The Farming/Language Dispersal Hypothesis (FLDH) holds that the spread of agricultural technologies and the spread of languages are often interrelated. The objective of this joint research project is to investigate the application of the FLDH to the Japanese archipelago and its environs, building on previous research. The project is centered on the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL) and the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), as well as other research centers under the umbrella of the National Institutes for Humanity (NIH). In addition to exploration of the FLDH, the project aims to foster cooperation and exchange between diverse disciplines: linguistics, human and plant genetics, archaeology, and history, as well as between scholars from Japan and abroad. The project has been selected by NIH for three years of support as an exploratory project. Research activities include smaller meetings centered on scholars from Japan, and two international symposia, the first held in February 2013, the second to be held in early 2013.