On 1 November 2005, the Roche Chair for Interreligious Research at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture 南山諸宗教研究講座 was officially established by the President and Senate of Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan.

The Chair has been made possible by the generous endowment of one million dollars US donated by Robert Roche, President of Oak Lawn Marketing, in 2005.

The Chair establishes the position of a Visiting Research Fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture with a nominal affiliation to the Graduate School of the Department of Christian Thought in the Faculty of Humanities at Nanzan University.

The Chair is aimed at honoring scholars who have made a distinguished contribution to mutual understanding among religions and traditions of religious thought East and West.

Occupants of the Chair

Thomas P. Kasulis 2006

Keel Hee-Sung 2006–2007

John P. Keenan 2007–2008

John C. Maraldo 2008–2009

Victor S. Hori 2009

Aasulv Lande 2010–2011

Graham Parkes 2012

James W. Heisig 2013–2014

Joseph S. O'Leary 2015–2016

Yusa Michiko 2017–2018

Tsuruoka Yoshio 2018–2019

Hans Ucko 2019

Paul L. Swanson 2020–2022

Hayashi Makoto 2023–2024

Yoko Arisaka 2024

Steve G. Lofts 2024–2025

Kawahashi Noriko 2025–2026

The Roche Chair for Interreligious Research at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture

Occupants of the Chair