During her 2024-2025 research leave, Japan Studies Librarian Azusa Tanaka addressed a longstanding challenge in Japanese book history: dating premodern books (pre-1868) that lack publication dates. Traditional methods are often subjective or invasive, but Tanaka used a novel, non-invasive approach combining microscopic imaging and machine learning. Using a digital microscope, Tanaka captured over 13,000 images

A new edited volume, “Spaces of Creative Resistance: Social Change Projects in Twenty-First Century East Asia” (Rutgers University Press, 2025), brings together case studies of youth- and community-led movements across the region. Edited by Jackson School Acting Assistant Professor Andrea Gevurtz Arai, the book is the outcome of a multi-year cross-college and cross-regional research initiative

Join us on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 5:30 PM in Kane Hall 225 for a special evening lecture: Consolidating Constitutional Legitimacy in Japan: Concepts, Metrics, and Pathways Forward Kenneth Mori McElwain, University of Tokyo and Columbia University Amidst global challenges to established institutions, rights, and norms, the role of constitutions in preserving democratic governance