Message from HIJAS Researcher
Grasping Japan through Transcending Japan

I am an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Research Center for International Japanese Studies at Hosei University (HIJAS). My research interest, in broad, is on the dynamic of political, social, and cultural changes in Japan, particularly exploring social movements and transnational processes as the source of transformation. Throughout my career, I have been moving between Japan, North America, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia to grasp Japan from multiple perspectives.

Since my appointment at HIJAS, I have engaged in the “Transnational Japanese Studies” project. This project explores political, social, and cultural phenomena that cut across Japanese borders and boundaries. By examining phenomena transcending Japan and the Japanese (people, ideas, culture, etc.), along with the resistance toward them, Transnational Japanese Studies aims to shed light on aspects of Japan that cannot be seen only from a domestic and static perspective.

On the other hand, Transnational Japanese Studies is also concerned with practice. As the scholars become more mobile and transnational, the project tries to bring unique insights from transnational scholars who constantly switch their perspectives between “inside” and “outside” of Japan and are aware of the differences and similarities between Japan and other parts of the world. By collaborating with Transnational Japanese Studies scholars worldwide, we aim to generate a culture and network that transcends Japanese studies confined to domestic academic arenas.

Our Transnational Japanese Studies project is practiced on various platforms at HIJAS using English and Japanese (and other languages occasionally). This includes but is not limited to international workshops co-organized annually with the European Center for International Japanese Studies in Alsace (CEEJA) in France, the Transnational Japan Workshop Series taking place at Hosei University in Tokyo, as well as our journal International Japanese Studies, published once every year.

Kei Takata, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Full-Time Researcher at HIJAS