The Japan Times becomes media partner of ERNC 2026 conference in Japan
The University of Tsukuba in Japan will host the international Esports Research Network Conference 2026 (ERNC 2026) from September 15 to 17. As The Japan Times reported, the publication has become the event's official media partner.
The first ERN conference in Japan
ERNC 2026 will be held in Japan for the first time. The event's theme has been set as “Connecting Gaming Heritage and the Future of Esports.” The organizers plan to bring together researchers and business representatives at one venue; the announcement states that this will be the first format in the conference's history to combine academic and business components.
The global nonprofit Esports Research Network was founded in 2019. It has more than 600 members from over 60 countries. As of the end of July, representatives of more than 20 countries and 30 universities had expressed interest in registering for the conference.
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Participants and event support
Representatives of SEGA Corp. and the Japan Esports Union JeSU have been announced among the speakers at ERNC 2026. Hideki Okamura, a special adviser to SEGA, JeSU and GAKU, is expected to deliver a keynote speech on the development of esports in Japan. The program also includes a presentation by Tobias Scholz, an associate professor at the University of Agder and founding chair of ERN.
The host institution is the University of Tsukuba. The Japanese conference was supported by Singapore-based educational esports company GAKU Pte. Ltd.; grant and subsidy support was provided by the KDDI Foundation and the Tsukuba Tourism Convention Association.
The role of the media partner
The Japan Times reported that as part of the partnership, it will prepare editorial materials, including reports from the conference and interviews with speakers, as well as cover the event through its own media channels. Registration for ERNC 2026 is open to academic participants, industry representatives and the general public.
