Asia is leading the world now. Needless to say, it is not that only positive events are taking place in the region. More often than not, that is not the case. Take Japan, for example. The country is faced with a myriad of challenges, including an aging population with a declining birth rate, a gap-widening society, gender inequity, energy issues, frequent disasters of extreme severity, and much more. It would be a defeat for science, however, to look away from these challenges no matter how they seem intractable.

Research groups at the Asian Link Research Center approach the past, present, and future of Asia from a variety of perspectives. Any of their research projects cannot be divided into a simple dichotomy of the humanities and the sciences. Indeed, they are integrative and interdisciplinary. I am proud to say that Niigata University, which boasts a wide range of faculties, is in a superb position to conducts such research.

The Asian Link Research Center is still young, but I am convinced that it has the potential to become a research center of excellence not only for Japan but also for Asia and the world. I sincerely hope you will encourage us while looking forward to our activities going forward.

ISHIDA Minori

Director, The Asian Link Research Center, Niigata University