Kahaner Report: Internat Institute for Advanced Studies, Kansai Japan

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

period, he strongly felt the need for creating an institution for
advanced studies in an environment that would allow the seeds of new
research to be identified and nurtured. His dream became a reality when
IIAS was established. He explained that IIAS is constructing a Scholars'
Village, an IIAS research-residential complex, where eminent scholars
and outstanding young researchers from throughout the world Will be
invited to reside and conduct research for the duration of their
research projects. He also explained that Dr.  Azuma Okuda named the
complex Scholars' Village as it would be a community where scholars and
researchers team from one another through discussions and the mutual
exchange of information and ideas. He believes that such a research
environment should Propagate new and integrated forms of scholarship,
and that the new directions in scientific research and concepts
developed there would benefit humanity.


 Dr. Nishijima pointed out that the Scholars' Village was a new type of
establishment in Japan aimed at integrating existing studies with
sustained interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary functions, which
coincides with the directions in academia that he has observed in the
latter half of this century. He explained that established subjects have
certain scholastic boundaries, and new knowledge and research have been
generated when these subjects reach their boundaries and continue to
expand. He said, "For a long time, research activity was restricted to
one particular field, but when research was pursued further, it reached
a point where it began to cross over into the area of other studies.
Recently, this type of research has occurred among several fields of
studies. Moreover, research that has transcended its boundaries has
provided exciting new findings and has opened new fields of study. The
next phase for academia would be the integration of these studies." Dr.
Nishijima and his colleagues at Kyoto University have been discussing
this new phase of integration for the last 4-5 years. To implement this
development in the university structure, Kyoto University is in the
process of reorganizing its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and as
a part of the reorganization it has established a graduate school of
Human and Environmental Studies. Dr. Kanamori said that
interdisciplinary studies in Osaka University were also started after
the student uprisings of the late 60s and they have just begun to take
shape in practice. He said Osaka University has been going through some
reorganization; for example, the departments of psychology, sociology
and education were moved from the Faculty of Literature and placed into
the newly created Faculty of Human Science. In addition, two new
faculties, the Faculty of Language and Culture and the Faculty of Health
and Sport Science were created. He added that they have just begun
discussing the reorganization of the College of Liberal Arts at Osaka
University while observing the changes taking place at Kyoto University.
The universities are reorganizing their structures in order to provide
and encourage interdisciplinary academic functions.


 The trends from analysis to integration and from interrelationship to
integration


 Taking his field, physics, as an example, Dr. Kanamori explained the
trend in academia. "Before 1930, aside from Einstein's theory of
relativity, we had a period called, 'The Era of Analysis' because
physicists made many important discoveries through the analysis of
atoms, nuclei and elemental particles. It was similar to what
researchers in the life sciences are studying these days. After the war,
solid physics, especially the studies of metals, transistors and quantum
mechanics that involved practical application became very popular. We
have just begun to focus on the interrelationship between the
microscopic world of atoms and the macroscopic world of matter. A good
example for this is the study of superconductivity which demonstrated
how entirely different studies combined as a group, could develop into
something entirely new and significant. This approach was revolutionary in
terms of developing theories. It also taught us that such relationships
between specific individual fields and whole disciplines of Teaming
would not be simple to deal with, because they involve mathematical
difficulties as well as philosophical differences." Dr. Kanamori expects
that a productive integration of studies will take place in IIAS because
researchers with similar disciplines will be gathered together and
encouraged to contribute to the development of creative sciences. In
addition to the observations that Drs. Nishijima and Kanamori made, Dr.
Okamoto observed that 'unclear' concepts such as 'chaos' and 'fuzzy'
were receiving much attention recently while until a few years ago
scientific concepts had always been clearly stated and often with
mathematical proof. These trends, he noted, would be a common
characteristic of advanced studies.


 Cultural Fusion of East and West is expected in Natural Science


 Dr. Okamoto expressed his concern about Western culture being too highly
valued. He emphasized the cultural relativity of East and West. Dr.
Nishijima replied, "From the Western point of view, I think there are
two types of negations in the foundation of the Eastern way of life. One
is the under-evaluation of the language and the other is
under-evaluation of the individual self. In the West, individual
initiative is the starting point, while in the East, (religious)
traditions try to guide one to a state of perfect self-effacement as its
goal. There are differences; however, I believe that imposing either
Eastern or Western values and having discussion limited to the comparison
of their cultures would not lead anywhere. IIAS will have a unique
inter-cultural environment with scholars from different backgrounds with
different value systems. This environment may attract more scholars from
throughout the world, which will help generate new concepts and ideas."
Dr. Okamoto said that subjects regarding Eastern and Western cultures
would be studied continuously at IIAS- He stressed that among the 20
institutions for advanced studies in the world, IIAS would be an ideal
place for undertaking these studies because 11AS was located in Japan,
the first such institute located in the East.


 Ideal approach - IIAS and Universities complementing each other.


