Past Events

Tomoko Yoneda in conversation with Melanie Pocock

This webinar will take place at 12:00 pm (US time – BST) / 8:00 pm (Japan – JST) on Wednesday 30th April 2025.

In this webinar, Tomoko Yoneda was in conversation with Melanie Pocock, curator of her exhibition, discussing her artistic practice and the photography she has produced over the past thirty years, including the seminal series Scene, that revisits sites of historic conflict and unspoken trauma, and DMZ, in which the artist captures the quiet beauty of native flora in Korea’s demilitarised zone, as well as her series Between Visible and Invisible.

Influence of Japanese Prints on Northwest Artists

Seattle art historian David F. Martin presented a talk illustrating the influence of Japanese prints on Washington state artists active between 1910-1960. The Pacific Northwest’s geographical location provided a convenient port of entry for many Japanese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Japanese prints became the most collected art of the region through promotion by dealers and early art associations. Martin discussed how regional artists adapted the multi-block process of color printmaking by creating the designs, carving the blocks, and printing the proofs individually without assistance from additional artisans.

アウシュビッツー戦後80年を迎えた今

第 2 次世界大戦中、ナチス・ドイツがユダヤ人を中心におよそ 110 万人を虐殺したアウシュビッツ強制収容所が解放されてから今年で 80 年目。2025 年 1 月に開催された式典には生存者 56 人が参加した。現在、アウシュビッツ強制収容所などでのホロコーストを生き延びた人の平均年齢は 86 歳。生存者の高齢化が一段と進む中、記憶をどう語り継いでいくかが課題となっている。このウェビナーでは、国立アウシュビッツ・ビルケナウ博物館で日本人唯一の公認ガイドで ある中谷剛氏が、ホロコーストの歴史的背景、現代社会との繋がり、生存者なき記憶の継 承、近年訪問者数が増加している欧州の若者（英国がポーランドに次いでトップ）、次世代に伝えたいことなど、お話しします。

Tomoko Yoneda in conversation with Melanie Pocock

This webinar will take place at 12:00 pm (US time – BST) / 8:00 pm (Japan – JST) on Wednesday 30th April 2025.

In this webinar, Tomoko Yoneda will be in conversation with Melanie Pocock, curator of her exhibition, discussing her artistic practice and the photography she has produced over the past thirty years, including the seminal series Scene, that revisits sites of historic conflict and unspoken trauma, and DMZ, in which the artist captures the quiet beauty of native flora in Korea’s demilitarised zone, as well as her series Between Visible and Invisible. Please note that the booking system for this webinar will close at 5pm BST on 8th April 2025. If you would like to sign up after this time, please contact events@dajf.org.uk.

Young Suicide in Japan

The suicide rate among young people in Japan is one of the highest among all OECD countries. The Japanese government regards the situation as “serious,” and needs to move swiftly to implement effective suicide prevention and post-suicide support mechanisms for young people. In this webinar, Prof Kenji Kawano described the recent situation, analysing the background factors behind it, along with some prevention measures and the education programme he has been working on. Prof Daisuke Kawashima presented the results of some studies addressing the impact on young people of suicide bereavements. He talked about some of his postvention activities and considered the future prospects for postvention to help young people in Japan affected by suicide.

Private View: Faultlines by Tomoko Yoneda

Join us for a private view of Tomoko Yoneda’s solo exhibition in the UK at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. This exhibition presents a selection of photography produced over the past thirty years by London-based Japanese artist Tomoko Yoneda. Among the works presented are photographs from her seminal series Scene that revisit sites of historic conflict and unspoken trauma, and DMZ, in which the artist captures the quiet beauty of native flora in Korea’s demilitarized zone. A display in the ground floor library features silver gelatin prints from her series Between Visible and Invisible, focusing on texts of personal significance to major historical and intellectual figures of the 20th century.

Foreign Migrant Workers in Japanese Agriculture - Stakeholders' Views

Japan faces serious labour shortages in many sectors as a result of its ageing society and rapid population decline. In a notable change of approach, given its post-war history of refusing low-skilled migrant labour, Japan is now cautiously opening the door to migrant workers. In 2019, under the Abe administration, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act was revised to allow bona-fide workers to enter on the newly created Specified Skilled Worker programme. In this seminar, Dr Roberts discussed the new short-term labour schemes, highlighting stakeholders’ viewpoints based on empirical research.

