Three-Day Symposium “Cyprus Meets Japan”

Japanese, Cypriot and international scientists, including directors of major research infrastructures, met at The Cyprus Institute, 25-27 November, to explore collaborations on wide-ranging, new science- and technology-based research domains, and to pave the way towards creating a heritage science network between Europe and Japan.

The symposium was jointly organised by the Inter-University Research & Education Alliance of Japan (IU-REAL) and The Cyprus Institute and takes added importance in the context of Japan’s intensifying discussions with the EU to become an associated country to the EU’s key funding programme on Research and Innovation ‘Horizon Europe.’

"This is the first time that so many Japanese delegates (25) have gathered together in Cyprus, furthering collaboration between the two countries," noted the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Cyprus, HE Mr Yoshio Yamawaki, in his opening address.

"Cyprus is ideal for establishing a heritage science network between Europe and Asia, given its science infrastructure, membership of SESAME synchrotron (https://www.sesame.org.jo), rich cultural heritage, and location as the meeting point of Southwest Asia (the Middle East) and the southeastern reaches of Europe," said Prof. Koichiro Shimomura of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Japan.

The Japanese initiator of this exchange meeting, Prof. Nobuhiro Kosugi (KEK; representative of Japan as Observer to the SESAME Council) stated: "This is an exciting moment in time for establishing concrete research collaborations between Japan and Cyprus, following the Memorandum of Cooperation between Cyprus and Japan in the fields of science and technology at transnational and European levels, signed by Minister Toshiko Abe (Japan) and Deputy Minister Nicodemos Damianou (Cyprus) in October this year. We have now jointly initiated specific steps for collaborations between Japan and Cyprus, including follow-up meetings and actions scheduled for December 2024, and early 2025 and beyond."

Dr Kirsi O. Lorentz (CyI), the main organiser and Cyprus counterpart of this Japan-Cyprus exchange stated: "It is with enormous satisfaction that I observe the results of this Japan-Cyprus exchange. These include concrete actions towards the development and optimisation of new scientific and technological facilities and instrumentation – including muons - and their optimisation for wide-ranging applications, including within the domain of cultural heritage - of special interest to Cyprus and Japan."

The Scientific Director of SESAME synchrotron, Dr Andrea Lausi participated in the meetings, and announced that "SESAME, a large transnational research facility of which Cyprus is a full member, welcomes this initiative, with its doors open to joint research teams from Cyprus and Japan. Through beamtime proposals they will have the opportunity to acquire critical data across a wide range of domains, from academia to enterprise and governmental organizations, with expected impact on the improvement of the daily lives of their citizens and economies, as well as on exploring critical research fields".

The President of The Cyprus Institute, Prof. Stavros Malas noted: "I am extremely pleased with the results of this Cyprus-Japan exchange meeting and congratulate all those involved in realizing this exciting initiative, taking concrete steps to realize the Memorandum of Cooperation between Cyprus and Japan in the fields of science and technology. Very proud to see these international, high-profile collaborations taking shape at The Cyprus Institute."

The three-day meetings included a Public Lecture on ‘The ‘Insanity’ of the Beginning of the Universe, Magic by Higgs Boson’ by Prof. Shoji Asai, Director General of the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK) in Japan and a cultural programme including a tour of the Cyprus Museum, followed by a special musical programme in its galleries. Further heritage science exchanges and networking took place during a special guided tour of the Paphos Mosaics (UNESCO World Heritage) by Dr Eusthatios Raptou of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus.