatile aromatic compounds, during
fermentation and maturation. Four diﬀerent phases can be distinguished, namely the enterobacterial
phase, the alcoholic or main fermentation phase, the acidiﬁcation phase, and the maturation phase.
These phases are related to the presence/absence of speciﬁc species of enterobacteria, AAB, yeasts,
and/or LAB, and changing physicochemical parameters and substrate and metabolite compositions of
the fermenting wort and maturing beer. Finally, it has turned out that the wooden barrels used inlambic beer productions are partly responsible for the restricted microbial diversity and limited
batch-to-batch variability between diﬀerent lambic brews by acting as an additional microbial
inoculation source, in addition to the environmental air of the Senne river valley during the coolship
step.

39

Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida

Session producer/leader

Prof. Stefan Weckx

Session producer/leader

Kobe University (Japan)

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Ms. Inge Arents
Flanders FOOD (Belgium)

Inge Arents is managing director at Flanders’ FOOD. In this function she combines the world ofindustry, entrepreneurship and commercial value with the world of research and taking the risks ofinnovation. Flanders’ FOOD challenges people to look beyond their boundaries.
Flanders’ FOOD is the spearhead AgriFood in Flanders with the aim to higher the growth and export
levels of Flemish foodindustry together with partners in the agro- and industry-ecosystem that as well
beneﬁt of this growth.
Inge Arents is an agricultural engineer, specialized in food and nutrition, graduated at the Universityof Ghent. For 10 years she was responsible for application driven R&D and process development at
Vandemoortele NV and for 12 years she was advisor at the agency for Innovation and Technology(IWT) supporting industry oriented research projects in Flanders. In both jobs innovation,
collaboration and entrepreneurship were key drivers.
Flanders’ FOOD, Spearhead Cluster Agri-Food
Collaboration is key
Flanders’ FOOD is a cluster organization and the spearhead cluster for the agri-food industry in
Flanders. Flanders’ FOOD believes in the future of the Flemish agri-food industry and together withthe relevant stakeholders in the agri-food system we ensure that the next generations also can enjoy
tasty food for a healthy lifestyle. Flanders’ FOOD has over 300 company members (for the larger part
SMEs and about 70% from agri-food industry) and collaborates with all the relevant RTOs andinnovation actors in Flanders (they are also members of Flanders’ FOOD). Collaboration on diﬀerent
levels is necessary and especially in the framework of the spearhead cluster agri-food. FF initiates andfacilitates collaboration not only between research institutions, government and companies, but also
across sectors, across borders and between all links of the value chain.
Flanders’ FOOD focuses on the economic growth of the Flemish agri-food industry. FF will thereby
mainly act as an enabler for innovation and integrator to create a trust zone of open innovation with40

all stakeholders in the agri-food business complex. The three economic drivers for growth are: (1)increasing local and international competitiveness, (2) focus on new business opportunities throughsystem integration and (3) take up the social and societal responsibilities.
To provide an answer to these three economic drivers, four strategic objectives are deﬁned thatshould increase knowledge and broaden the horizons of companies on the one hand, and on theother to enable them to validate and implement this new knowledge into new products, processes
and concepts that drive their economic growth. Flanders’ FOOD is not deﬁning the products,
processes and services of the future, but will create enablers for companies to act quicker, better andmore eﬃcient in their innovation processes.
The knowledge-driven strategic goals will focus on four research programs: (1) World Class Food
Production, (2) Resilient & Sustainable Agrifood Systems, (3) Personalized Food Products & Healthy
Diets and (4) New and Shifting resources.
A number of activities contribute to the realization of the strategic goals, such as, development ofdedicated roadmaps, creation of a (virtual) inspiration center, education of the target group,
distribution of information beyond the target group, enable access to pilot infrastructure, etc.

Mr. Federico Perrone
European Liaison Oﬃce, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

European Liaison Oﬃcer within the R&D department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, graduated in Law
at the University of Bologna, Italy, and specialized with a post-graduate Master in Legal and Policy
support for EU funded Research and Innovation projects. Prior to joining the VUB, also focused on thelegal and public aﬀairs support for innovative businesses and products in Paris, Hong Kong and
London, collaborating with law ﬁrms and The Walt Disney Company.
Evolution of the EU-Japanese collaboration under the new Research and Innovation funding scheme
The transition from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe will bring with it an assessment of the successes
and bottlenecks of collaboration in Research and Innovation with third countries, including Japan,
and the instruments used to support it. In the meantime the EU-Japan Economic Partnership
Agreement as well as last political meetings among European and Japanese leaders, seem suggestingan enhanced interaction in the science and technology ﬁeld. An overview on the topic will be oﬀered,analyzing the status of EU new Research and Innovation framework and its potential impact on thecollaboration among Japanese and European public, private and academic research entities in
research and innovation.

41

42

Parallel Session 3:
Social Sciences and Humanities 10:00-13:30
Preserving the Past, Celebrating the Present, Embracing
the Future: A New Age for Cultural Heritage Research in
EU and Japan
Theme1: Celebrating the Present, Embracing the Future:
Communities & Cultural Heritage
Theme2: Making History Come Alive: New Challenges andOpportunities for Cultural Heritage Institutions

Interractive Workshops
and Brokerage Events C 14:30-17:00
Towards a Holistic Approach to Cultural Heritage
Research: Challenges & Opportunities

43

Report on Session 3: Preserving the Past, Celebrating the Present, Embracing the Future: A New
Age for Cultural Heritage Research in EU and JapanIn Parallel Session 3: Social Sciences and Humanities, presenters discussed how our communities
should share, protect, preserve and inherit cultural heritage and historical materials. Events organised
during “the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018” aroused interest in and promoted
understanding of cultural heritage. Nevertheless, many challenges still remain. It is important forpoliticians, academics and citizens to cooperate in preserving and utilising cultural heritage andhistorical materials, with a deep understanding of and appreciation for regional variety.
The session consisted of two themes. Prof. Gábor Sonkoly (ELTE University), the ﬁrst speaker in ‘Theme
1: Celebrating the Present, Embracing the Future: Communities & Cultural Heritage’, deﬁned current
heritage-communities and the main challenges that they face today. He also stressed the signiﬁcanceof heritage communities and the importance of preserving cultural heritage on a local level. The
second speaker, Dr. Dorota Nigge (European Commission), deﬁned the actions based on the European
Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage and looked at the lessons learned from “the European Yearof Cultural Heritage 2018”. At the end of Theme 1, discussant Prof. Michael Claessens (European
Commission and Université Libre de Bruxelles) expressed his opinions on science, culture and theimportance of global perspectives in these matters.
In Theme 2 of this session: ‘Making History Come Alive: New Challenges and Opportunities for
Cultural Heritage Institutions’, the ﬁrst speaker Prof. Simon Kaner (University of East Anglia andSainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts & Culture) presented two approaches from UK andJapan for boosting the appeal of ancient sites. Then Prof. Makoto Goto (National Museum of Japanese
History) gave a progress report on how to preserve and utilise historical resources throughconstructing a digitalised data system. The third speaker on the theme, Dr. Heide Buck-Albulet(University of Hamburg) talked about how societal demand has led to the revival of the Renga form of
linked poetry in contemporary Japan. Dr. Constanze Itzel (House of European History) elaborated on
the challenges faced by the “House of European History” project; a historical exhibition focusing on
the 19th and 20th centuries.
Interactive Workshop C featured presentations concerning the preservation and utilization ofregional historical heritage (by Prof. Hiroshi Okumura, Kobe Univeristy), the activities carried out by“Shiryo-net” to restore historical materials damaged by disasters (by Prof. Masashi Amano, National
Museum of Japanese History), the signiﬁcance problems facing museums (by Dr. Benedek Varga,
Hungarian National Museum), and some case studies on the activities of the Community OutreachCenter at Kobe University (by Mr. Yusuke Tsukuma, Kobe University).
The session concluded with an opinion exchange between the presenters and members of theaudience. They discussed the concepts of “Cultural Heritage” and “Historical Resources,” ﬁrst, and thenthey talked over a possible system by which Japan and the EU could work together to preserve
cultural heritage. It was suggested that a consortium should be organised, along with a jointstatement from those who are involved in Cultural Heritage. Through this session, a common
foundation for protecting, preserving and inheriting cultural heritage and historical materials wasformed.

