Introduction

In 1984, the Institute of Japanese Studies, which is under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, conducted a survey on the state of Japanese studies in China since the onset of the Reform and Opening Up in the late 1970s. This rollcall of Chinese scholars and organizations that specialize in Japanese studies was carried out with the support of The Japan Foundation. Survey results were published in 1985 in the two-volume Japanese Studies in China, and its Japanese edition came out two years later. In 1995, the Chinese Association for Japanese Studies, along with the Beijing Japanese Studies Centre, and again with the support of The Japan Foundation, conducted the second national survey of Chinese institutes and scholars specializing in Japanese studies, and new editions of Japanese Studies in China, in Chinese and Japanese, were issued in 1997, to the acclaim of Japanese academics.

From May 2008 to March 2009, in cooperation with The Japan Foundation, the Chinese Association for Japanese Studies and the Japanese Studies Institute at Nankai University conducted the third national survey of Japanese studies in China. The endeavor was designed to reflect the most up-to-date research accomplishments, to identify productive practices for future reference, and to advance exchanges between Chinese specialists and Japan scholars abroad. With the leadership provided by the Chinese Association for Japanese Studies and with the active participation of organizations and individuals across China, the survey proceeded smoothly and concluded successfully. This current publication is but one presentation of the survey findings.

Covered in the survey are associations, research institutes and scholars in the field of Japanese studies. Due to limited resources, the surveyors did not include Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, and foreign countries in their coverage. A total of 1,550 sets of survey forms were posted, among them 120 to organizations and 1430 to individuals (considering that some polled scholars photocopied forms for themselves, the number of forms that actually circulated probably exceeds the number of the forms originally issued). A total of 1,140 sets of valid forms were returned, of which 100 were from organizations and 1,040 were from individuals.

Given the rapid expansion of the college-level Japanese language education, the number of Japanese language departments and Japanese studies sections has increased notably. According to statistics in 2009, nationally 385 four-year higher-education institutions have Japanese language departments or offer majors in Japanese language. To focus on the state of research on Japan, this current survey includes only those programs that offer Master’s degree or above. As result, some universities with Japanese language teaching units are not listed in the report.

Participating institutions and individuals made great efforts to make the current survey a success. Still, flaws and shortcomings remain. There have been numerous changes in addresses and means of communication in recent years; professors are positioned in different schools of their universities- all these and other factors made it difficult or impossible for the investigators to reach all of the scholars in the field.

The current volume consists of three parts. Part one is an overview of the new development of Japanese studies in China during the past decade. Part two lists the main associations and research establishments in Japanese studies in China. Part three is a directory of Chinese scholars in Japanese studies.

Mr. Lifeng Jiang, Executive Associate Director of the Chinese Association for Japanese Studies, Mr. Hong Gao, Secretary-General of CAJS, lent essential support to the undertaking of the survey. Our deep-felt gratitude also goes to many other organizations and individuals who made valuable contributions: Xu Lin of the Institute of Japanese Studies, CASS; Wen Li of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, CASS; Yu Li and Chengyou Song of Peking University; Dongliang Yang, Zhuo Li and Zhiyong Song of the Japanese Studies Institute of Nankai University; Xiaofeng Liu of Tsinghua University; Qixin Xu of the Association for the History of Sino-Japanese Relations; Yiping Xu of Beijing Japanese Studies Centre; Chengri An of Heilongjiang University; Yutan Li and Jingyan Chen of Jilin University; Xiuxiuwu Chen of Northeast Normal University; Tiejun Wang of Liaoning University; Wei Gong of Dalian University of Foreign Languages; Jianqiang Liu of Xian International Studies University; Yanjun Mi of Shanxi University; Xiaoping Wang of Tianjin Normal University; Yaqin He of Hebei University of Technology; Huirong Wang of Shandong University; Guangmin Li of Qingdao University; Wansheng Xu of LuoyangCollege of Foreign Languages; Xi Peng of Nanjing University; Lingyuan Hu of Fudan University; Jianguo Cai of Tongji University; Ning Gao of East China Normal University; Yong Wang and Baoping Wang of Zhejiang Gongshang University; and Yaozhu Sun of South China Normal University. 

This survey covered a broad field and numerous individuals, which proved to be a challenge to the compilers with their limited abilities. Comments and suggestions are welcome with regard to any errors that may exist in the report.

To protect the personal information collected, the current volume is to be used internally only and should not be released to the general public. No one should use the information for commercial or any other non-academic purposes. The copying of this document is prohibited. The editors preserve the right to take legal action against anyone who use the document illegally or without authorization.  

The Editorial Board, Japanese Studies in China