A small delegation of VU academics and staff, together with colleagues from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), visited Japan from 30 September to 6 October 2025. The visit aimed to deepen collaboration with universities, policymakers and industry partners.
Building a Society Based on Wellbeing
VU Amsterdam was involvement in the full-day program Building a Society Based on Wellbeing, hosted at the NL Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka on Thursday, October 2nd, and shaped by the vision of Prof. Meike Bartels. The event was attended by 65 participants from Japan and the Netherlands. The day featured keynote speeches, presentations, and discussions involving VU researchers, renowned scientists, industry representatives, and humanitarian partners. Participants explored how wellbeing can be used as a starting point for societal and technological progress, and engaged in a panel discussion about the future of wellbeing-driven development. Interactive demonstrations showcased Dutch - Japanese projects on AI, wellbeing and social innovation.
VU Amsterdam also co-organised the UNSDSN Netherlands - Japan High Level Roundtable with support of SDSN Japan (Keio University) at Inochi Forum, Osaka University, on Friday, October 3rd, led by Prof. Bart Bossink and Prof. Philipp Pattberg. This focused session brought together 30 participants to reflect on sustainability challenges beyond 2030 and to identify new opportunities for shared research, policy collaboration, and educational exchange. The discussions helped shape a clearer direction for joint activities in the coming years.
That afternoon, the delegation travelled to Kyoto to visit the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken). The meeting opened new prospects for joint research, fellowships, and staff academic exchanges, and VU Amsterdam also became a member of the Consortium for Global Japanese Studies, expanding its academic network in Japan.
Examples of Dutch-Japanese collaboration
VU Amsterdam also joined the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Kyoto from 4 - 6 October. Our Rector, Prof. Jeroen Geurts, attended an event at the Netherlands Pavilion of the Osaka Expo, where the NL embassy in Japan presented the Osaka Roadmap on Science & Technology to vice-minister Feite Hofman. The roadmap highlights twelve examples of Dutch-Japanese collaboration during NL Expo 2025. Three cases were showcased to inspire further cooperation, including our Rector’s presentation of The VU Day at Osaka World Expo: Building a Society Based on Wellbeing, envisioning a future where people are empowered as explorers, shaping society through purpose driven engagement and collective potential.
The visit resulted in several concrete outcomes, including progress on collaboration related to Japan Science and Technology (JST) Moonshot Goal 9 on mental wellbeing, a newly signed student exchange agreement with Kobe University and Sophia University, and further activation of EU - Japan funding opportunities for research and education teams. These developments build on the work of the VU MIRAI Taskforce, which has supported VU - Japan cooperation since 2023.
A joint effort
Overall, the week in Japan highlighted VU’s growing role in wellbeing research, AI, sustainability, and interdisciplinary collaboration - and strengthened the foundations for long-term partnerships with Japanese institutions.