On Friday 21^st February we welcomed 37 postgraduate students to The University of Edinburgh, for our annual Japan Foundation/British Association for Japanese Studies (JF-BAJS) PhD Workshop.

It was a windy and rainy morning in the Scottish capital, but this did not dampen everyone’s spirits as they arrived with smiling faces and excitement for the day ahead!

We were joined on the day by 7 academics who moderated the morning sessions and appeared on the panel: Dr Abigail MacBain, Dr Chris Perkins, Dr Helen Parker, Dr Holly Stephens, Dr Ferran de Vargas, from The University of Edinburgh, Dr Christopher Hayes from Teesside University, and Prof Peter Kornicki, President of BAJS.

Once everyone had registered and helped themselves to tea, coffee and shortbread, the day began.

First, we listened to three welcome talks by Mr Shin-ichi Tanaka, Director of the Japan Foundation London; Professor Peter Kornicki, Emeritus Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Cambridge; and Dr Chris Perkins, Senior Lecturer in Japanese at the University of Edinburgh.

They emphasised the importance of making the most of opportunities of events such as the PhD Workshop, as a means of networking with other peers and academics from around the UK. The speakers motivated the students for a productive one-day event, with Dr Perkins outlining the format of the morning sessions and encouraging the attendees to participate as much as possible.

After the welcome talks, the students split into their three presentation groups for the morning session. The groups were designated categories, based on the attendees and their research topics, as well as the academics assigned as moderators to each group. This year, the group categories were: Literature and Performance; Modern History and Social Movements; and Religion, Premodern Japan and Cultural Exchange.

The research topics displayed the diversity and interests in current Japan-centred research. Topics ranged from Buddhist rituals, to Yokai and cultural memory in anime, Japanese-Thai interethnic families’ educational strategies, sexual consent projects by Tokyo grassroots organisations, Japanese disaster narratives, and Noh drama and masculinity. This is just an extremely small handful of examples of the truly wide-ranging and interesting research topics that were presented and discussed.

The student participants presented their research, and then answered questions from their peers and group moderators. Each discussion group was full of interesting questions. Not only were the presenters asked about their research but it was a true knowledge exchange, with frequent suggestions of useful quotations, relevant scholars to look into, or different concepts to explore.

The presenters were all in varying stages of their research, from prospective PhD students to 1^st years, to those in the very final stages of their dissertations. Each student’s opinion was respected and taken into consideration. It was clear how much the students were enjoying hearing each other’s research by the enthusiastic thrum of noise that was audible during the tea and coffee break halfway through the morning.

After the final presentations of the morning the students had a well-earned lunch break, where they continued to mingle, network, and discuss their research and ideas with one another over a catered buffet, after which we entered the next session.

During Session Two, multiple funding institutions were invited to present to the students. The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, the Japan Foundation and British Association for Japanese Studies gave presentations on the funding, support, and activities that they offer. Attendees received information about what funding opportunities are available to them directly and in the wider field of Japan-related research and events.

Next, we entered Session Three. Professor Peter Kornicki reflected on his career in Japanese Studies, to provide students with insights based on this year’s theme of Career Development. His talk was engaging and entertaining, taking the students on a journey through his career from the UK to Japan, to working in Tasmania and back. Prof Kornicki highlighting the importance of flexibility, risk-taking, timing, luck and finally having a Plan B during a career in academia. His talk emphasised how progression is rarely a straight line. He also provided more practical advice, describing support that was available for academics, and the important things to bear in mind when applying for a job or for funding.

There was a tea and coffee break in the afternoon after Prof Kornicki’s talk, which gave the students fuel for the final session of the day.

Session Four was a panel Q&A session with the six academics who had led the morning sessions:

Dr Helen Parker (moderator), Lecturer in Japanese at the University of Edinburgh

Dr Ferran de Vargas, UKRI Marie Skiodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh

Dr Christopher Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Tourism & Events Management at Teesside University International Business School

Dr Abigail MacBain, Lecturer in Premodern Japanese Studies at the University of Edinburgh

Dr Chris Perkins, Senior Lecturer in Japanese at the University of Edinburgh

Dr Holly Stephens, Lecturer in Japanese and Korean Studies at the University of Edinburgh

The academics began by briefly introducing themselves, before diving straight in to a difficult question on how to deal with career lulls and breaks, and the ebbs and flows of an academic career. Each academic had unique experiences in their careers so far, which they shared candidly with the students. The Q&A session ranged from questions about balancing career and personal life, how to keep mental health in check and the importance of selfcare, to more practical topics such as the necessity for maintaining a good Japanese language level, and writing job applications. The academics emphasised that there are multiple ways to develop a career in academia, and that Japan-related specialism is a unique selling point that can help to stand out in a crowded field.

After a long day it was time for the drinks reception. We were extremely honoured to be joined by Mr Tadashi FUJIWARA, Consul General of Japan in Edinburgh, who delivered a speech about the power of Japanese Studies and the close ties that Scotland and the rest of the UK has with Japan. Prof Peter Kornicki from BAJS and Mr Shin-ichi Tanaka from JF also gave impromptu final remarks, about how impressed they had been with the presentations and conduct of the students at the workshop, and how this filled them with optimism about the future of Japanese Studies in the UK.

As always, it was such a pleasure to see so many students from all sorts of disciplines, backgrounds, and at different stages of their career, mingling, networking, enjoying making connections with their peers and the academics.

We would like to thank all the students, academics, funding institutions, and other esteemed guests for joining us for another wonderful workshop.

Particular thanks to The University of Edinburgh for their tireless efforts in helping to make the workshop a success, and for hosting us in their beautiful space!

As ever, the workshop would not have been possible without our co-organisers at the British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS), and we would like to extend our thanks to their ongoing cooperation in organising this event with us.

We look forward to another event supporting Japanese Studies in the future!