The 19th annual conference of the Nordic Association for the Study of Contemporary Japanese Society (NAJS) took place at the University of Iceland on May 22–23, 2025. This year’s conference brought together 33 scholars representing 30 academic institutions across 15 countries. The conference, which rotates annually among the Nordic countries, was hosted in Iceland for the first time. The event was generously supported by the Toshiba International Foundation.
The conference featured a wide range of topics, including immigration and regional development, foreign policy, and recent trends in Japanese culture. The keynote lecture, open to the public, was delivered by Professor Emeritus Pekka Korhonen of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The lecture, titled “On Being an Ally of the United States in Cold War II”, explored the roles of Japan and South Korea within the global system. As part of the program, participants also visited the exhibition about former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir at Loftskeytastöðin.
The conference was organized by Kristín Ingvarsdóttir, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Japanese Studies at the University of Iceland, in close collaboration with members of the NAJS Steering Committee: Bart Gaens (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Dick Stegewerns (University of Oslo), Jens Sejrup (University of Copenhagen), and Patrik Ström (Stockholm School of Economics).
The conference was held in Veröld – House of Vigdís, which is home to the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. The faculty has offered an undergraduate program in Japanese Studies since 2003.
Further information about the conference is available on the official website, najs2025.hi.is
