Colloquium is carried out four times a year in Japanese, covering actual and specific issues of the moment in the Japanese society and the world, such as the UN and justice, environmental problems, sport and safety, the youth and suicide, etc. It is opened for all.

While there are irregular symposiums that are held according to the need, every year the Institute holds a regular joint symposium with the Sophia University Institute for Bioethics (Tokyo). Both Institutes take turn as the main organizer, and usually the organizing Institute provides the venue for the symposium of that particular year. The symposium covers various issues, such as, to mention two of the latest ones, the ethical understanding of "Strangers" and the Catholic doctrines on environmental problems (Laudato Si), etc.

There is international workshop or conference once in few years period depending on the urgency for an academic engagement concerning a particular project that is ongoing or in progress. It usually takes place for few days and involves scholars from Japan and overseas. Two of the latest themes were "the root causes of environmental crisis" and "International Landcare".

Talk-Seminar is thematic series of academic discourses conducted once or twice a month for undergraduate and graduate students. The experts from within and outside the University are invited to talk about particular topics under several main thematic series ‒ "knowing others", "body and soul" and "family" - in the form of a lecture or interview, aiming at providing the students with basic, general and practical knowledge necessary for life at present and after study at the university. Some of the latest topics include awareness-building about various kinds addictions, balancing carrier and family life, understanding the nature of family, discrimination problems, etc.

The Institute's common room has also become a place for informal academic engagement for sharing knowledge and expertise in the form of what we call "Luncheon Meeting" and "Platform". Luncheon meeting literally means sharing knowledge while having lunch together among members of a group of scholars from different faculties and institutes within the University. Platform is a kind of study group that involves an expert in particular topic and the public who are interested in that particular topic.

Every year the Institute provides the Nanzan Award for Outstanding Research for young scholars whose papers are recognized by the refereeing team as having an excellent academic quality and actuality. The papers are written in Japanese and the winner of the award is usually given an opportunity to present his paper in the form of a public lecture and discussion during the ceremony for granting the award.