Human Media Lab, Chuo University

28/04/2026

On April 19, Prof. Toshi Kato attended the one-day training on English communication at TGG (Tokyo Global Gateway) for the freshmen in our School of Science and Engineering for Social Application.
Until last year, the Data Science Department had this experience program coordinated with TGG. From this year, it has been expanded to the new school (three departments).
We do hope that this experience will encourage our students to pursue their own global research activities.

https://www.chuo-u.ac.jp/academics/faculties/society/departments/civil_env/news/2026/04/85669/

16/04/2026

Today, Prof. Toshi Kato delivered an opening message at a guidance course for the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Society, and introduced its global education program.
Starting this year, our faculty will adopt Tokyo Global Gateway TGG's one-day program as the entry experience for global studies.
Looking back on our trial efforts to foster global communication among our students, the Human Media Lab was the first group to visit the TGG and adopt the program to encourage its students to attend international conferences and join international collaborations.
After several years, including the COVID-19 era, the trial was accepted and expanded to the Department of Data Science, involving all freshmen there.
After several more years from this year, the trial was officially included in the regular curriculum of our faculty across three departments.
From TGG, Prof. Nagao-sense at Takushoku University provided valuable guidance on the TGG experience and offered some hints for a better understanding of English as a communication tool. (Thank you very much, Prof. Nagao-sensei!)
We expect this experience will set our freshmen up for global activities.

04/04/2026

Afterward, there was a meeting with the parents. Despite the rain, the department's computer lab was almost full. Professor Higuchi, the department head, gave a greeting and spoke about learning in the department and university life.
(This was very dignified and interesting! He talked about the qualities required of humans and engineers to survive in the age of AI, and how to cultivate them. Message: "Don't domesticate yourself!")

Following that, Prof. Toshi Kato spoke about global education in the Faculty of Social and Engineering, the necessity of English for becoming a global science and engineering professional, the importance of cumulative learning of mathematics, which is essential for learning DS, and the role of family in strengthening intrinsic motivation.

04/04/2026

This afternoon, a get-together was also held for new graduate students in the BDS program. Following greetings from the department head, Professor Higuchi (more technical than the new students' greetings, with a stronger emphasis on research and technological approaches), each faculty member gave a 90-second self-introduction.

Four students from the Human Media Lab advanced to graduate school, but wait, one is missing?

04/04/2026

This morning, April 4th, Prof. Toshi Kato attended the orientation for new BDS department students (department entrance ceremony & get-together). Following greetings from department head Professor Higuchi, each faculty member gave a 90-second self-introduction.

This year, the BDS department has welcomed over 30% female students. Our department has finally reached the "30%" mark, a benchmark for determining whether we will take affirmative action to address minority needs. We hope they will excel in STEM and STEAM fields.

04/04/2026

Prof. Toshi Kato was invited to a cherry blossom viewing party held yesterday at the English Central Japan office along the Sumida River and attended it, along with the exchange student in charge of tutoring.
Thank you for the invitation!
During the daytime, we enjoyed the cherry blossoms along the Sumida River and the riverside scenery, and after dark, we had a wonderful time camping by the river and chatting with the other participants (many of whom are involved in global and English education).

04/04/2026

On April 2nd, the 2026 entrance ceremony for 中央大学 中央大学（Chuo University）was held at the Tama Campus. New students from all faculties and graduate schools attended.
(*) (Prof. Toshi Kato watched online as he had work at the Korakuen Campus.)
(+) The official photos of the entrance ceremony are on Chuo's site.

中央大学は、グローバルな視野と実地応用の力を備え、人類の福祉に貢献する人材の育成をミッションとして「世界に存在感のある大学」であることを目指しています。ここでは大学概要やChuo Visionなど、大学としての取り....

02/04/2026

Prof. Toshi Kato attended a memorial lecture by Prof. Yasushi Ishii on Mar 18, 2026, and a party afterward.
Prof. Yasushi Ishii had been working in Solid Physics and related areas; he also served as a Dean and a Board Member of Chuo.

02/04/2026

On March 19, 2026, the 18th Kansei Robotics Workshop was held in collaboration with
The Kansei Cognitive Diversity Information Infrastructure Technology Center (Kansei Robotics Center) at Chuo University,
the Kansei Engineering Society's SIG Kansei Kobo and Kansei Information Processing, and
SIG Ambiguity and Kansei Research.

The presentations are:
Opening Remarks
"An Attempt to View Art as Science from a Marketing Perspective - An Integrated Approach to Consumer Understanding -" Prof. Takashi Namatame (中央大学（Chuo University）
"An Attempt at VAD Estimation through Separate Representation Learning of Emotional Expression and Basic Movements in Skeletal Sequences" Kai Kasugai (Chuo University)
"Music Generation Based on the Emotion Predicted by Machine Learning and Kansei Engineering" Steve Sangoo (Chuo University)
"State Sequence Estimation of Human Walking Behavior in Response to Functional Sound Presentation using a Hidden Markov Model" Prof. Mihoko Niituma (+ Yasuki Suenaga) (Chuo University)
"Affective Evaluation of Operating Noise in Home Medical Devices Considering Usage Conditions" Sawa Kamiyama (Chuo University)
"Investigation of Estimation Methods for Fatigue in Various Sound Environments" Nagi Kito (Chuo University)
"An Attempt to Model Hierarchical Affectiveness Using Active Inference with Partially Observed Markov Decision Processes" Pfof. Akihiro Ogino (Kyoto Sangyo University)
"The Influence of Facial Features and Cultural Factors on Impression Evaluation" Liwen Zhang (Chuo University)
"Research and Development of Well-being Support Technologies Based on Affective Cognitive Diversity," Prof. Toshi Kato (Chuo University)

We had in-depth discussions on Kansei Engineering from the perspectives of data analytics, user experience, behavior analysis, ergonomics, human factors, and emotion studies.
Thank you very much for giving the presentations and for participating in the discussions in the busy season.

30/03/2026

On March 20, HMLab held the farewell & send-off party at a Japanese-style pub (izaka-ya 居酒屋鳥びと 飯田橋本店 ).
Four Master candidates (out of five) and only one Bachelor candidate (out of ten) were celebrated by the Ph.D. & master course students at the party.
Prof. Toshi Kato, Visiting Professors, Dr. Takashi Sakamoto, and Dr. Tohru Nakata joined the party.

Prof. Toshi Kato presented each candidate with a quasi-certificate from HM Lab, a Chuo souvenir pen with the logo, and a farewell letter.
We hope their careers are fruitful and that they contribute meaningfully to a human-centered society.

Prof. Toshi Kato also presented to each of the Visiting Professors a Special Letter of Appreciation and a Chuo souvenir coffee with the logo. Thank you very much for the valuable advice on the research and thesis-work, Sakamoto-sensei & Nakata-sensei!