BAJS 2025, 50th Anniversary Conference

Cardiff University is delighted to host the 2025 BAJS conference, marking 50 years since the first BAJS conference in Cambridge in 1975.

Date: 3-5 September 2025

In the past 50 years, both Japan and the field of Japanese studies have seen tremendous change. Japan has experienced post-war economic boom, lull, and now nascent signs of recovery. Japanese studies has seen an ever-expanding range of areas of inquiry, leading to welcome synergies with wider disciplinary areas, but also questions about the viability of our time-tested area studies approach.

Anniversaries are an opportunity to look both back and forward, and to reflect on what the future holds in store for us. For example, an aging population will be transformative for Japan, leading greater automation, medical innovation, and migration. This will have considerable implications for the shape of its economy, workforce, as well as for relationships with its neighbours, national identity, and language learning.  How will these phenomena shape Japan and Japanese studies?

We therefore invite scholars to reflect on the future of Japanese studies, and to consider what areas will be of increasing import to our field. This is not to suggest a preference for contemporary or future-oriented topics. A concern with the future touches all aspects of our field. Greater accessibility of archives, evolving understanding of what constitutes ethical research, an increasing focus on civic mission have implications for historical and literary research too. We encourage scholars from all disciplines and career stages to join us as we consider the future of our shared endeavour.

Panel and paper proposals

Panel and paper proposals on any topic related to Japan are welcome from scholars working in all disciplines. However, we specifically invite proposals that explore the following themes:

• new approaches to the study of Japan; for example, those adopting oceanic or planetary perspectives
• interdisciplinary methods and theoretical frameworks to studying Japan
• impacts of the internet and social media on identify formation, or on religious and memorial practices
• Japanese responses to changing local, regional and international demographics
• subjects exploring cultural diplomacy and soft power in a changing global order
• political responses to economic and demographic change
• artistic responses to economic and demographic change
• representations of the past and/or future in the arts, including literature, film and performing arts
• linguistic change, language hybridisation, and endangered languages
• impacts of evolving ethical understandings and frameworks on the study of Japan
• innovative pedagogical approaches in Japanese studies

We welcome individual paper proposals but encourage presenters to organise themselves into pre-constituted 90-minute panels of 3-4 papers with an optional chair/discussant.

We ask proposers to consider diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, seniority and geographical location in the constitution of their panels. Thanks to the generosity of Cardiff University and our sponsors, we aim to make the conference particularly accessible to postgraduate and early career scholars, whose participation is strongly encouraged.

Panel proposals should consist of:

1. a title for the proposed panel
2. an abstract of 250 words for the panel
3. an abstract of 250 words per paper (maximum 4 papers)
4. names and institutional affiliations of panel members, as well as a nominated single contact for the panel.

Submit your panel Proposal

Individual proposals should consist of:

1. the title of the paper
2. an abstract of 250 words
3. the presenter’s name and institutional affiliation.

Submit your individual Proposal

Note that presenters at the BAJS conference must be current BAJS members. Non- members can register online.

Current members can confirm their membership status.

Key dates

To get in touch with conference organisers, please contact bajs2025@cardiff.ac.uk.