Date　　　Friday 19, June, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Can Ex Ante Regulation Address Generative AI? Insights from
　　　　　 the EU DMA and Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act"
Abstract　In recent years, the spread of generative AI, together with
　　　　　 emerging developments toward practical AI agents, has raised new
　　　　　 competition-related questions that may reshape how users search
　　　　　 for information, use apps, access services, and make choices online.
　　　　　 Platform ex ante regulation, such as the EU Digital Markets Act
　　　　　 (DMA) and Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA) was
　　　　　 originally designed with existing platform services in mind,
　　　　　 including search engines, operating systems, app stores, and
　　　　　 browsers. This raises the question of how far such regulatory
　　　　　 frameworks, premised on existing platform services, can respond to
　　　　　 the new competition issues brought about by generative AI and
　　　　　 AI agents.
　　　　　 This presentation first provides an overview of recent competition-
　　　　　 law debates on generative AI. It then examines the issues
　　　　　 surrounding Google AI Overviews, the possibility that AI agents may
　　　　　 become a new "gateway" to digital services, and the extent to
　　　　　 which the DMA and Japan's MSCA may address these developments.
　　　　　 Through this discussion, the presentation aims to offer a basis for
　　　　　 considering the significance and limits of ex ante regulation in the
　　　　　 age of generative AI.
Speaker 　 Dr. Wang Weisi (Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Meeting Format　[Face-to-Face] Seminar Room 205, Annex. (*)
　　　　　 Kunitachi Campus, Hitotsubashi University,
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English and Japanese
Registration　https://forms.office.com/r/zSKgiSq1RP
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 18 June)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date        Friday 26, June, 2026 16:00-17:00
Venue　     Hybrid（HIAS Seminar Room / Online via zoom)
Speaker     Kelly Hall (Professor, Department of Social Policy,
　　　　　 Sociology and Criminology, University of Birmingham)
Title     　"Does organisational model affect quality of care?
　　　　　A comparison of for-profit, not-for profit, government run and social
　　　　　enterprise organisations in English social care"
Abstract  This seminar will share research that explores whether organisational
　　　　　model affects care quality. It compares not-for-profit, social enterprise,
　　　　　for-profit and government-run social care (long-term-care)
　　　　　organisations in England. Using England's Care Quality Commission and
　　　　　Skills for Care data alongside qualitative interviews with stakeholders
　　　　　and staff, findings suggest that social enterprises (businesses with a
　　　　　social mission) perform the same or better than any other
　　　　　organisational form. Qualitative insights point to governance,
　　　　　organisational relationships and size as key factors shaping quality
　　　　　outcomes.
Language   English
Note　　　To register, please apply using the form below by Wednesday, June 24.
　　　　　https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/3c147dSnaY
Link　　　 https://health-economics.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/event_english/20260626

