The 16th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS2026)

May 09-13, 2026 | Held in Tokyo, Japan and Online

ACCS is organised by IAFOR in association with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in Osaka University, Japan.

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Welcome to the 16th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS2026).

Held in partnership with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, this international conference encourages academics and scholars to meet and exchange ideas and views in a forum stimulating respectful dialogue. This event will afford an exceptional opportunity for renewing old acquaintances, making new contacts, networking, and facilitating partnerships across national and disciplinary borders.

Since its founding in 2009, IAFOR has brought people and ideas together in a variety of events and platforms to promote and celebrate interdisciplinary study, and underline its importance. Over the past year we have engaged in many cross-sectoral projects, including those with universities (the University of Barcelona, Hofstra University, UCL, University of Belgrade and Moscow State University), a think tank (the East-West Center), as well as collaborative projects with the United Nations in New York, and here, with the Government of Japan through the Prime Minister’s office.

With the IAFOR Research Centre, we have engaged in a number of interdisciplinary initiatives we believe will have an important impact on domestic and international public policy conversations. It is through conferences like these that we expand our network and partners, and we have no doubt that ACCS2026 will offer a remarkable opportunity for the sharing of research and best practice, and for the meeting of people and ideas.

The 16th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS2026) will be held alongside The 17th Asian Conference on the Social Sciences and The 17th Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities. Registration for one of these conferences will allow delegates to attend sessions in all three.

ACCS is organised by IAFOR in association with the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in Osaka University, Japan.

We look forward to seeing you in Tokyo and online!

– The Conference Committee

Key Information
  • Location & Venue: Held at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo, Japan, and Online
  • Dates: Saturday, May 09, 2026 ​to Wednesday, May 13, 2026
  • Early Bird Abstract Submission Deadline: November 27, 2025*
  • Final Abstract Submission Deadline: February 12, 2026
  • Registration Deadline for Presenters: March 25, 2026

*Submit early to take advantage of the discounted registration rates. Learn more about our registration options.

Submit an Abstract
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Speakers

  • Umberto Ansaldo
    Umberto Ansaldo
    VinUniversity, Vietnam
  • Katsuya Iijima
    Katsuya Iijima
    Keio University, Japan
  • Diana Khor
    Diana Khor
    Hosei University, Japan
  • Emiko Miyashita
    Emiko Miyashita
    Haiku International Association, Japan
  • Miles Pennington
    Miles Pennington
    The University of Tokyo, Japan
  • Yuko Takahashi
    Yuko Takahashi
    Tsuda University, Japan
  • Kyoko Uchimura
    Kyoko Uchimura
    Haiku International Association, Japan
More to be announced

IAFOR's Conference Themes for 2025-2029

IAFOR Themes 2025-2029
Our selected themes for 2025-2029 bring together ideas and encourage research and synergies in the following areas:

  • Technology and Artificial Intelligence
  • Humanity and Human Intelligence
  • Global Citizenship and Education for Peace
  • Leadership

    • Our four themes can be seen as standalone themes, but they are also very much in conversation with each other. Themes may be seen as corollaries, complementary, or in opposition/juxtaposition with each other. The themes can be considered as widely as possible and are designed, in keeping with our mission, to encourage ideas across the disciplines.

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    About IAFOR

    "International, Intercultural, Interdisciplinary"

    Founded in 2009, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is a global interdisciplinary scholarly association that brings together scholars from around the world. Through research collaborations, publications, and international conferences, it connects academics across disciplines and regions. IAFOR's main administrative office is in Nagoya, Japan, and its research centre (The IAFOR Research Centre) is in the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), a graduate school of The University of Osaka. Through its international, intercultural and interdisciplinary conferences, research, and publications, IAFOR is a network hub for interdisciplinary discussion across Asia and beyond.
    IAFOR Main Site | IAFOR Research Archive | IAFOR Research Centre

    Diana Khor
    Hosei University, Japan

    Biography

    Professor Diana Khor is the President of Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan, a position she has held since March 2025. She previously served in several senior leadership roles at the university, including Executive Trustee and Vice President, Director of the Global Education Center, and Dean of the Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies. She received her Bachelor of Social Science in 1983 and her Master of Philosophy degrees in 1985 from the University of Hong Kong. She also earned her MA in Sociology in 1987, and her PhD in Sociology in 1994 from Stanford University, United States.

    Professor Khor joined Hosei University in 1999 as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of General Education. In 2003, she was appointed Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law and was promoted to Professor in 2005. Since 2008, she has served as Professor in the Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies.

    Professor Khor’s academic background is in Sociology, with a focus on gender and sexuality, particularly in East Asia. As Vice President and now President, she has been committed to advancing global education, strengthening international engagement in higher education, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion across the university.

    Roundtable Discussion (2026) | Senior Academic Leadership
    Yuko Takahashi
    Tsuda University, Japan

    Biography

    Professor Yuko Takahashi was named the eleventh president of Tsuda College (now Tsuda University) in 2016. She holds a BA from Tsuda College, an MA in International Affairs from the University of Tsukuba, Japan; and an MA in History and a PhD in Education from The University of Kansas. Her major research areas are American studies, American social history, and gender history.

    Professor Takahashi has held numerous academic leadership roles, including president of the Japan University Accreditation Association (2023–present), president of the International Federation for Research in Women's History (2020–2025), and president of the Japanese Association for American Studies (2018–2020). She also served as a commission member of the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (2018–2022), is a council member of the Science Council of Japan, and a trustee of the American Studies Foundation. A two-time Fulbright scholar, she conducted research at Stanford University in 2003 and Wellesley College in 2013. Her publications include Tsuda Umeko no Shakaishi (Umeko Tsuda: A Social History, 2002) and Tsuda umeko ̄ joshi kyōiku o hiraku (Umeko Tsuda: Pioneering Women’s Education, 2022).　