44

Parallel Session 3
Theme 1: Celebrating the Present, Embracing the
Future: Communities & Cultural Heritage

Mr.Patrick Vittet-Philippe

Moderator

Kobe University Brussels European Centre (Belgium)

Patrick Vittet-Philippe is a recently retired EC oﬃcial, with a special interest in international S&T
cooperation, science communication and science diplomacy. Before joining the Commission, hetaught at Trinity College Dublin and Merton College Oxford and was attaché de recherche at the
French CNRS. He spent 14 years in the French Diplomatic Service, as press and cultural attaché in Tel
Aviv, London and New York. After a period in the European television industry, he joined the EC as
expert-adviser in Information Society technologies and the digital economy, representing theinstitution in key international fora and conferences. He moved in 2001 to DG Research andInnovation as Press and Communication Oﬃcer, responsible, in particular, for commissioning TV
magazines on EU research (e.g. Futuris on Euronews) and public engagement in science. In 2011 hebecame Head of the Japan and Russia Desks, where he organized the ‘EU-Russia Year of Science’, andwas directly involved in the preparation of the S&T chapters of EU-Russia and EU-Japan Summits. He
was appointed last year as adviser to Kobe University European Centre in Brussels, focusing on thedevelopment of joint research projects and academic cooperation between Europe and Japan.

Prof. Gàbor Sonkoly
Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest(Hungary)

Gábor Sonkoly (Ph.D. EHESS, Paris; Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) is a Professor ofHistory and Dean at the Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest. He published 9books and 75+ articles and book chapters on urban history, urban heritage and critical history ofcultural heritage. He is the co-author of Innovation in Cultural Heritage Research (2018). He has

45presented at more than 110 international colloquia and was a guest professor in 12 countries. He is
the scientiﬁc coordinator of TEMA+ EMJMD. He is a task leader for two EC-H2020-SC6 Research
Projects (REACH, UNCHARTED). He is a member of the Panel for European Heritage Label.
Current challenges facing heritage communities
The goal of this lecture is to deﬁne current heritage-communities and the main challenges that they
face today. The notion of (heritage)-community has fundamentally changed in the last decades,
reaching its present situation, where it refers to local communities which are actively involved in theinterpretation and protection of their own heritage.
Parallel to this process, the original principles of the common culture of humanity (world heritage),that of a civilizational unit (i.e. Europe) or that of a Nation were replaced by the principle of cultural
diversity, which necessitates the participation of the local community in cultural heritage protection ‒an immanent element of intangible heritage protection.
As the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions states, cultural diversity is as crucial as
biodiversity from the point of view of the survival of humanity and, thus, it assigns particularimportance to these communities in the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
In this sense, the preservation of cultural heritage is a primary indicator of Security, which has been aleitmotif of the modern state since its foundation. Thus, the heritage communities are not only
essential, but also responsible from the perspective of sustainability and from their own liveability.
This new role should urge scholars and administrators to assist with heritage-building according to
the growing variety of ‘co-creation’.

Dr. Dorota Nigge
European Commission (EU)Team Leader for cultural heritage, European Commission, Directorate General for Education andCulture, unit in charge of cultural policy. Dorota is working on the implementation of the European
Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, in follow up to the European Year of Cultural Heritage2018. Until 2017, she was responsible for policy development for the cultural and creative sectors(CCS), in charge of initiatives relating to cultural entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation and access toﬁnance for the CCS. Before joining the EU institutions in 2005, she worked as policy analyst at the
University of Cologne (Jean Monnet Chair of Prof. W. Wessels), the Trans European Policy Studies
Associations (TEPSA) and the Institute of Public Aﬀairs in Warsaw.

46

The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018: which lessons for cross-border cooperation and citizen
engagement?
The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 (EYCH) has had a positive impact on the perception ofEurope’s cultural heritage as a powerful resource for Europe. Through highlighting Europe’s cultural
heritage on EU and national agendas and a broad mobilisation of actors, the Year contributed to aninter-cultural conversation about what Europe has in common.
Based on the results of the EYCH, in December 2018 the European Commission has proposed a
European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage. With its 65 concrete actions, the objective is tocapture the momentum created in 2018, through a continued series of short to medium-term actions
implemented by diﬀerent Commission services, in cooperation with the EU Member States andcultural heritage stakeholders.
The presentation will look at the lessons learned from the EYCH 2018 for cross-border cooperationand citizen engagement. How to sustain cooperation across sectors and levels of governance? How toensure a longer-term vision for the management, safeguarding and enhancement of Europe’s cultural
heritage, based on cooperation and engagement?

