4 March 2026
To mark the opening of Hikaru Fujii’s solo exhibition, we are delighted to host an artist talk by Hikaru Fujii, one of Japan’s most prominent contemporary artists, primarily working with film to explore the role of artistic practice within today’s social and political conditions. Hikaru will discuss with Professor May Adadol Ingawanij the ideas and inspiration behind his work.
4 March 2026
Join us for a private view of Hikaru Fujii’s solo exhibition at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Lines, Gazes, Landscapes. Fujii is one of Japan’s most prominent contemporary artists, primarily working with film to explore the role of artistic practice within today’s social and political conditions. His practice is grounded in extensive historical research and frequently draws on archival materials related to Japanese imperialism and colonial occupation. This exhibition brings together several works by Fujii, shown in the UK for the first time, to examine moments in which empire and disaster appear side by side, occupying the same space.
24 February 2026
Fusion energy has now emerged as one of the most disruptive technology opportunities attracting the attention of risk-tolerant investors and large amounts of private capital. The new and much revised second edition of ‘Commercializing Fusion Energy’ considers the emergence of nuclear fusion technology as a commercial proposition grounded in technological opportunities and high-technology business development. It has been developed, with a new publisher, as an editorial collaboration between British and Japanese experts. As such it gives weight to developments in those two countries at the forefront of fusion innovation. The book presents chapters from a wide range of specialists and key stakeholders.
18 February 2026
On 18 February 2026, our Trustee Rebecca Salter, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, was joined in conversation by Mami Kataoka, Director of the Mori Art Museum, for the annual Daiwa Musubi Lecture, where they discussed ‘Arts and Leadership in Uncertain Times’. After discovering the extraordinary coincidence that they are both daughters of clergymen, the two speakers went on to a wide-ranging discussion of the demands placed on leaders in the arts world, in times which are not just uncertain but when the arts face rising political pressures.
18 February 2026
大和一番レクチャーは、今年「大和むすびレクチャー」と改称されました。2026年2月18日には、弊基金の理事であり、ロイヤル・アカデミー・オブ・アーツ理事長を務めるレベッカ・ソルターが、森美術館館長の片岡真美氏とともに、「不確実な時代におけるアートとリーダーシップ」をテーマに対談を行いました。両者がともに聖職者の娘であるという偶然の一致に触れた後、対談は、不確実性に加え、高まる政治的圧力に芸術が直面する現代において、アート界のリーダーに求められる役割について、多角的かつ深く議論が展開されました。
29 January 2026
Dominique Savitri Bonarjee presented her book ‘Butoh, as Heard by a Dancer’ (Routledge, 2024), the outcome of a five-year embodied research project carried out in Japan. During this period, Bonarjee studied with first- and second-generation Butoh dancers and artists, as well as contemporary practitioners engaging with Butoh today. In her writing, she seeks to convey the sensitive somatics of these encounters. In this talk, Bonarjee reflected on how Butoh continues to inform her multidisciplinary artistic practice and introduce Butoh Mutations, an ongoing research project through which she develops new methodologies and pedagogies for imagining a contemporary and planetary ‘rebellion of the body’, inspired by the visceral activism at the heart of Butoh’s postwar emergence.
28 January 2026
In this talk, Vicky Young discussed her monograph, ‘Translation and the borders of contemporary Japanese literature: Inciting difference’. The book examines contemporary debates on such concepts as national literature, world literature, and the relationship each of these to translation, through the lens of modern Japanese fiction. By focusing on so-called marginalised voices from within Okinawan literature and zainichi literature written by ethnic Koreans, and other “trans-border” works, this book reveals tensions and blind spots that serve to decentre the image of Japanese literature presented to the world in translation, while opening critical connections to wider questions of multilingualism, decolonisation, historical revisionism, and trauma that are so central to contemporary literary studies.
22 January 2026
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a driver of transformation across industries and societies globally. This tool has the potential to influence the way we work, learn and play, as well as helping us to address some of the most pressing global challenges. However, a number of concerns remain to be addressed, including privacy, security, misinformation, bias and discrimination. In this webinar, the panellists discussed current AI use in the UK and Japan, as well as the regulatory landscape, key challenges, and policy recommendations that can benefit society as a whole.
1 January 2026
AI is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and is rapidly being adopted across a range of sectors – in work, in education and in our homes. As the development and adoption of AI tools continue, in this year’s Annual Seminar Series we examine the current state of AI, exploring how far AI tools have been adopted and integrated across various sectors, as well as the challenges involved, and what society may look like in the near future.
27 November 2025
Sanae Takaichi has become Japan’s 104th prime minister, and is the first woman to hold the job. Her economic policy emphasises large-scale fiscal spending and aggressive monetary easing. Both are reminiscent of Abenomics in their aim to boost economic growth; however, concerns about inflation persist due to the weak yen. In this webinar, Professor Noriko Hama will analyse the economic impact of Abenomics during the prime ministership of Shinzo Abe (2012–2020), and the potential impact of resurrecting the policy. She will also discuss the fundamental issues Japan faces, and suggest some responses.
26 November 2025
In her most recent novel, ‘Six Months of Dreaming’, Cory was inspired by the chance find of fourteen necktie designs enclosed with a letter sent by Yutaka Kajikawa (an unknown young Japanese artist from Suita outside Osaka) to Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, who was visiting Japan on the first round-the-world Zeppelin flight in 1929. He hoped she would promote his ‘modern’ designs in the West. Although she did nothing for the young artist, Cory set out to imagine the story of what became of him. She also took his designs and reworked them into wallpapers, fabrics and scarves so that, ninety-six years on, he was granted the prestigious exhibition in central London he had so hoped for. In October 2025, Cory brought the book and exhibition back to Osaka as part of the Royal Society of Arts off-expo events at the British Pavilion, performing a one-woman show in a theatre in central Osaka entitled ‘Homecoming – the Triumphal Return of Yutaka Kajikawa’. During this book launch, Charlotte Cory will read extracts from her book and provide more insight into the project.
18 November 2025
Donald Trump’s tariff policies have been designed to bring manufacturing back to the United States and protect American jobs. Although the practical results in the US have been mixed so far, retaliation from trading partners such as China and the EU has hit US agriculture especially hard. The impact of tariffs and policy uncertainty has also been significant globally, including in Japan, affecting regions and industries in different ways, with some companies tending to benefit, but others getting left behind. In this webinar, moderated by Professor Hugh Whittaker, Dr Daisuke Adachi talked about the impact of the tariffs; potential trends; related challenges; and lessons for Japan.
