On May 19, 2022, a symposium commemorating the inauguration of the University of Tokyo “Kodansha x Media Do New Book Research Project” was held at the Ochanomizu Waterras Common Hall.

The “Kodansha x Media Do New Book Research Project” was initiated by the University of Tokyo III (Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies), Kodansha, and Media Do in April 2022 and is a successor to the “DNP Academic Electronic Contents Research Project” which ran from 2015 until 2021. This new research project will discuss the future direction of digital content construction and digital archives in Japan and aims to research and socially implement “new book” prototypes and the basis for promoting their utilization.

The symposium was moderated by Professor Yoshio Yanagi of the same project and began with a video greeting by Professor Yuhei Yamauchi, the dean of the III. In the second part, Professor Shunya Yoshimi gave a keynote speech on the theme of “Expectations for the future of digital archives and the new project.” In the third part, a panel discussion chaired by Professor Hidenori Watanave, discussions were held by five experts from various fields related to digital archives, including Professor Emeritus Hidetaka Ishida. Under the theme of “New books, new readings and digital archives,” there was a lively discussion of ideas not confined to existing evidence and preceding cases, including questions of “What is a ‘new book’” and “What will be the technology and social situation ten years from now?” The venue was almost full, with more than 80 people attending, making the event a great success.

Text: Jimmine Yoo (Ph.D. Student/Editorial team)
Photo: University of Tokyo “Kodansha x Media Do New Book Research Project”