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The 21st Korea-Japan Millennium Forum was held at Waseda University from December 2 to 3, 2025. Participating in the event from Keio University were President Kohei Itoh, Vice-President Motohiro Tsuchiya, along with Professor Satoko Tokunaga from the Faculty of Letters and Professor Akira Ishii from the Faculty of Economics as presenters, and a student representative.

The forum was launched in 2002 as an opportunity for the presidents and other members of four leading private universities from Japan and Korea—Keio University, Waseda University, Korea University, and Yonsei University—to strengthen their mutual relationships and meet up on a yearly basis. The venue rotates between the schools each time it is held.

This year's theme was "Humanities at Risk." In the Presidents' Session, the presidents of each university discussed the significance of the humanities and their role in modern society in the AI age, highlighting initiatives they have taken to address these topics. The session explored both the skills needed for the next generation as well as the need to reconsider the research and educational systems. In the Students' Session, student representatives from each university took a forward-looking approach, reframing the "crisis" in humanities as an opportunity. They presented their thoughts and put forward a set of proposals incorporating this viewpoint. In the Researchers' Sessions, speakers offered their own perspectives on the past, present, and future of the humanities. The gathering engaged in a deep discussion on the roles that universities, educators, and specialists will play in the AI era, and on the future of higher education, with the acknowledgement that AI's rise brings both positives and negatives for the humanities.

Photos: Waseda University