On 4 and 5 October 2016, a symposium dedicated to Franco-Japanese legal studies was held at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tours.
It was the first event of its kind under the Nihon-EuropA programme — which aims to promote awareness of Japanese law and strengthen both informal and formal partnerships between French and Japanese legal scholars — and also marked the beginning of an ambition to organise such academic meetings on a regular, biennial basis.

This inaugural symposium did not have a specific overarching theme. The organisers instead chose to offer participants a variety of perspectives on issues relating to Japan and its legal system. Renowned French and Japanese scholars took part in the event.