About TFC

The TFC was established in 2013 as Japan's first organization with a research center for international visitors. Since then, it has run the Forum for Creativity project as its primary task. Its objective is to contribute to solving the major issues faced by humanity and support the creation of new research fields by providing opportunities for researchers to tackle issues collaboratively. For this purpose, our organization calls for thematic programs from throughout the world, covering all academic domains, from humanities and social sciences to natural sciences and engineering. The TFC then selects themes for concentrated discussions over a three–month period, for which it invites leading international researchers and hosts international symposia or workshops. It is also actively engaged in the cultivation of global and creative talent by promoting the participation of young researchers and students in its programs. Junior Research Programs, in which young researchers exercise their initiative for creating new research fields, are hosted every year. Additionally, since FY2022 the TFC has been operating Future Society Design Programs which focuses on discussing issues faced by society and industries.

The TFC supports social value creation in collaboration with various stakeholders such as companies, local governments, and citizens, and the cultivation of young talent through collaborative activities. To assume this role, the Design Hub for our Future Society was established within the TFC in November 2020. Some collaborative programs involving business partners are already underway.

In April 2023, the Design Lab for our Future Co–existence was established as the Design Hub’s successor, working to discover specific issues that need to be resolved in contemporary society from the perspectives of “co–existence with humans,” “co–existence with nature,” and “co–existence with technology,” utilizing both cyber and physical space. In particular, the School of Designing our Future Society, which has been operated from 2019, grew up as a platform for the collaborative work to find the issues and their solution.

Organizations & Activities