Prof. Arturo Rodriguez Morató(Unable to attend)

University of Barcelona (Spain)

Arturo Rodriguez Morató (PhD UAB) is Full Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Center for the
Study of Culture, Politics and Society at the University of Barcelona. Former Vice President for Researchof the International Sociological Association (2006-2010) and Former President of its ResearchCommittee on Sociology of the Arts (1998-2002). He has been Visiting Scholar at the EHESS, the New
School for Social Research and the University of Cambridge. He has been the Coordinator of the
CulturalBase project and currently leads UNCHARTED, both within the H2020 Programme. His work
focuses on cultural policy, cultural heritage, urban culture and arts sociology.
Culture-led urban regeneration and the conundrum of social involvement in cultural heritage
In the modern and contemporary world, the political and economic importance of cultural heritage
has increased. Its management has undergone profound transformations and the social implications
have expanded accordingly. Initially, the prevailing perspective was that of architecturalconservation, followed by the imposition of urban conservation frameworks. In recent times, heritage
tourism has become the dominant perspective. Here we are going to focus on the processes ofculture-led urban regeneration, closely linked to heritage tourism, which has been the predominant

47

framework of cultural heritage management since the 1980s. We will consider the way in which social
involvement has operated within this type of process and the corresponding diﬃculties andcontradictions that have arisen. To do this, we will refer in particular to the Spanish and Latin
American experiences, which are very signiﬁcant.
Examining various cases will lead us to identify a series of challenges facing the promotion of social
involvement in cultural heritage management: the challenge of developing a plural and integrated
perspective of valuing cultural heritage, the challenge of integrating diversity and that of therelationship with creation. Assessment of these diﬀerent challenges will help us to better understandthe keys to social involvement in cultural heritage.

Prof. Pascal Delheye(Unable to attend)

Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Ghent University (Belgium)

Photo credits: Liesbet Claerbout

Pascal Delheye is chairholder of the UGent Chair Frans Verheeke - The Future of Sports. His doctoral
research, for which he won the Young Investigators Award of the European College of Sport Sciencein 2003, focused on the history of physical education and its origin as an academic discipline.
Following post-doctoral research at the Universities of Leuven and Berkeley, he became a professor ofsports history at KU Leuven in 2008. He has published widely on the history of sport and edited
Making Sport History: Disciplines, Identities and the Historiography of Sport (London & New York:
Routledge, 2014). Since January 2017, he is aﬃliated with the Center for Local Politics at the Faculty of
Political and Social Sciences of Ghent University.
Sport, heritage and cultural diversity: past, present and future
The lecture focuses on the Western conceptualization of sport, its impact on the existing ‘sport
heritage’, and (the implications for) the future perspectives of speciﬁc sport disciplines.
In a ﬁrst part, the inﬁltration and establishment of sport disciplines in Belgium will be put into
perspective, as well as the selective awareness of ‘sport heritage’. Special attention will be paid to theintroduction of karate.
In a second part, the results of a study that aimed to detect all the ‘memorials’ established in local
communities in honor of ‘sport heroes’ will be presented. Statues, busts, or memorial plaques not only
are tangible reminders of remarkable sporting achievements, but also symbolize the ‘identiﬁcation’ ofmembers of the local communities with ‘their’ sport hero.
In a third and ﬁnal part, the complex connection between ‘sport heritage’ and ‘cultural diversity’ will
be tackled. In contrast to the ‘white male dominance’ visible in Belgium’s sporting heritage, some48

popular Belgian sport disciplines are confronted with diminishing overall attraction due to recent
migration processes and ethnic-cultural diversity. Ironically, these global migration processes are also
leading to the ‘re-introduction’ of sports like cricket, exported from Flanders to England in the Middle
Ages and now coming home thanks to migrants from Pakistan and other former British colonies.

Prof. Michel Claessens
European Commission (EU)
Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)

Michel Claessens (Ph.D. ULB, Brussels) is a Policy and Communication Oﬃcer at the European
Commission and Professor of Science Communication at the Free University of Brussels. He has
published 14 books and about 35 articles and book chapters on European science and technology. He
is an active member of international networks on science communication (PCST, ESOF, etc.) and afrequent speaker at international conferences (Chinese Association for Science Communication,
AAAS, TEDx, etc). Considering science as a cultural heritage, he is currently developing aninternational alliance to promote science culture together with 14 teams of experts managing opinion
surveys about the public’s understanding of science.