 In response to an issue brought up by Dr. Nishijima on whether new
theories and concepts could be developed only through discussion and the
exchange of ideas, especially among those scientists who work
exclusively in laboratories, Dr.  Okamoto noted it is a policy of IIAS
that the Scholars' Village would be a place designed solely for the
generation of ideas as it does not have any experimental facilities.
[As one newspaper article put it, "An institute so devoted to
theoretical research that it doesn't contain a single laboratory", DKK]
It would provide an opportunity for scientists to get away from their
laboratories and speculate. However, he would expect that some young
IIAS researchers might require access to experimental facilities in
order to prove their theories through experimentation. In this regard he
asked for the universities' cooperation. Dr.  Kanamori replied that the
universities and IIAS could benefit from each other's facilities because
a place like IIAS would encourage university students to develop
philosophies and new ideas. Dr. Nishijima agreed with Dr. Kanamori on
this matter. Dr.  Kanamori stated that there was little scientific
research in Japan that was considered original. He explained, "Dr.
Tadashi Yoshida, a sociologist, said that Japanese universities have
trained students to study imported science; Japan merely brought in
science from the West but did not bring with it the cultural background
that supports scientific development. Both Japanese universities and
industries have always sought new knowledge and technology outside of
Japan for their growth and development. Recently, this has begun to
change, and industry is looking for creative talent within Japan to
develop new technology. However, I do not expect a sudden increase in
creativity simply because industry demands it.  Even if the government
changes the educational system and the universities change their
policies, this demand will remain unmet. Dr. Yoshida used the words,
'cultural matrix', which imply that different social and cultural
elements are necessary to create an environment for the development of
science. He said that Japan could not attain its own scientific goals
without such an environment. I agree with him and I am hoping that IIAS
will become a place where the 'cultural matrix' can be formed." Dr.
Okamoto said IIAS would welcome the universities' participation in its
activities.


 Internationalization is necessary for IIAS


 Dr. Nishijima said that different original styles of thinking were
needed in order to advance any study, thus international involvement is
an essential element in IIAS activities.  Dr. Kanamori also expressed
the importance of welcoming international involvement as he believes
that national characteristics influence scientists' approaches to the
natural sciences. Dr. Okamoto agreed, but added, "I believe that in the
international arena one does not have to assimilate himself for others
to understand him; he should be able to express himself freely yet
should be accepted by others, and IIAS should keep this aspect in mind."
Dr. Nishijima heard that IIAS hopes to project the image of 'Seihitsu
naru garan' (a tranquil place for the pursuit of knowledge), similar to
Certosa in Italy. He said, "In Certosa, monasteries that were built on
the hills and are surrounded by vineyards are in the process of being
changed into places that provide people from all over the world with a
contemplative atmosphere in which to assemble and to have discussions. I
would like IIAS to create its own characteristic atmosphere such as
found in a temple, monastery or village." Dr. Okamoto replied that Mr.
Kono, the Executive Managing Trustee of IIAS, was trying to make IIAS
the 'Mt. Hiei' of academia. (Mt. Hiei is located in Kyoto and
historically has been a sacred place where people have sought
enlightenment.)


 IIAS strives to maintain an ideal relationship with business and
industrial community


 Dr. Okamoto explained that IIAS is not a governmental institution and
it was established and supported solely by private funds, which allows
it to be independent from government intervention. The directors of
institutions for advanced studies around the world who attended the
meeting in Kyoto emphasized the importance of this aspect. On the other
hand, he continued, IIAS must take into consideration the intentions or
reasons behind the support given by business and industrial circles and
individuals, which might range from the practical application of basic
research to the contribution of cultural enrichment. Dr. Kanamori
observed that research institutions in the commercial sector have begun
doing basic research, however, being profit oriented, they can not
conduct research the same way universities do. He said, "It may be
difficult, but it will be beneficial to establish some sort of system
which allows universities and industries to collaborate. I would like to
see Japanese business and industrial circles support universities the
way that monarchs in different parts of world used to protect and
support the arts and sciences through generosity and understanding." In
response to Dr.  Kanamori's observation, Dr. Nishijima pointed out that
Japanese industries and universities had collaborated to contribute to
the development of Japanese electronics, textiles and heavy industries
during and immediately after W.W.II. With this in mind, he stressed that
research conducted in industry, universities and IIAS could have
different characteristics and be independent from one another, as long
as they had some kind of interface mechanism that allowed them to
communicate with each other. He continued, "Thus far, I believe that
since its inception, IIAS has established an ideal relationship with
industrial circles, and has been getting strong support from them." In
addition to business and industrial circles, Dr. Kanamori mentioned the
role of philanthropists. He said, "There are people like Mr. Toyosaburo
Taniguchi of Osaka who gave Y80,000 to Osaka University for the
construction of the -first Japanese cyclotron in 1935. He also supported
many international symposia-after the war. The amount he contributed was
enormous compared to other organizations, however, he never expected
any recognition; in fact, he disliked his name being mentioned. He
always supported research which needed help and was not necessarily
popular." Dr. Okamoto noted that Mr.  Taniguchi's spirit of philanthropy
was most admirable and said, "In this same spirit, I hope that
supporters understand that IIAS research may not be of any benefit to
them personally, but instead, would benefit all mankind."


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