We have promoted studies in the humanities and social sciences, thus accumulating a wide array of research data. In 2018, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) launched a Program for Constructing Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The program involved constructing an infrastructure to enable researchers in Japan and other countries to access and use this valuable body of data. Thus, it is designed to promote collaboration among researchers. To further build on the outcomes of this program, the JSPS launched the Program for Strengthening Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences in October 2023, designating the University of Tokyo as the Participating Institution (Headquarters).

In practice, the role of the Participating Institution (Headquarters) in the program is served by two of the university’s affiliated institutions: the Historiographical Institute and the Institute of Social Sciences. The Historiographical Institute manages a body of Japanese historical sources, while the Institute of Social Sciences manages a body of social survey data. Both institutes have previously functioned as Headquarters in the previous program (the Program for Constructing Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences), in which they worked toward the accessibility, globalization, and linking of their data repositories. In the present program (the Program for Strengthening Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences), the two institutes will collaborate closely to provide overall leadership with a view to developing and strengthening the Japan Data Catalog for the Humanities and Social Sciences (JDCat) and fostering a culture in which researchers share data. The program will involve collaboration with the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and Kobe University Library (both Participating Institutions) and other institutes with data repositories related to the humanities and social sciences. It will also involve collaboration with the National Institute of Informatics, which manages system engineering. Such collaboration will enable the sharing of various insights, thus generating interdisciplinary synergy.