Date　　　Thursday 21, May, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"AI Governance: The Good, the Bad, and the Uncertain in the EU, US,
　　　　　 and Japan"
Abstract　AI governance has become a central regulatory challenge,
　　　　　 reflecting divergent legal traditions, policy priorities, and risk
　　　　　 perceptions across major jurisdictions. This presentation compares
　　　　　 the European Union, the United States, and Japan, focusing on
　　　　　 the strengths, weaknesses, and uncertainties of their approaches.
　　　　　 The EU advances a comprehensive, precautionary model centered
　　　　　 on fundamental rights and ex ante risk regulation, though it raises
　　　　　 concerns about overregulation and limits on innovation.
　　　　　 The US relies on a fragmented, sectoral, and market-driven
　　　　　 framework that supports flexibility and technological growth but
　　　　　 leaves notable regulatory gaps and uneven protections.
　　　　　 Japan adopts a hybrid, soft-law approach grounded in human-
　　　　　 centric principles and societal trust, yet faces issues of
　　　　　 enforceability and limited global influence. Across these systems,
　　　　　 AI governance reveals deep tensions between individual rights and
　　　　　 collective interests, the resilience of social infrastructures, and
　　　　　 the pursuit of innovation and competitiveness. These tensions
　　　　　 highlight the scale of AI's impact and the difficult trade-offs
　　　　　 involved in balancing safeguards with the drive for technological
　　　　　 leadership. The analysis underscores the need for greater
　　　　　 coordination while preserving legal pluralism in global AI
　　　　　 governance.
Speaker 　 Davide Totaro (Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Meeting Format　In-person [Face-to-Face]
　　　　　 Seminar Room 517, Faculty Building II (*) 5th floor
　　　　　(*)No. 21 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　https://forms.office.com/r/rzGQuRSusm
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 20 May)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Thursday 23, April, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Engaging Men and Boys in Sexual and Reproductive Health and
　　　　　 Rights (SRHR) & Gender Equality: Why and How?"
Abstract　Investing in programming and policies to enhance SRHR of women
　　　　　 and girls - in areas such as access to family planning, reducing
　　　　　 child marriage and preventing violence is well understood.
　　　　　 Less well researched, however, is the roles of men and boys.
　　　　　 In this seminar, Prof. Lohan will report on her research conducted
　　　　　 for the WHO examining why this is important and what is the status
　　　　　 of the global research.
　　　　　 She will also report on how SRHR programming can be implemented
　　　　　 with men and boys, including the Jack trial - the largest randomised
　　　　　 trial of school sex education to-date and the first to test boys'
　　　　　 engagement.
Speaker 　 Maria Lohan (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS / Professor, Queen's
　　　　　University Belfast / UNESCO Chair in Masculinities and Gender Equality)
Meeting Format　Hybrid
　　　　　 [Face-to-Face]　Seminar Room 517, Faculty Building II (*) 5th floor
　　　　　(*)No. 21 building in the campus map
　　　　　 [Online (Zoom)] Registered participants will receive the Zoom link via email the day before.
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/g8yzmMwk5A
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 22 April)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Friday 27, March, 2026 16:00～17:30
Title　　　"Australia & Japan:
　　　　　 An Essential Partnership for Supply Chain and Regional Stability"
Place　　　Hybrid Format
　　　　　 In-person: Main Conference Room,
　　　　　 Japan Institute of International Affairs,
　　　　　 Online: The webinar link will be provided to registered participants
　　　　　 in due course.
Speaker
　　　　▪️Lecturer: Gordon Flake,
　　　　　Chief Executive Officer of the Perth US Asia Centre
　　　　　at The University of Western Australia
　　　　▪️Commentator: Osamu Nishiwaki,
　　　　　Director-General for Trade and Economic Security,
　　　　　Trade and Economic Security Bureau,
　　　　　Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
　　　　▪️Moderator: Nobumasa Akiyama,
　　　　　Director, Center for Disarmament, Science and Technology (JIIA)
　　　　　Professor, Hitotsubashi University
Language　English
Contact　　Center for Disarmament, Science and Technology(CDAST),
　　　　　The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
　　　　　TEL：03-3503-7558
　　　　　Address：3rd Floor, Toranomon Daibiru-East Building, 3-8-1
　　　　　Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0013, Japan
Pre-registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/H4tFUpx3T3?origin=lprLink
(If you are unable to access it using Chrome, please try pasting the URL into Edge. If it still does not work, please contact us at the email address above.)

Date　　　Thursday 9, April, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Using Mobile Phone Data for Spatial Information Science:
　　　　　 Generation, Inference, and Applications"
Abstract　Mobile phone location data have become an important data source
　　　　　 for spatial information science, offering new opportunities to
　　　　　 observe human activities, mobility patterns, and urban dynamics at
　　　　　 unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. At the same time, their
　　　　　 effective use raises several methodological challenges, including
　　　　　 privacy constraints, limited data accessibility, and the difficulty
　　　　　 of extracting socially meaningful information from raw trajectories.
　　　　　 This talk presents three complementary lines of research addressing
　　　　　 these challenges.
　　　　　 First, I introduce recent work on pseudo trajectory generation,
　　　　　 focusing on AI-driven generative model for GPS trajectory
　　　　　 generation that aims to improve scalability, transportation-mode
　　　　　 diversity, and generation efficiency under privacy-aware settings.
　　　　　 Second, I discuss demographic inference from mobile phone
　　　　　 trajectories, including a Bayesian approach for estimating age
　　　　　 and gender patterns from anonymized mobility data and census
　　　　　 information, with the goal of tracking demographic dynamics in
　　　　　 built environments. Third, I highlight how mobile phone data can
　　　　　 support urban applications by revealing behavioral patterns and
　　　　　 social heterogeneity in cities. Taken together, these studies
　　　　　 illustrate how mobile phone data can contribute not only to
　　　　　 movement observation, but also to data generation, semantic
　　　　　 inference, and evidence building for urban and spatial research.
Speaker 　 Peiran Li (Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　 https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/yAA70Wa6G1
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 8 April)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date        Friday 13, March, 2026 15:00-16:00
Venue　     Hybrid（HIAS Seminar Room / Online via zoom)
Speaker     Gabriella Conti (Professor, Department of Economics and Social
　　　　　 Research Institute, University College London)
Title     　"Workforce Quality and Early Childhood Development at Scale"
Language   English
Note　　　To register, please apply via the form below by 3/11 (Wed).
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/cRyPRRg82F
Link　　　https://health-economics.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/event_english/20260313

