A group of scientists from Novosibirsk State University took part in a Russian-Japanese Symposium on Asian Studies.
The V International Scientific Symposium Russia-Japan Workshop 2018: Asian Studies at NSU and TU, was held in Japan in late February. The meeting took place thanks to an invitation by Professors Takakura Hiroki, Director of the Center for Northeast Asian Studies at Tohoku University and Professor Oka Hiroki, the long-term project manager for cooperation between NSU and TU. Traditionally, scientific meetings between Russian and Japanese colleagues are held twice a year - in the autumn at NSU and in early spring at Tohoku University (Sendai City). Over the years, these scientific English-language, interdisciplinary seminars have taken place twice in Novosibirsk and three times in Sendai.
The Symposium program included lectures by well-known experts in the field of Asian studies, as well as a scientific seminar for young scientists. Mikhail Epov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Head of the Department of Geophysics at NSU gave a report on the use of geophysical methods in Siberia to solve problems in the fields of history, archeology and anthropology. Professor Andrey Zuev, Director of the NSU Humanities Institute, spoke about the processes of legitimizing the power of the monarch over the people of Siberia. Professor Elena Voitishchek, Head of the Department of Oriental Studies at Nizhny Novgorod State University, drew attention to the problem of the humanities and cultural components of government based on the example of the political career of the founder of Sendai City, Date Masamune. Young researchers from NSU and TU presented the symposium participants with some elements from their dissertations.
“The scientific session was interdisciplinary as the discussion went beyond purely humanities issues. This once again demonstrated the interdisciplinary nature of oriental studies” said Voitishchev. She went on to talk more about the program for NSU students:
An important part of the program for the NSU delegation was meetings with the leadership and representatives of Tohoku University. These included meetings with Vice-President Ueki Toshiya, representatives of the Japanese-Russian Relations Department, heads of Humanities Departments, Professor Morimoto Koichi (Graduate School of Arts and Letters) and Professor Ono Naoyuki (Graduate School of International Cultural Studies). They also met with staff members from the Research Center for Northeast Asia Professor Takakura Hiroki and Professors Oka and Hiroki. As a result of the numerous meetings, the prospects and concrete steps for Russian-Japanese cooperation in the scientific and educational sphere were outlined.
