The Future of Journalism 2024 Symposium

Aiji Tanaka

President of Waseda University

Aiji Tanaka, the 17th President of Waseda University, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1951. He received a B.A. in political science from Waseda University in 1975, and a Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University in 1985. After he taught at three universities including Aoyama Gakuin University, he returned to his alma mater, Waseda University, to work at the Faculty of Political Science and Economics in 1998. Before he became President in November 2018, he had served as Dean of Academic Affairs (2006-2010) and Senior Executive Director for Academic Affairs (2010-2014) at Waseda. Dr. Tanaka also served as the President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) from 2014 to 2016, and also as a member of the Steering Committee of APRU (Asian Pacific-Rim Universities). As a political scientist, he has published articles in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Political Behavior, and elsewhere, as well as chapters in books published by the Cambridge University Press and the University of Toronto Press

Jelani Cobb

Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism, Columbia Journalism School

Jelani Cobb joined the Journalism School faculty in 2016 and became Dean in 2022. He has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2015. He received a Peabody Award for his 2020 PBS Frontline film ”Whose Vote Counts?” and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary in 2018. He has also been a political analyst for MSNBC since 2019. He is the author of To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic. He produced a number of documentaries including Lincoln’s Dilemma, Obama: A More Perfect Union and Policing the Police. He was educated at Howard University, where he earned a B.A. in English, and Rutgers University, where he completed his MA and doctorate in American History in 2003.

Emily Bell

Founding Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Leonard Tow professor of Journalism, Columbia Journalism School

Emily Bell is Founding Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, Leonard Tow professor of Journalism, and a leading thinker, commentator and strategist on digital journalism. The majority of Emily’s career was spent at Guardian News and Media in London working as an award winning writer and editor both in print and online. As editor-in-chief across Guardian websites and director of digital content for Guardian News and Media, Emily led the web team in pioneering live blogging, multimedia formats, data and social media ahead, making the Guardian a recognized pioneer in the field. She is co-author of Post Industrial Journalism: Adapting to the Present (2012) with C.W. Anderson and Clay Shirky. Emily is a trustee on the board of the Scott Trust, the owners of The Guardian, a member of Columbia Journalism Review’s board of overseers, an adviser to Tamedia Group in Switzerland, chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on social media, and a member of Poynter’s National Advisory Board. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.

Mieko Nakabayashi

Professor, Department of Political Science at the Center of International Education, Waseda University

Mieko Nakabayashi is a professor of Political Science at the Center of International Education, Waseda University. Prior to joining the faculty in 2013, she served as an elected member of Japan’s House of Representatives between 2009 and 2012 after holding various public positions such as a commissioner of the Council on the Fiscal System at the Ministry of Finance among others. Currently, she is also the president of the Society of Global Business, Distinguished Fellow of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, and a board director of Waseda USA. She served as a professional staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee between 1993 and 2002. She earned her doctorate in International Public Policy from Osaka University and master’s degree in Political Science from Washington State University.

Iori Kawate

Desk Editor, International News Center, Nikkei Inc.

Iori Kawate joined Nikkei Inc. in 2004 after graduating from the University of Tokyo. He worked mainly at the press clubs of government ministries and agencies in Kasumigaseki and the Bank of Japan, where he was in charge of macroeconomic reporting. In addition to writing analytical articles on economic trends, he covered fiscal and monetary policies, and the government’s handling of electric power following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. After studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing, he was assigned to the China Headquarters in 2020, from where he reported on China's economy, including the economic slowdown due to “zero-corona” policies, and the real estate recession. He has been in his current position since April 2024. Based on interviews with policy makers and data analysis, he will shed light on where the seeds of change in economic trends may be planted.

Kyoko Takahashi

Professor, School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University

Kyoko Takahashi holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts. She worked at the Tokyo bureau of Business Week and as a freelance journalist, before serving as a specially invited professor at the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University and as headmaster of the Kawaguchi Art School at Waseda University. She specializes in video journalism and media literacy. Recently, she has been interested in next-generation journalism. Serves on the board of directors of the NPO FCT Media Literacy Research Institute, member of the selection committee for the Ishibashi Tanzan Memorial Waseda Journalism Awards, and vice-chairman of the third-party committee of the Japan Film Association for Fair and Safe Working Conditions.