The triennial conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) has become the largest forum outside Japan for anyone undertaking research on Japan. Tallinn University will be hosting the 13th Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies from August 24–27, 2011. The keynote speaker is Professor Ueno Chizuko from the University of Tokyo. Among other renowned researchers on Japan who will be present at the conference: Professor Arthur Stockwini, who managed the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies at the University of Oxford for many years, and Professor Komori Yoichi, a well-known critic of contemporary Japanese culture and the political system. More than 700 participants are expected to attend the EAJS's largest conference in Tallinn, representing not only all of Europe, but also North Ameria and Japan. The conference is divided into eight sections in which hundreds of presentations will be given on a variety of topics related to Japan, covering all fields of Japanese studies – including linguistics, politics, economy, history, literature, arts and theatre. The previous international conference of EAJS was held at the University of Salento in Italy where Tallinn University was selected as the organizer of this year's conference, ahead of Krakow University and the University of Sheffield who had also applied for the position. The European Association for Japanese Studies, which presently has 1200 members, was established in 1973 with the aim of facilitating research and cooperation in Japanese Studies in Europe.