[Event Report] State Premier Delivers Congratulatory Address: Academic Exchange Symposium "KEIO-TAGE 2026—AI and Law" with Saarland University, Germany (2026.06.09-12)

From June 9 to 12, 2026, the academic exchange symposium "KEIO-TAGE 2026—AI and Law" was held at Saarland University in Saarbrücken (the capital of the state of Saarland), Germany. Since signing an exchange agreement with Saarland University in 1988, this Juku has not only conducted faculty and student exchanges but has also held a symposium every other year.

From this Juku, participants included Professor Takuma Sato (Faculty of Law), who served as the head of the visiting delegation, as well as Professor Emeritus Takehiko Mikami, Professor Emeritus Makoto Ida, Professor Philipp Osten (Faculty of Law), Professor Masaaki Haga (Law School), Professor Sotaro Ishizuka (Faculty of Law), and Associate Professor Yu Yabunaka (Faculty of Law). This symposium was announced not only on the website of Professor Annemarie Matusche-Beckmann, the representative from Saarland University (https://www.uni-saarland.de/lehrstuhl/matusche-beckmann/keio-tage.html), but also in the local newspaper, the Saarbrücker Zeitung, reflecting the high level of local interest in the theme of "AI and Law."

The symposium was open to students and the general public. Substantial reports on "AI and Law" were presented from a wide range of legal fields, followed by lively discussions with the audience regarding the practices and challenges related to "AI and Law."

To mark the opening of the symposium, Ms. Anke Gabriele Rehlinger, the State Premier, visited and delivered a congratulatory address. Ms. Rehlinger is a lawyer who studied law at Saarland University and is one of the most influential politicians in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), having also served as President of the Bundesrat. Her attendance is a testament to the efforts of Professor Matusche-Beckmann and the culmination of many years of exchange between this Juku and Saarland University. The event was also covered extensively in the local press, demonstrating the importance of the exchange between this Juku and Saarland University within the state of Saarland. The article also introduced Professor Ishizuka's report on the lack of protection for fundamental rights in Japan's AI legislation.

Various other programs were also conducted during the stay. The delegation paid courtesy visits to Judge Thomas Weiten of the Saarland Higher Regional Court and Deputy Speaker Dagmar Heib of the Landtag of Saarland, and visited the Völklingen Ironworks, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Saarland.

In conjunction with this symposium, a book containing reports from the previous SAAR-TAGE held at this Juku in 2024 (https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/law/news/20240906-1/) was published (Japanese title: "Overcoming Crises through Law"). Professor Matusche-Beckmann, the German co-editor, presented the newly published volume to Professor Sato, the Japanese co-editor. From this Juku, Professor Sato, Professor Emeritus Mikami, Professor Emeritus Ida, Professor Haga, Professor Ishizuka, and Assistant Professor Misa Kan (Faculty of Law) contributed to the book.

Annemarie Matusche-Beckmann / Takuma Sato (Hrsg.), Bewältigung von Krisen durch das Recht: Japanisch-Deutscher Rechtsdialog, Verlag Alma Mater, 2026.

"KEIO-TAGE 2026" concluded on a high note, raising expectations for the further development of the exchange between this Juku and Saarland University. The next academic exchange symposium (SAAR-TAGE) is scheduled to be held in Tokyo in 2028.