Events category: Seminar

4 April 2013

Life as a Classical Musician in the UK and Japan

This event brought together two professional pianists and writers – one British and one Japanese – to compare notes on life as a classical musician in the two countries. Japanese classical music has traditionally been an elite pastime, but the Japanese enthusiastically adopted Western classical music in the second half of the 19th Century. Since then, the piano has become Japan’s most popular musical instrument. Classical music has deeper roots in the UK, but the environment for musicians is tough in both countries.

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14 March 2013

Two Years after Fukushima: What Are the Real Costs of Nuclear Energy?

Two years on from the 3/11 earthquake and nuclear disaster, what lessons have been learned? Professor Kenichi Oshima of Ritsumeikan University is one of Japan’s most prominent commentators on nuclear energy. Avoiding the emotional tone that characterises much of the debate about nuclear power, Professor Oshima focuses on the industry’s economics. His cost-benefit analyses suggest that, far from being cheap, nuclear power is more expensive than Japan’s other main options. He argues that Japan’s electric power companies have understated some costs, such as the costs of reprocessing spent fuel, and have imposed others on local communities.

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12 March 2013

Social Innovation and New Solutions to Youth Unemployment: UK & Japan’s Emerging Youth Policy

From the 1960s onwards, Japan’s rapid economic growth coincided with low levels of youth unemployment. However, by the 2000s, youth unemployment was recognised as a serious concern. In what way did the Japanese respond to this situation? The speaker, Dr Tuukka Toivonen, discussed how enterprising youth workers tackle youth employment issues. Tony Wilson, Policy Director of Inclusion, which delivers research and new approaches to policy that promote social inclusion in the labour market, talked about the UK’s policy of intervention and provision of training to improve the employability of British youth.

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21 February 2013

Japanese Archaeology: British Perspectives

This seminar brings together a group of British archaeologists from diverse parts of the discipline to discuss their experiences of and observations about Japanese archaeology, to explore the synergies and differences, challenges and opportunities for archaeologists in both Japan and the UK over the coming years.

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26 February 2013

The Korean Peninsula Tensions and the Role of Other Powers

After the successful launch on 12 December 2012 of yet another rocket in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874, the threat posed by North Korea appears ever more real. The stability of the Korean peninsula is not just a regional concern but also an issue for Europe, given the proliferation relationship between North Korea and Iran. How have political developments in the peninsula affected recent relations between the two Koreas? Can there be any easing of tensions between them under the new South Korean leader, Park Geun-hye?

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29 January 2013

Education and Social Class in the UK and Japan

Inequality and social exclusion have become concerns again, and in a time of austerity for both the government and parents in Japan and the UK, the role of education needs reconsidering. Can education contribute to better social mobility? Are working-class groups still under-represented in higher education, and if so, why? If investing in education does not necessarily guarantee a job, then what is the incentive for young people to aspire to go to university? These questions, amongst others were debated by Professor Takehiko Kariya of Oxford University and Professor Robert Cassen of the LSE.

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7 November 2012

Military Contributions to International Stability: Since the end of the Cold War by Japan and the UK

International peacekeeping for military forces took on a new significance after the end of the Cold War which lead to suppressed regional tensions reappearing. Since 2000, Western nations and their allies have found themselves in a range of operations, from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa. Both the UK and Japan have adapted their use of armed forces to meet these challenges. How have the two countries reacted to these challenges and what lessons can they learn from each other?

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25 October 2012

Parliamentary Democracy in Japan and the UK

On the face of it, Japan and Britain have similar parliamentary systems. Both countries are parliamentary democracies under a monarchy, and both have a bicameral system in which the Upper House acts as a check on the Lower House. But in practice, they work very differently. The speakers discussed in what ways the two countries’ parliaments differ, and what the two countries could learn from each other.

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30 October 2012

Cyber Security

Cyber-security threats are becoming more and more significant, not only for states, but also for companies and individuals. The UK is now facing cyber-attacks on an unprecedented scale and they continue to increase, ranging in sophistication from low-end criminal activity to highly-sophisticated operations. Terrorists now have no need to use nuclear bombs, since cyber-attacks on nuclear power stations potentially could have devastating effects, as suggested by the Fukushima accident last year.

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23 October 2012

Reset or Restart? The Impact of Fukushima on the Japanese and German Energy Sectors

Even before the meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, the global energy sector was in a period of uncertainty caused by a variety of factors. Professor Catherine Mitchell and Antony Froggatt discussed how governments in Japan and Germany have responded to public concerns and revised engineering and economic assessments to abandon or reduce their nuclear ambitions and why some governments around the world may be continuing or even expanding their nuclear plans.

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