2014-10-20 On December 11 (Thu), International Symposium "Past and Present of Japanese-French Exchanges―from the Collection of National Diet Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France" will be held.

The National Diet Library (NDL), under an agreement for cooperation with the Bibliothèque national de France (National Library of France, or BnF), will launch in December 2014 a digital exhibition entitled "Modern Japan and France — adoration, encounter, and interaction," which focuses on Japan-French relations. In commemoration of this event, the NDL will hold an international symposium, featuring a lecture by Ms. Véronique BÉRANGER, a specialist in Japanese materials from the BnF. She is known for her research into Shuhanron-Emaki and has also served as a scientific coordinator in the Franco-Japanese Digital Portal Project (2013-2014) at the BnF. After the lecture, a panel discussion featuring Ms. Béranger, Prof. Christophe MARQUET of the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), and Emer. Prof. Akira NISHIBORI of Yokohama National University will be held, with Prof. Nobutaka MIURA of Chuo University serving as moderator.

At the closing of the 90th anniversary of Japanese-French cultural cooperation, which began with foundation of the Maison franco-japonaise in 1924, this symposium reflects on the development of exchange between the two countries, as seen materials from the collections of these two libraries. For more details, please see Events.