President

From TSJS President

The Secretary-General to the President of Republic of China and the former President of National Chengchi University, Dr. Bih-jaw Lin, together with the leading scholars in the field of humanity and social sciences in Taiwan, established the Taiwan Society of Japan Study (TSJS), for the purpose to promote Taiwan-Japan relations, to develop Taiwan's Japan study, and to forge connection between academic communities. The TSJS held its first meeting on March 4th, 2010, electing eleven board members and three supervisors, and the Board elected Dr. Bih-jaw Lin as the 1st President of TSJS. The TSJS was formally registered in Minister of Interior as civil organization in March 2010. Under the leadership of Dr. Bih-jaw Lin, scholars and researchers with specialties in Japan's politics, diplomacy, economy, society, culture, etc. gathered in TSJS, enriching Taiwan's Japan study by the "three tracks" approach. The 1st track was to connect the Japanese study centers in the universities in Taiwan, which were established during 2009 to 2010 in NCCU, NTNU, NCHU, NSYSU, etc. The 2nd track was to be the bridge between Taiwanese academics and Japan's Interchange Association, jointly initiating academic and cultural activities and track-II diplomacy. The 3rd track was to hold the TSJS annual conferences as platforms to promote Taiwan's Japan study.
Following the "three tracks" approach, I was elected as TSJS board member, and established the NSYSU Center for Japanese Studies in March 2010. In December 2014, I was elected by the 2nd TSJS Board as the 2nd President of TSJS. Inherited the ground work constructed by Dr. Bih-jaw Lin during his presidency, I have continued to broaden the exchange between Taiwan and Japan, demonstrating to Japan the importance of Taiwan and Taiwan's Japan study. The most important initiatives have been the Taiwan-Japan Strategic Dialogue, firstly held in May 2014, Cross-Strait Japan Study Forum, held in October 2015, and Japan Study Youth Forum. Connecting the Taiwanese academics and important Japanese think tanks (JIIA, PHP Think Tank, and Tokyo Foundation), Taiwan-Japan Strategic Dialogue has filled the long-term blank of track-two dialogue in the field of security and strategic affairs between Taiwan and Japan, and is now the major platform of communication in diplomacy, security, and strategy between the two countries. The Cross-Strait Japan Study Forum was also an innovation. The Cross-Strait academic exchange has long focused on China study and Cross-Strait relations, but had never exchanged ideas about Japan study, despite the fact that Japan is a major research subject of great importance to both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The Japan Study Youth Forum has underpinned the foundation of Taiwan's Japan study academics, promoting the exchange among scholars and students in Taiwanese universities, and encouraging the students to study Japan.
Our future goals are four. The first is to connect the research communities around the world, especially those in Japan, the U.S., Europe, and China. We aim to apply the cooperation model of Taiwan-Japan Strategic Dialogue and Cross-Strait Japan Study Forum further to connect the academics and think tanks in U.S. and Europe. Secondly, TSJS eyes to deepen the track-two diplomacy and to provide policy suggestions. Thirdly, we initiate scholarly research, presentation, and publication. Fourthly, TSJS nurtures young scholars by holding Japan Study Youth Forum, promoting the activities and scholarships offered by Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, by TSJS, etc. To integrate the four goals, TSJS has maintained the official website, and initiated the bimonthly TSJS Newsletter (since June 2016) and Japan and Asia-Pacific Studies Quarterly, JaQ (since January 2017). Incorporating the efforts of TSJS members, TSJS will continuously lead the development of Japan study in Taiwan.