IoB-S will hold an International Symposium on Saturday, November 8, 2025, and Sunday, November 9, 2025.
In the Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project “Internet of Brains”, IoB-S (Internet-of-Brains Society) has conducted legal and ethical research for five years.
This symposium will be held as a summarization of five years of research.
Organizer: IoB-S (“Internet of Brains”-Society)
Co-organizer: Keio University X Dignity Center
<b>Keigo Komamura (Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University; Representative, IoB-S; Project Leader, Kanai Project, Moonshot Goal 1) Comment</b>
IoB-S (Internet-of-Brains Society), which has conducted legal and ethical research for five years on the Moonshot Goal 1 – Kanai Project “Internet of Brains”, will hold an international symposium as a summarization of that research. In recent years, international organizations such as UNESCO, OECD, and UN have successively unveiled proposals for regulatory frameworks concerning neurotech and brain data. Without being swayed by this global trend, what theoretical and practical perspectives should we adopt? With an eye on the potential of the emerging field of neurolaw, which remains in its developmental stages, we wish to seize this opportunity to speak freely while the field remains largely unexplored. We warmly invite you to join us.
<b>About IoB-S</b>
In October 2021, the research unit “Internet of Brains”-Society (IoB-S) which aims to explore the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) on neuroscience and its social use was established by Keigo Komamura (Professor of Law, Keio University) upon his appointment as the Project Facilitator of the research and development project. IoB-S was also approved as the project of Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI) in May 2022. (Obtained from the IoB-S official website)
<b>Event Overview</b>
Organizer: IoB-S (“Internet of Brains”-Society)
Co-organizer: Keio University X Dignity Center
Date: Day 1 – Saturday, November 8, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Day 2 – Sunday, November 9, 10:00 AM – 4:20 PM
Location: Keio University Mita Campus, East Building, 8th Floor Conference Room
(Building 13 on the campus map: https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/maps/mita.html)
Language: English (no interpretation provided)
Relevant materials (to aid understanding of the day’s discussions) will be sent to registered participants.
Admission: Free
Apply: Please register via the Google Form
Registration Deadline: By 12:00 on November 6
Host: Keigo Komamura (Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University; Representative, IoB-S; Project Leader, Kanai Project, Moonshot Goal 1)
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Program</b>
*The program content and speakers may be subject to change without notice.
・Saturday, November 8
14:00 Opening Remarks and Purpose Statement (Keigo Komamura)
14:15 – 16:30
Part 1 Dialogue between Neuroscience and Normative Studies: Focusing on Law and Ethics
Keynote Speech Marcello Ienca (Technical University of Munich)
Problem Statement① Keigo Komamura (Keio University)
Problem Statement② Masatoshi Kokubo (Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo)
Problem Statement③ Ji-Hyun Yang (Yonsei University College of Medicine)
Problem Statement④ Christof Bublitz (University of Hamburg)
16:30-16:45 Break
16:45-18:00
Panel Discussion (including responses from the audience)
“The Significance of Confronting Neuroethics, Neurolaw, and Neurotechnology”: How Should We Construct Academic Relationships?
Speakers：Marcello Ienca, Ji-Hyun Yang, Masatoshi Kokubo, Keigo Komamura (Coordinator)
18:00~18:10 Announcement for Day 2 (Keigo Komamura)
18:10~18:30 Administrative Notice (For Day 2)・Photography Session
・Sunday, November 9
10:00-10:05 Reopening Remarks (Keigo Komamura)
10:05-12:05
Part 2 Neurolaw in the Global Context : Current Trends toward the Regulatory Framework
Overview of the Problem Situation Introductory Talk Tamami Fukushi (Tokyo University of Telecommunications）
Speech① Jennife Chandler (University of Ottawa)
Speech② Francis X. Shen (University of Minnesota)
Speech③ Dana Heitz (NY State Attorney)
12:05-13:05 Lunch
13:05-14:45
Part 3 The Future of Neurotech and ELSI
Discussion 1 Critical Issue: Attention Economy and Neuromarketing
Raising an issue Tatsuhiko Yamamoto (Keio University) (Video participation)
Discussion
Yu Ping Chen (National Taiwan University)
Tsung-Ling Lee (Taipei Medical University)
Marcello Ienca (Comment)
Masatoshi Kokubo (Coordinator)
14:45-14:55 Break
14:55-16:00
Discussion 2 Envisioning the Future: Neurotech and ELSI
Field Report：
Junichi Ushiba (Keio University; Sub-Project Manager, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project)
Discussion：Expectations for the ELSI (30 min)
Ryota Kanai (Representative Director, Araya Inc.; Project Manager, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project)
Mitsuteru Takemi (Hiroshima University; Principal Investigator, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project)
Junichi Ushiba
Masatoshi Kokubo (Coordinator)
16:05-16:20 Closing Remarks（Keigo Komamura）and Announcements and Photography Session
<b>Speakers (in presentation order, honorific titles omitted): </b>
- Marcello Ienca
Professor (Ethics of AI and Neuroscience), the School of Medicine and Health, and the School of Social Sciences (joint appointment), Technical University of Munich Deputy Director of the TUM Institute for History and Ethics of Medicine President, The International Neuroethics Society
- Ji Hyun Yang
Research Fellow, Division of Medical Law and Ethics, Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, Yonsei University College of Medicine
- Christof Bublitz
Researcher, University of Hamburg
- Jennifer Chandler
Professor, University of Ottawa Vice-Dean of Research for the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa Bertram Loeb Research Chair, University of Ottawa Affiliate Investigator, Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa.
- Francis X. Shen
Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Member of the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics Founding Director of the Dana Foundation Career Network in Neuroscience & Society Faculty member, Chief Innovation Officer, and immediate past Executive Director of the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at MGH
- Dana Heitz
NY State Attorney
- Yu-Ping Chen
Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Business, the National Taiwan University
- Tsung-Ling Lee
Professor, Graduate Institute of Health and Biotechnology Law, Taipei Medical University
- Keigo Komamura (IoB-S Representative)
Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University; Chair, KGRI X Dignity Center Steering Committee; Principal Investigator, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project
- Masatoshi Kokubo (IoB-S Member)
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo; Joint Researcher, KGRI X Dignity Center
- Tamami Fukushi (IoB-S Member)
Professor, Faculty of Human Welfare, Tokyo University of Telecommunications
- Tatsuhiko Yamamoto
Professor, Graduate School of Law, Keio University; Deputy Director, KGRI; Co-Director, KGRI X Dignity Center
- Junichi Ushiba
Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University; Co-Director, KGRI X Dignity Center; President and CEO, LIFESCAPES Inc.; Sub-Project Manager, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project
- Ryota Kanai
Representative Director, Araya Inc.; Project Manager, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project
- Mitsuteru Takemi
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University; Principal Investigator, Moonshot Goal 1 Kanai Project
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Related Links</b>
Technology Development Common Infrastructure Team
Mr Marcello Ienca visited the IoB Research Studio in Nakameguro.