EIJS hosted the 39^th annual conference of the Euro Asia Management Studies Association (EAMSA). EAMSA is a platform for academic exchange on economic and management issues and organizes an annual conference alternately in Europe and Asia. Last year the conference was held at Keio University in Tokyo. 

The theme of the conference was “Europe and Asia in the Green Economy - Dynamics and Implications”. The conference covered areas such as business, economics, economic geography, and innovation with connection to Asia and Europe. A corporate panel discussing digitalization and green economy transition was also part of the program as well as a visit to Ericsson Head Office.

17^th Annual Conference of the Nordic Association for the Study of Contemporary Japanese Studies (NAJS) was organized by EIJS and held at Stockholm School of Economics. NAJS was established in 2002, with the aim to provide a border-crossing network for research on various facets of modern and contemporary Japan. The annual 2-day conference is the major activity of the association, and researchers and doctoral students gather to discuss each other’s research and share information and experiences.

The joint conference with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Japan office and European Japan Advanced Research Network (EJARN) was held in Tokyo on 8 November 2019. The title of the conference was “Really getting things done?”.
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) were concluded in 2018 and entered the implementation phase. The concrete steps the EU and Japan have taken to strengthen cooperation, coordination and synergies were discussed. The purpose of the conference was to move the process and come up with suggestions for the next steps to take. 

The European Japan Advanced Research Network’s (EJARN) annual conference, entitled “The Future of European Union-Japan Relations: Common Challenges, Common Responses” took place at Inalco in Paris, 7-8 June, hosted by IFRAE, Institut français de recherche sur l'Asie de l'Est/ French Institute on East Asian Research. A notable group of leading scholars and officials from Europe and Japan attended the conference and presented their views and analysis regarding the future of EU-Japan relations. The opening remarks were given by Mr. Yoshihiro Higuchi, Minister, Japanese Embassy in France and Mr. Fredéric Grare, Advisor, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 7 and Mr. Toshihiko Horiuchi, Minister, Japanese Embassy in France, Mr. Roland Honekamp, Desk officer Japan, European External Action Service and Mr. Fabien Fieschi, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 8.    

A Joint Symposium on Innovation Ecosystem was held on 16 May in Tokyo, Japan. The title of the symposium was A Key to Successful Innovation: Lessons from Swedish and Japanese Start-up Practices. It was jointly organized by the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University, the House of Innovation and the European Institute of Japanese Studies at Stockholm School of Economics.

It was a full house and a great showcase of how Swedish and Japanese startups, governments and academia can come together to think about the future of innovation and it’s impact on our every day life.

On June 8 and 9 the EJARN conference “EU-Japan Future Partnership: Ready for the Big Bang?” was organized in Stockholm.

This year marked the ten-year anniversary of the European Japan Advanced Research Network (EJARN) and this time its annual conference was organized in the place where activities were initiated. The first five years the annual conferences were organized in Stockholm but after that we started rotating to various places in Europe such as Paris, Trondheim, Pavia, Warwick and Frankfurt.

Besides the ten- year anniversary of EJARN, 2018 also marked the celebration of 150 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Sweden so there were several reasons to celebrate!

We welcomed a group of distinguished guests and keynote speakers, comprised of leading scholars as well as European and Japanese officials. The Japanese Ambassador in Stockholm H. E. Mr. Jun Yamazaki gave some welcome remarks and so did Dr. Lars Ågren, Senior Executive Vice President of Stockholm School of Economics.

EIJS hosted "Meeting Point Japan 2018" on February 19 in collaboration with the Sweden-Japan Foundation and Business Sweden.

It was a seminar and networking event for all people with a professional or personal interest in Japan, from business, academia and government.

Mr. Toshiyuki Shiga of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd and Innovation Network Corporation, Mr. Jacob Wallenberg of Investor AB and Mr. Carl Lagercrantz of Northvolt Ab were invited as speakers for the session on Opportunities in a Changing Business Environment.

2018 is a year of celebration for Sweden and Japan, marking 150 years of diplomatic relations. H. E. Mr. Jun Yamazaki, Japanese Ambassador to Sweden and H. E. Mr. Magnus Robach, Swedish Ambassador presented some of the grand events that will take place in both countries. Ms. Cecilia Leiram of Business Sweden talked about the future of Swedish-Japanese Business Relations and the Sweden-Japan Business Summit in Tokyo in April.

It was followed by a reception with mingling and networking and about 200 participants attended.