Date　　　Thursday 9, April, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Using Mobile Phone Data for Spatial Information Science:
　　　　　 Generation, Inference, and Applications"
Abstract　Mobile phone location data have become an important data source
　　　　　 for spatial information science, offering new opportunities to
　　　　　 observe human activities, mobility patterns, and urban dynamics at
　　　　　 unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. At the same time, their
　　　　　 effective use raises several methodological challenges, including
　　　　　 privacy constraints, limited data accessibility, and the difficulty
　　　　　 of extracting socially meaningful information from raw trajectories.
　　　　　 This talk presents three complementary lines of research addressing
　　　　　 these challenges.
　　　　　 First, I introduce recent work on pseudo trajectory generation,
　　　　　 focusing on AI-driven generative model for GPS trajectory
　　　　　 generation that aims to improve scalability, transportation-mode
　　　　　 diversity, and generation efficiency under privacy-aware settings.
　　　　　 Second, I discuss demographic inference from mobile phone
　　　　　 trajectories, including a Bayesian approach for estimating age
　　　　　 and gender patterns from anonymized mobility data and census
　　　　　 information, with the goal of tracking demographic dynamics in
　　　　　 built environments. Third, I highlight how mobile phone data can
　　　　　 support urban applications by revealing behavioral patterns and
　　　　　 social heterogeneity in cities. Taken together, these studies
　　　　　 illustrate how mobile phone data can contribute not only to
　　　　　 movement observation, but also to data generation, semantic
　　　　　 inference, and evidence building for urban and spatial research.
Speaker 　 Peiran Li (Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/yAA70Wa6G1
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 8 April)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date        Friday 13, March, 2026 15:00-16:00
Venue　     Hybrid（HIAS Seminar Room / Online via zoom)
Speaker     Gabriella Conti (Professor, Department of Economics and Social
　　　　　 Research Institute, University College London)
Title     　"Workforce Quality and Early Childhood Development at Scale"
Language   English
Note　　　To register, please apply via the form below by 3/11 (Wed).
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/cRyPRRg82F
Link　　　https://health-economics.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/event_english/20260313

"Navigating Asia's Great Transformation:
Geopolitics, Economy, and the Path Ahead"

Date: February 28 (Sat), 2026　9:30AM-11:30AM JST
Venue: Zoom Meeting
Language: English
Panelists:
　Dr. Dukgeun Ahn（Seoul National University）
　Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro (Asian Development Bank Institute)
　Dr. Jay Rosengard（Harvard Kennedy School of Government）
　Dr. Nobumasa Akiyama（Hitotsubashi University）[ Moderator ]
Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/b31W4zeaQtG-bct0W_nJMw
　

Date　　　Tuesday, 24 February, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Graph-Laplacian Modeling of Spatio-Temporal Effects for House-Price
　　　　　 Estimation"
Abstract　Many variables involve the modeling of spatial effects, and their
　　　　　 dynamics over time. This paper presents a linear model in which
　　　　　 spatio-temporal random effects are modeled by graph-
　　　　　 Laplacians. A graph-Laplacian flexibly encodes adjacency in both
　　　　　 space and time, in our case not depending on unknown parameters.
　　　　　 The graph-Laplacian can be input for a prior in a Bayesian estimation
　　　　　 setup, or used as regularization term in a Ridge regression. A spectral
　　　　　 decomposition of the graph-Laplacian significantly reduces
　　　　　 computation time for estimation.
　　　　　 As an application, we estimate graph-Laplacian hedonic pricing and
　　　　　 repeat-sales models on sales prices of Australian residential properties
　　　　　 in the period from 1990 to 2024. Bayesian and Ridge regression
　　　　　 estimation results are very similar, although the computation time for
　　　　　 the Ridge regression is orders of magnitude faster, however at the
　　　　　 expense of missing posterior density functions. Our results highlight
　　　　　 the advantages of graph-Laplacians for predicting individual property
　　　　　 prices and for producing stable, granular price indices, also in thin
　　　　　 markets.
Speaker 　 Marc K. Francke (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/CmKMR7fhDP
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 20 February)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Thursday, 12 February, 2026 12:00-13:00
Title　　　"Are Energy Efficiency Improvements Capitalized in Property Prices?
　　　　　 A Hedonic Analysis of Market Incentives"
Abstract　We combine Land Registry and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
　　　　　datasets at the micro-level to measure the extent to which energy
　　　　　efficiency improvements in England are capitalized in residential
　　　　　property prices. Using a double imputation hedonic approach?
　　　　　contrary to previous findings? we find that the costs of energy
　　　　　efficiency improvements are only partiallycapitalized in property prices.
　　　　　The capitalization rate is particularly low for detached houses in
　　　　　London. Our benchmark hedonic results are confirmed by robustness
　　　　　checks based on regression discontinuity design, two-stage least
　　　　　squares and repeat-sales.
　　　　　Our results indicate that government interventions are needed to satisfy
　　　　　climate policy goals.
Speaker 　 Robert Hill (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/uA7M4z8jj0
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 10 February)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　Thursday 8, January, 2026 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Navigating authenticity and legitimacy in meaningful work:
　　　　　 Repair professionals' experiences in Finland"
Abstract　Authenticity (being true to oneself) and legitimacy (presenting as a
　　　　　competent professional) are closely related concepts central to
　　　　　management, yet their relationship remains unclear. This paper
　　　　　investigates that relationship in the work of repair professionals,
　　　　　where stories embedded in objects of repair carry meaning.
　　　　　Based on interviews and observations, the study reveals that
　　　　　commercial, emotional and material elements influence how these
　　　　　two concepts interact.
Speaker 　 Savu Rovanto (Assistant Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Room 205, Annex (*) 2nd floor
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/Rh2J8gvrCP
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 7 January)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date　　　December 12 (Fri) - December 13 (Sat), 2025
Venue　　 East Lecture Building 1, Hitotsubashi University
Program Highlights
　　　　　Dec 12 (Fri) - Room 1414
　　　　　Presentations on community development, energy-saving incentives,
　　　　　risk aversion, and human capital
　　　　　Conference reception at Mercury Hall, Mercury Tower

