The 17th JKC Joint Conference on Geography Held in Kyoto
The 17th China-Japan-Korea Joint Conference on Geography Held in
Kyoto, Japan
The 17th Japan–Korea–China Joint Conference on Geography was held from November 11 to 14, 2025, at Kyoto Terrsa in Kyoto City, Japan. The conference theme was “Coordinating the Preservation of Local Culture and the Promotion of Tourism.” This conference aims to provide geographers, particularly early-career researchers and graduate students from Japan, Korea, and China with opportunities for international academic exchange and presentation experience. Since the inaugural meeting in Beijing in 2006, the conference has continued to foster regional collaboration. Including the three postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year marked the 20th anniversary of the conference series.
A total of 252 participants attended the conference. Based on institutional affiliation, 73 participants were from Japan, 53 from Korea, 121 from China, and 5 from other countries. The academic program featured 181 oral presentations and 39 poster presentations. Participation has shown a steady upward trend, and this meeting recorded the largest number of attendees among conferences hosted in Japan, ranking third in overall size in the history of the series.
Including the main hall at Kyoto Terrsa, six rooms were used, accommodating a total of 39 sessions for oral presentations. The distribution of presentations by research field was as follows: Urban Geography (34), Regional Geography (23), GIS/Remote Sensing (22), Economic Geography (19), Cultural Geography (18), Agricultural/Rural Geography (18), Social Geography (15), Climatology (13), Population Studies (9), Biogeography (3), Political Geography (3), Hydrology (2), Geography Education (1), Geomorphology (1).
Seventy-three poster presentations were held at the rear of the main hall. In the afternoon of November 12, an International Symposium commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Geographical Association of Japan was held concurrently in the main hall.
On November 14, participants took part in field excursions. Two options were offered: a guided bus excursion and a self-guided excursion. A total of 113 participants joined the bus excursion, while 50 chose the self-guided option. The bus excursion visited sites in and around Kyoto City, including Uji, Fushimi, and Rakusai Bamboo Park. At each site, participants received explanations based on prepared materials covering local history, disaster-prevention strategies, and regional cultural resources at tourist destinations. The excursion stimulated active discussion on tourism in Kyoto and its sustainability, deepening participants’ understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with balancing heritage preservation and tourism development.
The conference also presented the Young Geographer Award to outstanding early-career researchers and graduate students. Each year, one to three recipients are selected from each of Japan, Korea and China. This year, 42 applications were submitted (Japan: 15; Korea: 10; China: 17). Awardees were selected based on evaluations of both their submitted papers and conference presentations. Three recipients were chosen from each country. As an additional honor, awardees were granted the opportunity to submit their work to a special issue of Geographical Review of Japan Series B.
The 18th Korea-China-Japan Joint Conference on Geography is scheduled to be held in Seoul, South Korea, from November 6 to 9, 2026.
Group Photo at Opening Ceremony
100th Anniversary of the Geographical Association of Japan (GAJ)
In 2025, two centennial commemorative projects, which had been planned by a special committee for GAJ 100th anniversary celebration in previous years and finalized through discussions with the GAJ Board of Directors, were carried out. The committee was responsible for communications related to the implementation of these projects as well as for their on-site management.
On June 21, 2025, a centennial commemorative symposium, ceremony, and reception were held at University of Tokyo. The symposium consisted of presentations by four speakers followed by a panel discussion. The ceremony included opening remarks by the President of the GAJ and guests, the reading of congratulatory messages, an introduction to the association's history, an awards ceremony, and a musical performance. The reception provided an opportunity for greetings and informal discussions among participants.
In addition, on November 12, 2025, a centennial international symposium was held in Kyoto. Five speakers from Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, and Mongolia delivered presentations, followed by a panel discussion.
Commemorative goods marking the centennial, including ballpoint pens, paper and wooden coasters, stickers, and paper file folders, were also produced and distributed at the above ceremony and symposia, as well as at the academic meetings of the GAJ.
Furthermore, three public outreach events (symposia and field excursions) proposed to this committee by members from The University of Tokyo, Hiroshima University, and Ibaraki Prefectural Hitachi First High School in connection with the centennial were also implemented.
(Provided by Prof. Kenta Yamamoto, kenta@kokugakuin.ac.jp)