Theme 2: Making History Come Alive:
New Challenges and Opportunities for
Cultural Heritage Institutions
Prof. Hiroko Masumoto

Moderator

Vice President, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor of German Literature at the Graduate School of Humanities, Vice President in Charge ofInternational Collaboration and International Education, Kobe University. Awarded MA and PhD from
Hiroshima University, Japan. Visiting Scholar with “Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for
Foreign Scholars” at Bern University, Switzerland from 1994 to 1995. After working at Himeji Dokkyo
University, Japan, from 1987 to 2007, joined Kobe University as an academic member. Her research
focuses on modern and contemporary German literature.

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Prof. Simon Kaner
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
University of East Anglia (UK)

Professor Simon Kaner is Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia
and Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, where heis also Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage. He is an archaeologist specialising in theprehistory of Japan. His recent publications include An Illustrated Companion to Japanese Archaeology(edited, with Werner Steinhaus) (Oxford, Archaeopress, 2016) and he is currently editing the Oxford
Handbook of the Archaeology of Korea and Japan. He is Co-Editor of the Japanese Journal ofArchaeology, Series Editor for the Archaeopress series Comparative Perspectives on JapaneseArchaeology and Series Co-Editor for the Springer series The Science of the History of Humanity in Asiaand the Paciﬁc. He developing new exhibitions for 2020 at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the
University of East Anglia comparing the appearance of Buddhism in Japan and the adoption of
Christianity in northwestern Europe ‒ the arrival of world religions at the extremities of the Silk Roads,
and for the Stonehenge World Heritage Visitor Centre on Stonehenge and Japan.
Beyond ‘ﬁve minutes of fame’. Japan Heritage and Globalising British Archaeology: two approaches tobroadening the appeal of ancient sites in contemporary landscapes
The moment and immediate aftermath of archaeological discovery regularly attract public attention,
both in the UK and Japan. Maintaining interest often proves more challenging, especially in the caseof sites which are destroyed in the process of excavation, or where the signiﬁcant ﬁnds are more
ephemeral than, for example, stone circles and historic churches. This presentation considers two
initiatives, one in Japan and one in the UK that attempt to revitalise interest in known archaeologicalsites partly through the use of historical trails. We will consider how such constructions relate to
heritage discourses, and how they become implicated in the weaving of narratives about the past at avariety of scales of analysis. The ﬁrst (Global Perspectives on British Archaeology www.globalbritisharchaeology.com) explores the international signiﬁcance of six key sites in East Anglia. Japan
Heritage, an initative of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Aﬀairs as part of the Japanese cultural
Olympiad, has seen some 83 historical trails developed around Japan over the past three years.

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Prof. Makoto Goto
National Museum of Japanese History (Japan)

Associate Professor at the National Institutes for Humanities, National Museum of Japanese History,
Japan. Awarded an MSc and PhD from Osaka City University in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Also
worked for Hanazono University as lecturer, and the head oﬃce of the National Institutes for
Humanities. His research focuses on Digital Humanities, in particular the digitization of Japanese
historical documents.
Approach to protect and preserve historical and cultural resources with data infrastructure
The National Museum of Japanese History (NMJH) and Kobe University have recently launched a new
project. The project aims to protect historical and cultural resources from disasters, and to preserve
them for future generations. This project is called “From Local Historical Material Studies to Regional
Historical Culture”.
Currently, the long-term preservation of historical resources is a major issue in Japan. In addition to
routine resource disposal, frequent calamities in Japan result in population losses, along with the lossof livelihoods, culture, and records. This destruction of resources can lead to the loss of history andculture itself. To deal with these conditions, the project seeks to avert the corresponding loss bycreating a data infrastructure, speciﬁcally through digitization. It attempts to prevent actual loss ofrecords by adding information like latitude and longitude to the metadata and contents of historicaland cultural records, ascertaining their location, and making use of them in various ﬁelds.
Compiling this data goes beyond simply collecting it―it is necessary to create high-level data basedon historical research and document research, in addition to making it internationally available forpractical use. This presentation sheds light on example cases.

Dr. Heide Buck-Albulet
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, University of Hamburg(Germany)

Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) of Hamburg University,
Germany. Studied in Tübingen and Tōkyō (Japanese Studies, German Linguistics, German Literature).

