“Europe–Japan Crossings:
Personal Journeys, Connections and Perspectives”
with Masashi Urabe and Heinrich Menkhaus
September 14, 2026 10:00-11:30 CEST / 17:00-18:30 JST
in English – free event – via Zoom
REGISTRATION
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- Introduction:
Prof. Dr. Dietrich Albert, EJEA Chairperson and University of Graz (Austria) - Moderation:
Arnold Ackerer, EJEA Member and ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Tokyo (Japan)
Sabine Ganter-Richter, EJEA Executive Manager and Network for Science (Germany)
Prof. Dr. Masashi Urabe
Executive Vice President (Education & Student Support), Hiroshima City University
&
Professor at the Faculty of International Studies, Hiroshima City University
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus
Prof. em., Meiji University, Faculty of Law & Graduate School of Law (Japan)
&
extraordinary Prof., Faculty of Law, Philipps-University Marburg (Germany)
How do lasting connections between Europe and Japan begin – and what keeps them alive over decades?
In this conversation, Professors Masashi Urabe and Heinrich Menkhaus reflect on their personal and professional journeys between Japan and Europe. Drawing on many years of experience in academic exchange and international cooperation, they will discuss how their engagement with the other country began, how networks and partnerships developed over time, and which encounters and turning points shaped their careers.
Prof. Dr. Masashi Urabe is Executive Vice President for Education and Student Support and Professor at the Faculty of International Studies at Hiroshima City University. His research focuses on comparative and international education, teacher education, and education for sustainable development.
His academic career has been closely connected with Germany. In 2019–2020, he conducted research at the University of Bamberg as a Humboldt Research Fellow and at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg as a JSPS Research Fellow. His work addresses educational developments in Japan and Germany from a comparative perspective, including global learning, digital education and education for sustainable development. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Pacific Circle Consortium for Education.
In 2026, Prof. Urabe received the Philipp Franz von Siebold Award, presented by the Federal President of Germany in recognition of his outstanding contribution to academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Japan.
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus is a German legal scholar whose academic and professional career has been closely connected with Japan for several decades. From 2008 to 2026, he held the Chair of German Law at Meiji University in Tokyo and served as Director of the Meiji Institute of Comparative Law from 2018 to 2026.
His previous positions include Professor of Japanese Law at the University of Marburg, researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, and Director of the Law Department of the German Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo. His research interests include company and labour law, constitutional law, law and religion, and German-Japanese legal exchange, with a particular focus on comparative perspectives between Germany, the EU and Japan.
Prof. Menkhaus has also played a longstanding role in German-Japanese academic networks, including more than two decades as Chairman of the German JSPS Alumni Association. His awards include the Cross of Honour of the Federal Republic of Germany (2001), the German Japanese Friendship Prize (2023), and the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun (2025).