Notice on Travel Grants Replaying Japan 2026 is free to attend. Please note that because there are no registration fees, travel grants are not available for this conference.Thank you for your understanding. 

[Conference theme]: Beyond Games: Intersections of Popular Culture and Transmedia Entertainment

[Dates] August 18-21, 2026.
* A symposium on play and creation (conducted in Japanese) is scheduled for the 18th.
* RJ2026 conference (Aug. 19-21) at Ritsumeikan University OIC
* Post conference event (Aug. 22) at UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE

[Main Venue] Building H, Osaka Ibaraki Campus, Ritsumeikan University, Osaka, Japan

Since its inception, the Replaying Japan Conferences has served as the leading international conference dedicated to the study of Japanese and East Asian videogames. The 2026 conference will broaden the conference scope to explore the dynamic and evolving relationships between games and adjacent forms of popular culture. This year’s theme focuses on games in the context of media mix and transmedia storytelling, examining how games interact with and contribute to broader cultural ecosystems, including:

– Anime
– Manga
– Novel (including light novel)
– Film
– Television dramas (including period dramas)
– Consumer-generated media
– Creative Labour,
– Fandom, communities, consumer, user
– Ecologies or Ecosystems

Games and these forms of popular culture can be understood not only as mutual sources of inspiration, but also as catalysts for interdisciplinary collaboration and the emergence of new business practices.