The target group of this project is first and second year doctoral students of the Graduate School of Humanities and the Graduate School of International Cooperation, as well as postdoctoral researchers and research associates. The project consists of the ‘Asia Program’ (October 2012 – March 2013) and the ‘Europe/America Program’ (October 2012 – March 2013).

In the ‘Asia Program’, two graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers/ research associates receive training and/or conduct research for a maximum of 180 days and 90 days respectively at one of our overseas partner institutions (Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan　National University,　Seoul National University,　Sungkyunkwan University). During their stay they will be able to conduct local social surveys, receive language training, and participate in international cooperative research, enabling them to cultivate the expertise needed to take on cutting-edge theoretical research in Asian Studies.
In the ‘European/American Program’, two graduate students receive training and conduct research at one of our partner institutions in Europe or the USA: the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London , or the University of Washington. Here they get the chance to reconsider the research results obtained in the ‘Asia Program’ in the previous year from a different perspective. In doing so, they can benefit from the long tradition of East Asian Studies and learn about the analytical approach taken in Europe and the USA. In this way, they will be able to develop an original theoretical approach and contribute to East Asian Studies on a global level. Two postdoctoral researchers/research associates conduct research abroad for a maximum period of 90 days. While receiving local language training and participating in joint international research, they strive to fuse their work with forefront theories in the field of East Asian Studies. By means of intensive supervision in academic writing and oral communication, the dispatched researchers elevate their working knowledge of Chinese, Korean and English, which enables them to carry out research locally. Moreover, research supervision afor participants in the ‘Asia Program’ and the ‘Europe/America Program’ is conducted in August and September. By means of a TV conference organized by the Graduate School of Humanities and the Graduate School of International Cooperation, in cooperation with our partner institutions abroad, the participants are offered educational opportunities related to East Asian Studies.

In June, four graduate students and four postdoctoral students/research associates return from their overseas training in the ‘Asia Program’ and the ‘Europe/America Program’, and in July the dispatched researchers hold a debriefing session. The results of the ‘Asia Program’ and the ‘Europe/America Program’ are investigated not only by the regular advisors, but also by the teaching advisors at the partner institutions abroad, and ideas for further activities are developed.

With a focus on students dispatched in the first and second periods of the ‘Asia Program’ and the ‘Europe/America Program’, a number of doctoral dissertations will be published in the official language of the Asian country the authors were dispatched to (i.e. Chinese or Korean), and in English. As in the previous year, for dispatched graduate students who are starting writing their dissertations, a writing assistance section will be established as part of the promotion committee. In close collaboration with the instructors at the overseas partner institutions, various means of support will be offered in order to enable the students to write their dissertations not only in Japanese, but also in Chinese or Korean, and in English.

In January 2013, we will organize an international symposium at Seoul National University at which the results of the present project are recapitulated. Based on the results obtained within the five-year period, we will verify what it takes for designing a young researchers training model that enables a dialogue and a symbiotic grand design in East Asia, and we will strive to propose such an international supervision model to nurture young researchers.

A research report will be written in which the focus will lie on the results of the symposium mentioned above in (4). This report will be made available on our homepage and distributed to other universities and research institutions.