51

Awarded a PhD from Tübingen University, Germany, in 2002 and a University of Tübingen doctoral
dissertation award in 2003. After working for Tübingen University as a research associate andHeidelberg University as a visiting professor (one semester), joined Hamburg University in 2014 andagain in 2016. Her research focusses, among others, on classical Japanese poetry, rhetoric, andmanuscript studies.
Linked Poetry (Renga) in Contemporary Japan
Renga, a form of collaborative poetry, by which participants of a circle alternately contribute verses,
ﬂourished in Japan for more than half a millennium. In the 19th century, the tradition came to beabandoned throughout the country - with probably one exception. Since the 1980s however, revival
movements began to reintroduce and spread the practice. As a result, renga circles are being held
again in many parts of Japan.
Like other literary traditions of Japan, renga has always been more than mere poetry. As an “art of theplace" (ba no geinō), it brings people together who enjoy the challenge of composing verses inclassical Japanese. Often, the records of the poems give rise to calligraphic works, many of which are,like the performances themselves, meant as an oﬀering (hōnō) and presented to the deities of shrines
and temples in a votive ceremony.
While the poetic rules and the structure of the written records follow patterns that go back to the 14th
century, other elements like the high degree of rituality gave way to freer forms of performance. This
paper discusses how balancing tradition and innovation as well as activities of teaching andpromotion have shown to be eﬀective in preserving the cultural heritage of renga.

Dr. Constanze Itzel
House of European History, European Parliament (EU)Dr. Constanze Itzel, Director of the House of European History since 2017, has worked on thistransnational museum project since 2009 as an adviser and curator. She was previously a curator at
the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, research assistant at the University of Heidelberg, andresearch and committee administrator for the Committee on Culture and Education of the European
Parliament. She was awarded a PhD based on her thesis studying the impact of the image debate on
ﬁfteenth-century paintings.
Europe in one space. The House of European History
Presenting Europe's history in one museum has been described as being impossible by some. In thelight of diﬀerent historical experiences, contested histories, memory conﬂicts, and the primacy ofnational history in all history teaching, creating an exhibition presenting history from a pan-European

52perspective was enormously diﬃcult.
The lecture will elaborate upon the challenges faced by the House of European History team whenbuilding up its permanent exhibition on 19th and 20th century history. What does it mean for amuseum if it is supposed to be European, not only in the narrative sense, but also in building up aEuropean collection, for a European audience and with a European team? In the absence of any
agreed deﬁnition, how can we conceptualize what Europe actually means? How to square the circle ofpresenting a simple narrative for laymen while at the same time doing justice to the diversity ofexperiences? Finally, what reactions has this museum received since its opening and what challenges
does it face in further developing its European mission?

Prof. Marc Jacobs

DiscussantUniversity of Antwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Professor in critical heritage studies University Antwerp (Faculty Design Sciences, Department
Heritage/ARCHES, since September 2019), & part-time associate professor Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
UNESCO Chair on critical heritage studies and the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (since2011). From 1999 to 2019, Marc Jacobs was director of the Flemish Interface for Cultural Heritage and,since 2008, of FARO. Flemish Interface for Cultural heritage. He obtained a licentiate (master) in history
at the University of Ghent (1985) and a PhD in history at the VUB (1998). He is specialized in the studyof the history of popular culture, of heritage theory, policy and practice, UNESCO and actor-network
theory.

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Interactive Workshop C
Towards a Holistic Approach to Cultural Heritage
Research: Challenges & Opportunities
Prof. Hiroko Masumoto
Kobe University (Japan)

Prof. Simon Kaner

Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures andSession producer/leader

Moderator

University of East Anglia (UK)Prof. Hiroshi Okumura

Session producer/leader

Graduate Studies of Humanities, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor at Graduate Studies of Humanities, Kobe University, Japan. He received an M.A(1984) in
Literature from Kobe University. After working for Kyoto University as research assistant, joined Kobe
University in 1991 as an associate professor. He became a professor in 2006. His research focuses onModern Japanese History and Historical Materials.
Regional historical heritage- ensuring that the historical culture of regional societies continues in the
futureIn Japan, there are a multitude of varied historical cultural traditions that remain at regional levels.
However, these local cultural heritages are in danger of disappearing due to factors such as majorsocietal changes and large-scale disasters.
In this presentation, I will begin by explaining these circumstances in detail. Secondly, I will explain
how professors of Universities in Japan and people involved in cultural history can carry out practicalresearch in these critical situations. Thirdly, I will consider ‘Local Historical Materials Studies’, which is a
new research ﬁeld that has resulted from these practical research eﬀorts. Through this, I hope todeepen the understanding of all the topics in this session.