　　　　　Dec 13 (Sat) - Rooms 1201-1203
　　　　　Academic-Practitioner Dialogue (JADE-JICA)
　　　　　Parallel sessions on weather shocks, trade, political economy,
　　　　　health, environment, and Japanese-language research
　　　　　Flash talks and thematic panels on firms, labor, gender,
　　　　　and development issues
Language　English
Entry　　　Free
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://glecs.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/en/event/hsi2025/
　　　　　Registration deadline　December 8, 2025
　　　　　(Sign-up for the December 12 reception closes on December 1, Monday.)

Date　　　Thursday 4, December, 2025 12:40-13:40
Title　　　"Can AI Identify Crucial Health-related Research Questions - and,
　　　　　if so, What AI Tool Might We Best Use?"
Abstract　The World Health Organization and leading international research
　　　　　funders conduct rigorous international research priority setting
　　　　　exercises to decide on the most important research question to ask
　　　　　and to fund.
　　　　　How research priority setting exercises are conducted by funders
　　　　　therefore impacts all our research.
　　　　　In this seminar I bring together two new papers in the Journal of
　　　　　Global Health and a synopsis in World University News in which
　　　　　my co-authors and I address two contemporary polemical questions
　　　　　on the minds of leading research funders and many researchers as
　　　　　they incorporate AI in deciding research priorities：
　　　　　1. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be good at answering questions.
　　　　　　 But can AI help us to come up with good questions in the first
　　　　　　 place?
　　　　　2. If so - which particular AI tool should be used and what is the
　　　　　　 impact on results based on this choice in relation to major health
　　　　　　 diseases?
Speaker 　 Maria Lohan (Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Venue　　 Hybrid
　　　　　[Face-to-Face]Seminar Room 517, Faculty Building2 (*) 5th floor
　　　　　(*)No. 21 building in the campus map
　　　　　[Online (Zoom)] Registered participants will receive the Zoom link
　　　　　via email the day before.
Language　English
Registration　Poster
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/aR5GbsNj2q
　　　　　 (Deadline: 3 PM, 3 December)
　　　　　*Bring your own lunch. Coffee and snacks will be served.

Date        Friday 28, November, 2025 16:00-17:30
Venue　     Webinar (Online)
Speaker     Mandy Ryan (Emeritus Professor, Health Economics Research Unit,
　　　　　 University of Aberdeen / Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Title     　"Discrete Choice Experiments: what are they and
　　　　　 how can they be applied in health economics?"
Language   English
Note　　　To register, please apply via the form below by 11/21 (Fri).
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/2y7W2Z3h9c
Link　　　Poster
　　　　　https://health-economics.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/event/20251128

Date　　　Friday 7 November, 2025 16:00-18:00
Title　　　"The Enigma of Monoculture (and why it matters for historians)"
Speaker 　 Frank Uekötter (Professor, Ruhr University Bochum)
Venue　　 Hybrid
　　　　　[Face-to-Face] Room 201, Annex.(*)
　　　　　Kunitachi Campus, Hitotsubashi University
　　　　　(*)No. 5 building in the campus map
　　　　　[Online (Zoom)] Registered participants will receive the Zoom link
　　　　　via email the day before.
Organizer Jacoby Julia Mariko
　　　　　(Assistant Professor, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study)
Language　English
Registration Poster
　　　　　https://forms.gle/YVWnvqMtHefi2UgJ8

Date        Thursday 13, November, 2025 12:40-13:40
Venue　     Hybrid（HIAS Seminar Room / Online via zoom)
Speaker     Mandy Ryan (Emeritus Professor, Health Economics Research Unit,
　　　　　 University of Aberdeen / Specially Appointed Professor, HIAS)
Title     　"Public preferences and trade-offs for government interventions
　　　　　 during a pandemic in the UK: a discrete choice experiment"
Language   English
Note　　　To register, please apply via the form below
　　　　　by 3PM on Wednesday, November 12.
　　　　　https://forms.office.com/r/SVTVTMCwha
Link　　　Poster
　　　　　https://health-economics.hias.hit-u.ac.jp/event_english/20251113