    Featured Roundtable (2026) | TBA
    Katsuya Iijima
    Keio University, Japan

    Biography

    TBA

    Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA
    Miles Pennington
    The University of Tokyo, Japan

    Biography

    Miles Pennington is Professor of Design-Led Innovation at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is the prospective Dean of the UTokyo College of Design, a new interdisciplinary programme focused on addressing complex societal challenges through design due to open in September 2027. He is also Director of the DLX Design Lab, an international and multidisciplinary lab that collaborates with researchers across the university to create value through design. Professor Pennington’s projects have included work on low-cost ocean monitoring, bio-intelligent systems, innovative healthcare devices, and explorations into metamaterials and coral conservation. Prior to joining The University of Tokyo in 2017, he led the Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) at the Royal College of Art, United Kingdom, a joint Master’s programme with Imperial College London, United Kingdom. He is an alumnus of IDE, graduating in 1992, and was also the founder and Head of the university’s Global Innovation Design (GID) programme. In addition to his core roles, he was a Director of Takram, London, an innovation consultancy with its headquarters in Tokyo, until 2017. He is currently Co-Director of the DLX Design Academy and has served as Specially Appointed Advisor to the President on Design Vision since April 2023.

    Keynote Presentation (2025) | Design Unbound: Expanding the Frontiers of Design
    Kyoko Uchimura
    Haiku International Association, Japan

    Biography

    Ms Kyoko Uchimura is a haiku poet born in Tokyo. She earned a BA in Art History from International Christian University, Japan, and studied at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, from 1988 to 1989 as an exchange student. She worked for Christie’s art auction house from 1990 to 2014, contributing her expertise there for over twenty years.

    Ms Uchimura began writing haiku in 2002, receiving the New Talent Award of the haiku group ‘Ten’I’, led by Dr Akito Arima, in 2008. She recently won first prize in the group’s essay contest in 2023. In 2013, she published her first haiku collection, titled ‘Venus’. She is currently a member of the Association of Haiku Poets in Japan.

    Since 2014, Ms Uchimura has worked in an editorial role for Ten’I and the Haiku International Association since 2018, where she serves as a councilor and is responsible for editing the association’s quarterly haiku magazine, ‘HI’. She often writes short reviews for other haiku magazines. She has supported the administrative office of the Haiku UNESCO Promotion Council since 2018.

    Haiku Workshop (2026) | What is Haiku?

    Previous Presentations

    Haiku Workshop (2025) | What is Haiku?
    Emiko Miyashita
    Haiku International Association, Japan

    Biography

    Emiko Miyashita is a prominent and widely published haiku poet, as well as an award-winning translator who has given invited lectures and workshops around the world. She serves as a councillor for the Haiku International Association, as well as secretary of the Haiku Poets Association International Department in Tokyo. She is a dojin (leading member) of Ten’i (Providence) haiku group lead by Dr Akito Arima, and also a dojin of the Shin (Morning Sun), haiku group lead by Dr Akira Omine. From January 2008, until March 2010, she judged and wrote an English-language haiku column with Michael Dylan Welch every first Sunday in the Asahi weekly paper.

    Haiku Workshop (2026) | What Is Haiku?

    Previous Presentations

    Haiku Workshop (2025) | What Is Haiku?
    Haiku Workshop (2024) | What Is Haiku?
    Umberto Ansaldo
    VinUniversity, Vietnam

    Biography

    Professor Umberto Ansaldo is currently Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at VinUniversity, Vietnam. He previously served as Head of the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry at Curtin University, Australia from 2021 through 2023, Head of the School of Literature, Art and Media at the University of Sydney, Australia from 2018 through 2020, and Head of the School of Humanities at HKU, where he taught from 2009 to 2018.

    Professor Ansaldo’s disciplinary roots are in linguistics, specifically in the study of language contact, linguistic typology, and language documentation. He is the author of four books to date (with CUP, OUP, Routledge, and Stockholm University Press), has edited or co-edited 11 volumes and journal special collections, and has authored multiple journal articles and book chapters. His most recent publication is the co-editorship of The Routledge Handbook of Pidgin and Creole Languages (Routledge, 2021).

    At HKU, Professor Ansaldo led the Humanities Area of Inquiry on the Common Core Curriculum Committee in HKU’s major revision of its curriculum (2010-2013), a time when, along with the University of Melbourne, Australia, HKU was leading in reimagining undergraduate curricula. As Chair of Linguistics, he was instrumental in establishing the Department within the top ten programmes in Linguistics (QS rankings), with the programme ranking at number one in Hong Kong.

    At the University of Sydney, Professor Ansaldo sat on the University Executive Research Committee and led his School through a transformative period in terms of curriculum innovation and research engagement. He was in charge of overseeing the incorporation of the Sydney College of the Arts into the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.

    Professor Ansaldo has secured competitive research grants and leveraged industry funding for the advancement of the humanities and social sciences throughout his career. One of his proudest achievements was his role in securing financial support to develop and host an exhibition on language and the brain, the ‘Talking Brains’ exhibition at the CosmoCaixa in Barcelona, Spain in 2017. This type of engagement and championing of the Humanities is what Umberto is most passionate about.

    Professor Ansaldo has lived and worked in Sweden, The Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong. and speaks seven languages, including Mandarin. He is well-acquainted with Asia and has conducted fieldwork in Muslim communities of the Indian Ocean, and has developed strong international networks in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Europe.

    Previous Presentations

    Panel Presentation (2025) | Peace Education in Times of Conflict
    Keynote Presentation (2024) | Can Today’s Universities Contribute to a Better Future?
    Panel Presentation (2022) | Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Precarity and Resilience