Agenda – EJEA Conference 2025

9:30 – 10:00 Registration

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University, Faculty of Engineering

10:00 – 10:30 Welcoming remarks by
Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University, Faculty of Engineering
Prof. Dr. Yoshihiko Amano
Managing Director, Shinshu Industry-Academia Future Co-creation Association
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus, Chairman, German JSPS Alumni Association; Meiji University
Prof. Dr. Dietrich Albert, Chairperson, European Japan Experts Association

Moderation: Sabine Ganter-Richter, European Japan Experts Association

10:30 – 11:00 Keynote 1
Dr. René Reiners, Head of Human-Centered Engineering and Design, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT (Germany)
“Future Skills for Teaming-up with Artificial Intelligence” (online)

11:00 – 11:30 Keynote 2
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus, Chairman German JSPS Alumni Association; Director of Meiji Institute of Comparative Law, Faculty of Law and Graduate School of Law, Meiji University (Japan)
“The Role of Alumni Organizations in European-Japanese Relations”

11:30 – 12:00 Keynote 3
Lena Klöckner, Business Development, Public Transportation Operator City of Bonn SWB Bus und Bahn (Germany)
“Public Transport in Transition: Empowering Youth to Shape Climate-Resilient and People-Centered Mobility in Europe and Japan – Insights from the German Perspective” (online)

12:00 – 13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 15:00 Workshop 1
Vision for Industrial Policy and Industry Collaboration Europe – Japan; Cooperation of Clusters and Regions
Moderation: Anne Pomsel, Managing Director, and Kazuya Yoshida, Representative in Japan, Japanese-German Business Association (DJW)
Presentations by:
– Mr. Tatsuya Tanaka, Director of Industry and Labor Department, Nagano Prefectural Government
– Mr. Lucas Witoslawski; Deputy Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Japan (online)
– Mr. Tadanori Matsuo, Vice-Chairman, Shinshu Industry-Academia-Future Co-Creation Association
– Mr. Yann Botrel, Coordinator, EU-Japan Center for Industrial Cooperation

15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break

15:30 – 16:50 Workshop 2
How to Encourage Practical Industrial Collaboration Between Japan and Europe?
Moderation: Anne Pomsel, Managing Director, and Kazuya Yoshida, Representative in Japan, Japanese-German Business Association (DJW) Discussion among participants

16:50 Wrap-up Day 1 by Chairs of Workshop 1 and 2

18:00 Conference dinner
at Restaurant “ABURAYA” close to Nagano Station

Moderation: Sabine Ganter-Richter, European Japan Experts Association

10:00 – 10:30 Keynote 4
Prof. Dr. Yuko Harayama, Secretary General of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Tokyo Expert Support Center & former Executive Director for International Affairs at RIKEN (Japan)
“What Does It Mean to Be Young Today?” (online)

10:30 – 11:00 Keynote 5
Prof. Dr. Kenji Wada, Faculty of Medicine & Vice-President, Kagawa University (Japan)
“From Campus to Community – Regional Innovation for Global Goals at Kagawa University“

11:00 – 11:30 Keynote 6
Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Faculty of Engineering & former Vice-President, Shinshu University (Japan)
“Human Resource Development at Universities in the Global Era“

11:30 – 12:00 Keynote 7
Prof. Dr. Fredrik Heintz, Director AI4x Center of Research Excellence, Linköping University (Sweden)
“Towards Large Scientific AI Models for Addressing Global Challenges” (online)

12:00 – 13:15 Lunch break

13:15 – 14:45 Workshop 3
Enabling the Younger Generation for International Collaboration (onsite and online)
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University, and Sabine Ganter-Richter, Network for Science
Discussion among participants:
– Ms Chin Wan Tzy, Shinshu University
– Ms Darnkachatar Siriporn, Kagawa University
– Dr. Jonas Kiemel, The University of Osaka
– Mr Ruka Kobashi, Kagawa University
– Mr Oscar Lasierra, Shinshu University
– Mr Takumi Sonehara, Shinshu University
– Dr. Satomi Tagawa, Shinshu University
– Ms Mujalin Intaramuean, Kagawa University
– Ms Alexandra Roland, Hosei Universit

14:45 – 15:15 Coffee break

15:15 – 16:45 Workshop 4
Young Researchers Presenting their Projects (onsite and online)
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University
Presentations by:
– Mr Takumi Sonehara, Shinshu University
“A Study on the Development of a Line-Crossing Counting System Using YOLOv8-Based Person Detection”
– Dr. Satomi Tagawa, Shinshu University
“From Mushrooms to Materials: Exploring Sustainable Innovations for the Promoting Bioeconomy”
– Mr Oscar Lasierra, Shinshu University
“Unveiling 5G signals with a YOLO-based spectrogram image classifier”
– Dr. Jonas Kiemel, The University of Osaka
“Establishing a Network to Connect the Brightest High School Graduates in Germany and Japan”
– Mr Ruka Kobashi, Kagawa University
“Non-invasive simultaneous measurement of blood glucose and lactate levels for neonatal monitoring using mid-infrared passive spectroscopic imaging”
– Mr Hibiki Yano, Kagawa University
“Investigation of the effects of moisture content using mid-infrared passive spectroscopic imaging”
– Mr Yuto Mukaihara, Kagawa University
“Improved quantifiability of mid-infrared passive spectroscopic imaging through background correction based on the Plank’s law”
– Ms Darnkachatar Siriporn, Kagawa University
“Mapping industrial flood risk in the Bangkok metropolitan region”
– Ms Mujalin Intaramuean, Kagawa University
“Localized Flood Simulation and Education: Improving Flood Preparedness Among Primary School Students in a Flood-Prone Area of South Thailand“
– Ms Alexandra Roland, Hosei University
“Zainichi Koreans and the Kawasaki Fureaikan against hate speech”
Discussion among participants

16:45 – 17:00 Final Remarks
Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka and Sabine Ganter-Richter
Announcement of EJEA Conference 2026
Dr. Julia Münch, Secretary General of Japanese-German Center Berlin JDZB (Germany) (video message)

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University, and Sabine Ganter-Richter, Network for Science

10:00 – 11:00 Lecture
Dr. René Reiners, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT (Germany)
FIT for Industry 5.0 – Vocational Trainings to Skill You Up for the Digital Transformation

11:00 – 11:30 Discussion / Q&A
Sabine Ganter-Richter, Network for Science (Germany)
Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Tanaka, Shinshu University (Japan)
Dr. René Reiners, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT (Germany)