Past Events

Japan’s Security Policy in a New Era of Geopolitical Tensions

In the context of increasing global tension, the world has been experiencing a surge of conflict. Wars continue to rage in Ukraine and Gaza, while tensions in East Asia remain high. Where should Japan’s foreign and security policy be headed, at a time when the international order is being profoundly shaken by the United States, the now avowedly illiberal leader of the ‘free world’? In this webinar, Professor Nakano discussed recent security-related legislation, the expanding role of the Self-Defense Forces, the implications for Japan’s peace constitution as well as the principle of constitutionalism, and the effects of emerging right-wing populist political parties on political decision-making. He also shared recommendations for maintaining peace in East Asia at a time of flux and uncertainty.

Gallery Tour:
ひろしま/hiroshima

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, this exhibition, comprising work by three acclaimed Japanese women artists, shifts its gaze to another side of the city and its people – the changes, the things that remain, personal and genuine memories, as well as the everyday, the ordinary and contemporary society. This exhibition encourages us to see Hiroshima differently, as a city that was once traumatised but is now teeming with life. This exhibition features multiple different series of artworks: ひろしま/hiroshima by Ishiuchi Miyako, Here Goes River by Fujioka Aya and PARK CITY by Sasaoka Keiko.

Celebrating the Flora of Japan

Japan’s landscapes are as diverse as they are beautiful – from Hokkaido’s alpine meadows to the subtropical forests of Okinawa. This variety of habitats supports an extraordinary range of plants, with a quarter found nowhere else on Earth. In this talk, Ben Jones, Arboretum Curator at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, shared stories and discoveries from over a decade of botanical fieldwork in Japan. Blending science, conservation and cultural heritage, this presentation celebrated Japan’s unique plant life and highlights why protecting it matters for both nature and people, at home and around the world.

Populism in the UK and Japan: Elections, Immigration and Economic Insecurity

Political populism is on the rise globally, driven by factors including social inequality, economic insecurity and immigration. This trend is also evident in the UK and Japan, as reflected in recent elections and the current political landscape in both countries. In this webinar, Associate Professor Naoko Hashimoto discussed the politicisation of immigration in Japan, based on the experience of the July 2025 House of Councillors election, which featured a ‘Japanese First’ campaign launched by a few minor and relatively new political parties, as well as some apparently deliberate use of misinformation. Professor Jane Green addressed the realignment of the British electorate and the fragmentation of the right, exploring how Reform may overtake Labour in numerous constituencies and examining the underlying social factors.

Gallery Tour:
ひろしま/hiroshima

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, this exhibition, comprising work by three acclaimed Japanese women artists, shifts its gaze to another side of the city and its people – the changes, the things that remain, personal and genuine memories, as well as the everyday, the ordinary and contemporary society. This exhibition encourages us to see Hiroshima differently, as a city that was once traumatised but is now teeming with life. This exhibition features multiple different series of artworks: ひろしま/hiroshima by Ishiuchi Miyako, Here Goes River by Fujioka Aya and PARK CITY by Sasaoka Keiko.

Peacetime Anglo–Japanese Military Relations: Old Friends, New Partners

For over a decade, Japan and the UK have identified one another as their most important security partners in Asia and Europe respectively. The two countries currently enjoy a high in bilateral military partnership that has been referred to as a ‘quasi alliance’. Looking back, however, there have been ups and downs since the days of the bilateral alliance over a century ago. We joined the authors of a new book that explores how peacetime military relations between Japan and the UK have played out from Bakumatsu to Brexit.

Refugee Rescues and Humanitarian Acts during WWII

In this seminar, Professor Inaba of Meijo University talked about the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–1986), focusing on his humanitarian efforts to save Jewish refugees by issuing them transit visas to Japan during World War II, despite orders from his government not to do so. In the summer of 1940, Sugihara issued a large number of so-called ‘Visas for Life’ for Jewish refugees, most of whom had fled Poland after its occupation by the Third Reich and the USSR. In the end, with the support of several diplomats from other countries, he rescued approximately 6,000 people from the Holocaust.

Artist Talk by Ishiuchi Miyako

To mark the opening of the exhibition, ‘ひろしま/hiroshima’, at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, we are delighted to host an artist talk by Ishiuchi Miyako, one of Japan’s most prominent post-war photographers. Ishiuchi will be in conversation with Jonathan Watkins, discussing her artistic practice and the photography she has produced over the years, with a particular focus on the series ‘ひろしま/hiroshima’, which breathes new life into personal belongings, reviving the individual memories of those who once lived in Hiroshima.

Private View:
ひろしま/hiroshima

Join us for a private view of the group exhibition, ひろしま/hiroshima. To mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, this exhibition of work by three acclaimed Japanese women artists shifts its gaze to another side of the city and its people – the changes, the things that remain, the personal and genuine memories – the everyday, the ordinary and contemporary society. This exhibition encourages us to see Hiroshima differently, as a city that was traumatised, once again teeming with life.

The doors will open at 5:00 pm. Guests who have booked in advance are welcome to visit the gallery any time between 5:00 pm and 7:45 pm.

The Impact of Women on Japanese History

Japanese history is not all shoguns and samurai: women played a prominent role. In the early centuries Chinese envoys called the part of Japan they knew ‘Queen Country’ because there were so many female rulers. In her talk Lesley Downer told the story of Himiko, the shaman queen, and of some of the early empresses, along with brilliant and powerful figures such as Nene-dono, Hideyoshi’s wife, who continued to wield power from behind the throne, and women writers and artists who helped shape Japanese history. By discussing the many roles women have played throughout Japanese history, Lesley provided a new and refreshing perspective on that history, while putting paid once and for all to the egregious stereotype of the ‘submissive geisha’.

Chashitsu: Auditory Tea Room

More than ritual, Chadō, the Way of Tea, is also a deeply sonic practice: a choreography of sound, silence, gesture, and space. Chashitsu, the tea room, becomes a resonant vessel for listening—a place where every element is attuned to create a shared sonic awareness. Drawing on this tradition, violinist and composer Midori Komachi and MSCTY founder/producer Nick Luscombe explore the aesthetics of Japanese sound design and immersive experiences grounded in the shared language of music and architecture. Their project, Chashitsu: Auditory Tea Room —a concert premiering at the Royal Albert Hall on 14th October 2025 alongside the launch of Komachi’s album of the same name — brings a new perspective to the tea room as a ‘sonic architecture’. Join Komachi and Luscombe as they offer an insight into their creative process ahead of the premiere, inviting you into a deeper Way of Listening.

Special Video Screening:
SCARLET RIVER by Reijiro Wada

In a reflection on the current intensification of geopolitical conflicts, the Daiwa Foundation invites visitors to view the video work SCARLET RIVER by Reijiro Wada. It was filmed in 2023 at the Motoyasu River, which flows through the centre of Hiroshima City. The landscape’s associated tragedies are captured through a double-glazed window filled with red wine, creating a scarlet scene. An image of the water surface is inverted horizontally and vertically and reconstituted crosswise to create a vision of the moment the atomic bomb exploded. The river now flows calmly as if nothing had happened in the past. The ripples of the sightseeing boats passing by transform the reflections of the A-bomb Dome and the present-day city on the water surface into a hallucinatory loop.