On October 5 and 6, a delegation from the DIJ visited the German Consulate General in Osaka and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyoto to intensify the DIJ’s research cooperation activities in the Kansai region. Ahead of the EXPO 2025 in Osaka, the DIJ is planning to start cooperation projects with the German diplomatic representation in Western Japan next year. At the Nichibunken, DIJ director Franz Waldenberger and Nichibunken’s Director-General Inoue Shōichi signed a memorandum of understanding which extends the current cooperation between both institutes. The DIJ’s membership in the Consortium for Global Japanese Studies, which is administered by the Nichibunken, was also upgraded from observing to full member. The signing event was followed by the Nichibunken Evening Seminar where six DIJ researchers gave presentations on their research projects and exchanged with Nichibunken researchers on the current state and future of Japanese Studies.