Media in Japan: The Fuji TV Scandal

Fuji TV, one of Japan’s largest broadcasters, is currently in crisis. High-profile companies have pulled advertising from the network, which has been criticised for trying to cover up sexual misconduct allegations against one of its former star presenters. The Fuji scandal has revived the discussion about whether corporate governance in Japan’s media industry lacks awareness of human rights and gender equality. In this webinar, moderated by Mariko Oi of BBC News, the panellists explored the fundamental issues behind the scandal, including human rights, governance, gender inequality and the working environment in Japan. They also discussed what can be done to address these issues in the media industry.

Okinawa: Great Power Competition and the Keystone of the Pacific

Okinawa is a tiny island of huge geopolitical importance. Located between the tip of Japan’s mainland and Taiwan, it hosts key US military bases, which have played a contested and controversial role on the island. In addition, the sovereignty of some of Okinawa’s outlying territory is disputed by China and its future is tied closely to the competing strategies over Taiwan. It is also a potential target for North Korean missiles aimed at American military assets on the islands. In discussion of this compact and revealing book, Ra Mason explored why and how this island paradise and the waters around it could trigger great power conflict.

Tango in Japan: Cosmopolitanism Beyond the West

Why do Japanese people love tango? Starting with this question, which the author, Dr Yuiko Asaba, frequently received while working as a tango violinist in Argentina, “Tango in Japan: Cosmopolitanism Beyond the West” reveals tango’s history in Japan dating back to the 1910s and its vibrant contemporary dynamics, embedded in the modern transformations of Japan and Argentina. While initially brought to Yokohama by North American tango dancers, tango’s immediate popularity in Japan quickly compelled many Japanese performers and writers to travel to Argentina in search of tango’s “origin” beginning in the 1920s. The first comprehensive work on the Japan-Argentina musical relationship, this book illuminates how Japanese musicians, dancers, aficionados, and the wider public have approached, and continue to engage with, tango as an important vehicle of expression, entertainment, and academic pursuit that take their imaginations beyond the West.

Sayuri Ichida in conversation with
Fiona Rogers

To mark the closing of the exhibition ‘transiənt (“transient”)’ by Sayuri Ichida at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, we are delighted to host an artist talk, ‘Sayuri Ichida in conversation with Fiona Rogers’. In this event, Ichida will introduce her works, particularly highlighting key aspects of her production, such as her early life, artistic motivations, and long-lasting relationship with photography across Tokyo, New York, London, and Margate. A discussion moderated by Fiona Rogers will follow the presentation, framing her practice in a broader context, including the two series featured in the exhibition: ‘Absentee’ (2020-2021) and ‘Ctrl Shift + J’ (2023-), through which she explored the ephemeral nature of life and existence.

平野丸の悲劇とウェールズの善意の人々

平野丸（日本郵船）は、三菱の長崎造船所で建造され、1908年に日本とロンドンを結ぶ欧州定期航路に就航しました。1914年に第一次大戦が勃発し、日本が連合国陣営で参戦すると、日本の商船もドイツ帝国海軍の潜水艦（Uボート）による攻撃対象となり、1918年、英国リバプールから横浜に向かっていた平野丸は、英国のウェールズ沖で、ドイツの潜水艦（Uボート）に撃沈され沈没しました。乗客と乗組員計240人のうち210人が死亡しました。ウェールズの沿岸に流れ着いた多くの遺体は、地元の住民により引き上げられ、手厚く葬られました。沈没から１００年後、ウェールズの善意の人々は過去を忘れず、遠い日本の犠牲者を弔おうと立ち上がり、新たな慰霊碑を建立しました。本ウェビナーでは、島崎淳氏が平野丸の悲劇と乗客らの群像、第一次世界大戦と日本のかかわり、ウェールズ住民の善意ある行動など、両国での調査や取材を通して見えてきたことについて語ります。