Civilization Research Project

Established on October 1, 2001 to coordinate research into world civilizations

Cross-civilization Research Team

The objective of this team is to promote cross-civilization research based on the outcomes obtained from the “Research on the Yangtza River Civilization,” a project subsidized by a “grant-in-aid for scientific research specializing in basic research for the formation of Centers of Excellece” by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Japanese Civilization Research Team

This team engages in research activities that contribute to research on Japanese civilization in comparison with other parts of the world.

Announcement of the next program

To be determined

Civilization Research Project Symposium

<Environment and Civilizations: Japan's Role in the Twenty-First Century>

Sponsored Jointly by The International Research Center for Japanese Studies and The Yomiuri Shimbun

i. Date: Saturday, May 11, 2002

ii. Time: 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

iii. Place: Kyoto International Conference Hall

Since the latter part of 2001, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies has been carrying on discussion and debate under the comprehensive title "Is Dialogue among Civilizations Possible in a Global Age?" We have examined this broad problem from several perspectives, and in this symposium, our major event for 2002, we shifted our focus to issues of environment and civilizations. Problems of the earth's environment embody the difficulties of the "age of globalization" more urgently than anything else. When we face problems of environmental pollution, national borders no longer are meaningful. Yet in the present era the most powerful agencies that confront these problems are, as in the past, nation states. At the heart of problems of the earth's environment are the emergence of a globalized world and the conflicts of the nations that are the principal constituents of that world. We, at this symposium, gave concentrated attention to ideas about how we might, in the context of tensions between the national egos of the states in this global world, overcome the earth's environmental problems. To address these vital issues, we have invited Lester R. BROWN, President of the Earth Policy Institute, Washington, DC, U.S.A., and four of Japan's outstanding intellectuals, UMEHARA Takeshi, HIDAKA Toshitaka, YAMAORI Tetsuo, and SONODA Hidehiro. Mr. Brown, internationally renowned analyst and authority on the world's environmental problems, was one of the first to recognize the critical nature of these matters. Mr. Umehara, a philosopher, is Honorary Advisor to the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. Mr. Hidaka is Director-General, Research Institute of Humanity and Nature; his specialization is zoology. Mr. Yamaori, a scholar of religious studies, is Director-General of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. Mr. Sonoda is a historical sociologist and Professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, and is the coordinator of this symposium.

iv. Lecture: Lester R. BROWN (President of Earth Policy Institute)

Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth

v. Panel Discussion:
Lester R. BROWN (President of Earth Policy Institute)
UMEHARA Takeshi (Honorary Advisor of Nichibunken)
HIDAKA Toshitaka (Director of Research Institute for Humanity and Nature)
YAMAORI Tetsuo (Director-General of Nichibunken)
SONODA Hidehiro (Professor of Nichibunken and Coordinator)

Civilization Research Project Public Lecture

< Is dialogue among civilizations possible in the era of globalization?>

The 1st Lecture
Theme: Requisites for the Avoidance of a “Clash of Civilizations”

i. Date: February 28, 2002

ii. Titles and lecturers:

Japan and the Muslim World in “Inter-Civilization Dialogue”

YAMAUCHI Masayuki (Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo)

International Politics and Civilization Collision in the 21st Century

NAKANISHI Terumasa (Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University)

Japanese Civilization and its Potential

KAWAKATSU Heita (Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies)

Panel Discussion

YAMAUCHI Masayuki, NAKANISHI Terumasa, KAWAKATSU Heita, INAGA Shigemi (Associate professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies)

Moderator: Hidehiro Sonoda (Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies)