It has often been said that the era of expos has come to an end. Let us for a moment accept as standard the following idea of expos: international projects of incomparable scale which, beginning with the 1851 London Expo and extending through the start of the 20th century, provided a stage for the great powers to compete in terms of industrial prowess and thus flaunt their ability to dominate the world; non-Western nations and colonies came under the spotlight on this stage as “others.” If we accept this as the standard for expos, then we can say with some confidence that their role ended with World War II, and that, ever since, expos have existed as just one variety among many megaevents; that they continue in name only, hosted in turn by different nations of the world.
　However, expos held recently throughout the Asian region, and in particular the 2010 Shanghai Expo, have shown that these events are far from being in retreat; that, indeed, they inherit the history of the 19th century expos even as they point to the vital importance of their time-space as a mirror that both constitutes and reflects a new phase in world history.
　We can see in these Asian events something other than the idea of the expo as the final stage in Asian nations' “catch-up” in the context of non-Western pursuit of 19th century Western products. The Shanghai 2010 Expo, for example, was organised based on careful reflection of Osaka 1970, the first Asian expo in history. But it explicitly demonstrated, too, China's interest as a new global power, and the positive reaction to it of other participating nations. We may take the Shanghai Expo as a declaration of the possibilities for a new balance of civilisations in the 21st century. Asia was once trampled by the Western intrusion; it next came to terms with that intrusion, and now it proposes a path towards a new balance of civilisations that transcends the notion of challenging the West.
　Drawing on the results of the one year project “International Exhibitions and Asia” (2012) and the preceding symposium “International Exhibitions and Asia: From Shanghai to Shanghai, and Beyond” (2011), the present team research project sets out to consider the evolution of expos, and how they have encouraged human progress, generated friction in human society, and moved world history more broadly and profoundly than has so far been understood. The aim of the project is not so much to pursue the study of expos in their own right and for their own sake, as to re-direct the spotlight on expos as an indispensable reference point for any and all engaged in the study of human history.
　We will realise this aim through cooperation between scholars and other interested parties from various fields and different cultures. We will address topics and viewpoints overlooked since the 1970 and 1980s, when expos became for the first time in Japan the object of substantial scholarly endeavour. This scholarship was typically narrow in scope, and often limited to Japan's engagement with expos. This team research project is an exercise in relativising “Japanese studies.”

Research Representative	佐野真由子	国際日本文化研究センター・准教授
Organizer	井上章一	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Team Researcher	石川敦子	株式会社乃村工藝社コーポレート本部経営企画部・チーフ
〃	市川文彦	関西学院大学経済学部・教授
〃	伊藤奈保子	広島大学大学院文学研究科・准教授
〃	鵜飼敦子	東京大学東洋文化研究所・特任研究員
〃	江原規由	(財)国際貿易投資研究所・研究主幹
〃	川口幸也	立教大学文学部・教授
〃	神田孝治	和歌山大学観光学部・教授
〃	澤田裕二	株式会社ＳＤ・代表取締役社長 / イベント・空間デザインプロデューサー
〃	寺本敬子	跡見学園女子大学文学部・助教
〃	中牧弘允	吹田市立博物館・館長 / 国立民族学博物館・名誉教授
〃	芳賀　徹	静岡県立美術館・館長 / 国際日本文化研究センター・名誉教授
〃	林　洋子	美術評論家・大原美術館特別研究員
〃	増山一成	東京都中央区教育委員会事務局図書文化財課・総括文化財調査指導員（学芸員）
〃	武藤秀太郎	新潟大学人文社会・教育科学系・准教授
〃	武藤夕佳里	並河靖之七宝記念館・学芸員 / 京都造形芸術大学 日本庭園 歴史遺産研究センター・嘱託研究員
〃	稲賀繁美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	瀧井一博	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	ジョン・ブリーン	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	劉　建輝	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	朴　美貞	国際日本文化研究センター・プロジェクト研究員
〃	橋爪紳也	国際日本文化研究センター・客員教授 / 大阪府立大学 21世紀科学研究機構・特別教授
Team Researcher Overseas	青木信夫	天津大学(中国)・教授
〃	岩田　泰	Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia（インドネシア）・General Manager
〃	Wybe KUITERT	ソウル国立大学環境大学院（韓国）・教授 / Wybe Kuitert Landscape Architect BNT・Director
〃	Sybille GIRMOND	ヴュルツブルク大学（ドイツ）・非常勤講師
〃	徐　蘇斌	天津大学(中国)・教授