54

Prof. Masashi Amano
National Museum of Japanese History (Japan)

Masashi Amano is a Project Associate Professor at National Museum of Japanese History, Japan.
Awarded PhD from Tohoku University, Japan in 2011, After working for International ResearchInstitute of Disaster Science in Tohoku University as an Assistant Professor, joined National Museum ofJapanese History in 2017. His research focuses on Intellectual History at 19rh in Japan. He is also
studying on structure of preserving cultural heritage.
Handling to damaged materials: methodology and views
This lecture presents speciﬁc measures to deal with damaged cultural heritage in Japan. In japan,
there are a large number of cultural heritages that are not under public protection. If cultural heritages
are damaged by disaster, the timing of the rescue and how to deal is left to the owner or the area, andthere is no guarantee that action will be taken by the expert. Therefore, it is necessary to consider amethod based on amateur volunteers for disaster relief in Japan.
My presentation introduces the conservation style that assumes citizen participation practiced invarious place with examples of paper documents. From these cases, we will examine thecharacteristics of relief cases in Japan, and propose the signiﬁcance and social impact as disastercountermeasures.

Dr. Benedek Varga
Hungarian National Museum (Hungary)

Dr. Benedek Varga has been Director General of Hungarian National Museum since 2016. Prior to this,
he worked in Semmelweis Museum, Library and Archives of the History of Medicine (SOM) since 1989
and served as Director General of SOM (2007-2016). Dr. Varga Professor was awarded MSc and PhDfrom Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Social and Political Philosophy in 1989 and in 1999 and had
experiences as visiting scholar in King’s College, Cambridge and and visiting fellow in UCL. He obtains
various memberships including the one of European Association of Archaeologists 2020, Budapest
Congress Organizing Committee from 2016 and the one of European Association of Archaeologists
2020, Budapest Congress Organizing Committee as the president of ICOM Hungary since 2015.

55

Museums and the discourse on heritage
According to recent academic and public discourse, cultural heritage has become an issue deeplyinterconnected with preserving local communities, maintaining common cultural achievements ofmankind and upholding cultural diversity as anessential entity contributing towards the survival of
humanity. These approaches also incorporate sustainable development and the preservation ofcivilized life on Earth.
Similarly, there is an ongoing debate within the community of museum experts, curators andtheoreticians on the new role, duties and future possibilities for museums. Indeed, the new deﬁnitionof museums in contemporary global societies, as deﬁned at the September 2019 ICOM General
Assembly in Kyoto, is also being debated. Discussions are about how far museums should be engaged
in social understanding and criticism, and promote “planetary well-being” etc.
The two issues are strongly related to each other. The museum in many sense has been the central
public institution upholding, not only tangible heritage (as it is manifested through precious objects
representing public memory), but also the unique knowledge, the immaterial ideas that are attachedto these objects of public memory. Museum collections embody and symbolize our shared memory
and the heritage that we strive to preserve. What are the possible connections between these two
academic and public discourses? What role should museums play in the ever changing network ofheritage-minded societies? Are there global answers as to how museums can transform their position
in a world of diverse cultural objectives, political systems and agendas? How should museums deﬁnethemselves? What roles should they choose in promoting the well-being of modern societies?

Mr. Yusuke Tsukuma
Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University (Japan)

Doctoral student at the Graduate School of Humanities, Kobe University, Japan. Entered the Faculty of
Letters, Kobe University in 2011. He moved on to a Master’s Degree program at the Graduate Schoolof Humanities, Kobe University in 2015, and subsequently proceeded to a Doctoral Course in 2017. His
major is Japanese Modern History. He has also been engaged in regional cooperation to protect andutilize local communities’ old documents.
Anecdotal reports on regional historical heritage protection and utilization
The Community Outreach Center at Kobe University has been carrying out various activities to protect
and utilize regional historical heritage. In this presentation, I will use three cases to introduce andexplain the Community Outreach Center’s activities.

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The ﬁrst is about working with the cooperation of local residents. The second involves sharing ourachievements with the community. The third is about our investigations being presented in
exhibitions and academic publishing. Through the above examples, I will give a brief overview of ourwork at the Community Outreach Center.

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Closing Remarks
Prof. Matsuto Ogawa
Executive Vice-President, Kobe University (Japan)

Distinguished guests; colleagues; ladies and gentlemen;
It is a great pleasure for me to be with you at this symposium today. On behalf of Kobe University, I
would like to express my sincere gratitude for your support and participation in this event. I am
conﬁdent that this symposium has been a great success worthy of the 10 th anniversary, having
addressed topics concerning both Japan and Europe, and facilitated exchange of the latest research
information among participants.
As the Executive Vice President in Charge of Research, I am delighted to see the highlights ofinnovative collaboration between our university, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and our strategic partners.
Our activities and presence in Europe would not be as strong as they are today without the generous
support of your esteemed institutions. I very much look forward to seeing this research collaboration
continue to develop for many years to come, with active involvement in European and Japanese
research funding projects including the upcoming Horizon Europe.
International experience is very important for young researchers’ careers. Kobe University has
established its own programme to send young researchers overseas for a minimum of 6 months’
research activities. The University President, Professor Takeda, and I took the initiative to start thisscheme and I am pleased that so far about 130 researchers have enjoyed and established joint
research with many European partners.
Alongside numerous collaborations in research, we have been promoting student and researcher
mobility between Europe and Japan and have conducted various exchange programmes, including
double degree programmes and Erasmus+. I encourage young researchers get involved in these
programmes to gain international perspectives and experiences. Europe is the most popular
destination for our students. In this academic year about 100 of our 160 outgoing students studied inEurope.
I am certain that these new initiatives will lead to further international research collaborations with
our European partners. I also hope participants here today will start discussing how to get actively
involved in European and Japanese research funding projects.
This year, Prof. Noriyuki Inoue, Graduate School of Law and the former Executive President in chargeof International Exchange was granted the Jean Monnet Chair. He is the third Jean Monnet Chair from
Kobe University. These professors represent our strong ties with Europe.

58Supported by its strong partnerships with European institutions including VUB, Kobe University shallplay a key role as a higher educational institution in tackling universal challenges in our globalized
world. We will strive for a better future by promoting innovation and international collaboration. I’dlike to thank you all once again for participating in this symposium.
Thank you very much.

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Prof. Hugo Thienpont
Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Excellences,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my honour to close today’s very successful and very special event, namely the 10th anniversary ofthis symposium. And it was our pleasure to be a part of it. This event has allowed us to forge an evenstronger relationship with Kobe University’s Brussels oﬃce, and we sincerely hope it may continue fora very, very long time.
I would like to take the opportunity to welcome our new intern ‒ Ryu Uwagawa ‒ from Kobe
University. He will be with us for 2 years, partly at the Kobe University Brussels oﬃce, but also at theVUB International Relations oﬃce. It is another testimony of the important relationship between Kobe
University and the VUB, and of our valuable work together.
I would like to thank our Japanese visitors for travelling all the way to join us here today and for theircontributions. In particular a warm thank you to Professor Hiroshi Takeda, President of Kobe
University, but also to Professor Matsuto Ogawa and to all of their colleagues. Thank you for your time,
your help, your insight and your continued support.
In addition, my thanks go out to His Excellency, Mr Kazuo Kodama, Ambassador of Japan to theEuropean Union, and to Monsieur Jean-Eric Pacquet, Director-General of the European Commission’s
DG for Research and Innovation. Thank you both for your time and contributions also this morning.
We looked at three highly relevant issues today:
First “Economics” ‒ in function of the new trade and strategic partnership agreement between the EU
and Japan;
Second : “Natural sciences” with a special focus on food systems, very important for Flanders, very
important for Brussels, but very important for, I think, all of us especially in terms of quality and safety
and functionality;
And third “Social Sciences and Humanities”, with communities and cultural heritage in the spotlights,
and making history come alive.
In the afternoon, through open interactive workshops, we focused on research related to these topics.
So, in the end, I think we can now safely say that much was accomplished today. We’ve taken in a lot

60

of information, and - as always ‒ this leaves us with a lot to mentally digest and contemplate about.
We now have a solid basis to further develop various EU-Japan joint research projects on these topics.
Or at least among these topics, there are maybe many, many others.
I would like to thank all the speakers today, all the moderators and session leaders, but also, all of you
in the audience. Thank you for your active participation in the workshops and for turning today’s
symposium into a real success.
I would suggest, I don’t know whether you would agree with me, but I would suggest a toast to thenext 10 years of working together!
Kampai !

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Edited and published by

Institute for Promoting International Partnerships

Kobe University
1-1, Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501 Japan
E-mail: intl-relations@office.kobe-u.ac.jp