"Navigating Asia's Great Transformation:
Geopolitics, Economy, and the Path Ahead"

Date: February 28 (Sat), 2026　9:30AM-11:30AM JST
Venue: Zoom Meeting
Language: English
Panelists:
　Dr. Dukgeun Ahn（Seoul National University）
　Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro (Asian Development Bank Institute)
　Dr. Jay Rosengard（Harvard Kennedy School of Government）
　Dr. Nobumasa Akiyama（Hitotsubashi University）[ Moderator ]
Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/b31W4zeaQtG-bct0W_nJMw
　

Date　　　Tuesday, 24 February, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Graph-Laplacian Modeling of Spatio-Temporal Effects for House-Price
　　　　　 Estimation"
Abstract　Many variables involve the modeling of spatial effects, and their
　　　　　 dynamics over time. This paper presents a linear model in which
　　　　　 spatio-temporal random effects are modeled by graph-
　　　　　 Laplacians. A graph-Laplacian flexibly encodes adjacency in both
　　　　　 space and time, in our case not depending on unknown parameters.
　　　　　 The graph-Laplacian can be input for a prior in a Bayesian estimation
　　　　　 setup, or used as regularization term in a Ridge regression. A spectral
　　　　　 decomposition of the graph-Laplacian significantly reduces
　　　　　 computation time for estimation.
　　　　　 As an application, we estimate graph-Laplacian hedonic pricing and
　　　　　 repeat-sales models on sales prices of Australian residential properties
　　　　　 in the period from 1990 to 2024. Bayesian and Ridge regression
　　　　　 estimation results are very similar, although the computation time for
　　　　　 the Ridge regression is orders of magnitude faster, however at the
　　　　　 expense of missing posterior density functions. Our results highlight
　　　　　 the advantages of graph-Laplacians for predicting individual property
　　　　　 prices and for producing stable, granular price indices, also in thin
　　　　　 markets.
Speaker 　 Marc K. Francke (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/CmKMR7fhDP
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 20 February)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Thursday, 12 February, 2026 12:00-13:00
Title　　　"Are Energy Efficiency Improvements Capitalized in Property Prices?
　　　　　 A Hedonic Analysis of Market Incentives"
Abstract　We combine Land Registry and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
　　　　　datasets at the micro-level to measure the extent to which energy
　　　　　efficiency improvements in England are capitalized in residential
　　　　　property prices. Using a double imputation hedonic approach?
　　　　　contrary to previous findings? we find that the costs of energy
　　　　　efficiency improvements are only partiallycapitalized in property prices.
　　　　　The capitalization rate is particularly low for detached houses in
　　　　　London. Our benchmark hedonic results are confirmed by robustness
　　　　　checks based on regression discontinuity design, two-stage least
　　　　　squares and repeat-sales.
　　　　　Our results indicate that government interventions are needed to satisfy
　　　　　climate policy goals.
Speaker 　 Robert Hill (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/uA7M4z8jj0
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 10 February)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Thursday 8, January, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Navigating authenticity and legitimacy in meaningful work:
　　　　　 Repair professionals' experiences in Finland"
Abstract　Authenticity (being true to oneself) and legitimacy (presenting as a
　　　　　competent professional) are closely related concepts central to
　　　　　management, yet their relationship remains unclear. This paper
　　　　　investigates that relationship in the work of repair professionals,
　　　　　where stories embedded in objects of repair carry meaning.
　　　　　Based on interviews and observations, the study reveals that
　　　　　commercial, emotional and material elements influence how these
　　　　　two concepts interact.
Speaker 　 Savu Rovanto (Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/Rh2J8gvrCP
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 7 January)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.