The European Institute, officially established in 2007, grew out of the former Germanic Cultural Research Institute, merging with the Institute of Spanish Studies in 2009, and has thus stretched its research scope to the society and culture of the whole European continent. Now reorganized into four study sections, “politics, economy and society” , “art and culture”, “language” and “history” , the Institute is active in promoting research projects both on its own and jointly with other organizations.

• Organizing public lectures and symposia by prominent scholars from around the globe (Recent event include: joint Franco-Japanese symposium “Julien Gracq and the poesy of the 21th century”, the lecture “Innovation and success of the literary and artistic cabaret ‘Chat Noir’” and the Matthias Theodor Forkert lecture “Der Mensch lebt nicht vom Brot allei n“ (Mt 4,4) Der Beitrag der Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften zum kulturellen Leben in Deutschland (Man shall not live on bread alone, (Matthew 4:4) The Role of the Church in German Art and Culture).

• Publishing “Sophia Journal of European Studies”(available online) and “Sophia European Studies Series” which feature reports of research projects and symposia organized by the Institute.

• Collection and library service of books, written materials and periodicals related to European studies (The library is composed of German, Swiss, Austrian, European, Spanish and Portuguese sections).
• Serving as the EU information Centre (EUi) which provides a wide range of EU official periodicals and documents and participates in Japan-EU Friendship Week.