zum Symposium „Japan-German Science Cooperation“

JSPS Quarterly No. 37, Autumn 2011 (159 KB)

Annual Japanese-German Symposium Held in Berlin

On 20-21 May, the JSPS Bonn Office and the German JSPS Club held their 16th Japanese-German Symposium, jointly organized by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Venued in Leibniz Hall of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the symposium addressed the theme “Japan-German Science Cooperation: Past, Present, Future” at this 150-year juncture of Japanese-German exchange. Thanks to cooperation accorded by the Embassy of Japan in Germany, this year’s symposium drew an exceptionally large attendance of some 250 people each day.

The opening ceremony featured keynote talks by two Nobel laureates: JSPS executive director Dr. Makoto Kobayashi and Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research director Prof. Dr. Klaus von Klitzing. Memorial talks were then given by JSPS’s Research Center for Science Systems senior advisor Dr. Shiro Ishii and two gifted young Japanese and German researchers. After them, a special session was held on the Great East Japan Earthquake, in the solemn atmosphere of which the participants discussed the situation in the aftermath of the quake and possible courses of action in response.

Turning to the second day, scientific lectures were delivered by frontline Japanese and German researchers in fields of the humanities and social sciences, life sciences, and natural sciences. The keen interest evoked by these presentations bespoke the high appraisal given them by the participants.

As a side note, the German JSPS Club’s membership rose to over 300 people during the 2-day symposium.

JSPS Bonn Office