About the Institute
An Institute for Envisioning the Information Society
The Institute of Socio-Infonomics is a research institute affiliated with Tama University. It was established to contribute to the development of Japan’s information society through academic research, education, and practical engagement, and to share the results of its activities widely.
Director Shumpei Kumon has been a leading researcher on the information society since his years at the University of Tokyo’s College of Arts and Sciences. Drawing on an extensive network of researchers in Japan and abroad, he has managed independently financed research institutes and promoted collaboration among industry, government, universities, and nonprofit organizations.
Through research and publication, the institute develops Socio-Infonomics as a comprehensive social science of the information society. It also aims to pioneer new forms of social science and practical knowledge work for the twenty-first century.
Our Approach to Socio-Infonomics
Socio-Infonomics studies the many aspects of the information society comprehensively, viewing it as a mature phase of modern society. Our predecessor and mentor, Professor Yasusuke Murakami of the University of Tokyo, devoted his career to a comprehensive study of industrial society. We follow his example in studying the information society.
- Stage and phase theories that place the information society within long-term trends such as industrialization, modernization, and the formation of nation-states.
- Social systems research on self-organizing patterns emerging in global networks.
- The production, circulation, and consumption of social knowledge in the information society, and their social consequences.