Prof. Dr. Edward BOYLE

It is a tremendous honour to have been elected as EAJS Council member. I only attended my first EAJS conference in Lisbon in 2017, but I am driven by the desire that every subsequent event I attend be characterized by the vibrancy and collegiality which distinguished this wonderful conference. The EAJS represents the excellence and diversity of research being conducted within the Japanese Studies community across multiple disciplines. In my view, the EAJS must serve as a platform for bolstering the impact of that work in Japan and elsewhere, developing networks and opportunities for early- and mid-career academics, and facilitating research which crosses traditional disciplinary and geographic boundaries. I will look to foster a cross-disciplinary conversation regarding the study of Japan and what it offers the world today.

I am now an Associate Professor at Nichibunken and edit the Japan Review, but did not initially view myself as participating in Japanese studies. While reflected in the length of my engagement with the EAJS, this positionality finds more productive expression in the wide diversity of my research on Japan — also encompassing its neighbourhood, Northeast India, and Palau — and in my service roles to date; as Japan Representative for the Borders in Globalization project, Advisory Board Member for the Commission of Political Geography at the International Geographical Union, and on the Board of Directors at the Association for Borderlands Studies. I look forward to sharing this diversity of experiences with the EAJS in further developing international and collaborative Japanese studies in Europe … and beyond!