Past Events

26 March 2013

At Home Abroad: The Contemporary Western Experience in Japan

With Japan’s working population greying and dwindling, supplementing the labour shortage with non-Japanese workers has been proposed as one solution to this demographic crisis. It is crucial, however, that foreign nationals not only be “imported,” but also that Japanese and non-Japanese can coexist comfortably and thrive together. Interviewees reveal the extent that they feel accepted within Japanese society as well as what can be done by both Japanese and non-Japanese to strengthen the inclusion of foreign nationals.

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21 March 2013

Excavated Reverberations by Hiraku Suzuki

In Hiraku Suzuki’s practice, drawing is expanded from a primitive method of expression into a contemporary technique of reflection and transformation. Associating the act of drawing with the process of ‘excavation’ reveals memories and unknowns present within our daily life. He perceives paper surfaces as excavation sites, carefully inscribing the moment when the different dimensions of time and space are generated from a limited two-dimensional phase. His recent drawings, in which he repeatedly uses light reflective materials such as silver marker and spray paint, shift their visibility according to the viewers’ perspective, creating resonance with the immediate environment.

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19 March 2013

Washi: The Art of Japanese Paper

‘Washi: The Art of Japanese Paper’ celebrates both the rich history of washi and the stunning variety that exists within the washi universe. The book features images and descriptions of over one hundred pieces from two collections: the portion of the nineteenth century Parkes Collection held in the Economic Botany Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the twenty-first century Washi: The Soul of Japan collection.

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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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7 March 2013

Winnebago, Carpet, Onsen, Potter by Peter McDonald

Peter McDonald depicts colourful scenes inhabited by people engaged in everyday activities. Images of teachers, artists, hairdressers or carpet sellers are constructed with an elementary graphic language. By making use of archetypes, symbolism and our incorrigible tendency to make the strange seem more familiar, McDonald’s alternative world reads like a parallel universe.

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5 March 2013

Painting Nature for the Nation

In ‘Painting Nature for the Nation: Taki Katei and the Transformation of Sinophile Culture in Meiji Japan’, Dr Rosina Buckland offers an account of the painter Taki Katei (1830–1901). Despite becoming one of the most successful painters of his generation, a founding member of the prominent Japan Art Association and recipient of the title Imperial Household Artist, Katei has been relatively neglected, due to political and art historical biases of the post-WW2 era.

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28 February 2013

Will the Aftermath of Fukushima Make the Japanese Think Big?

Christopher Lloyd’s best-selling world history book ‘What on Earth Happened?’ was published in Japanese at the end of 2012 and became an instant best-seller. The new Japanese edition includes a section on the recent 3/11 Fukushima disaster. In November 2012 Christopher was invited by NHK Television to go and see the disaster zone and the nearby communities for himself. Christopher discovered an extraordinary transformation by some members of the community, which inspired him to wonder if the trauma of Fukushima may yet provoke the Japanese people in to thinking big about their future.

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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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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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5 February 2013

Factional Politics: How Dominant Parties Implode or Stabilize

In her book, ‘Factional Politics: How Dominant Parties Implode or Stabilize’ a survey of the British Conservative Party, the Liberal Party of Canada, the Christian Democratic Party of Italy and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, Dr Françoise Boucek explores the paradox of and the potential dangers of factional politics for dominant political parties. She intoduced her book and discussed its themes with Professor Kensuke Takayasu(discussant).

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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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