Events category: Annual Seminar Series Seminar

Diversity and Innovation in Japan and the UK

‘Galapagos Syndrome’ has become a term to describe Japan’s insular attitude to the outside world. Like the species on the Galapagos Islands, Japanese corporations did not adapt their business models to the outside world, consequently losing their competitive edge to businesses in China and the rest of Asia. Similarly, in the sphere of policy-making, diverse and external opinions were not taken into account, and rather the vested interests of insiders were prioritised within a cosy, closed community. With increasing insularity and nationalism in the UK, does it risk going the same way?

Womenomics

The term “Womenomics,” coined by Kathy Matsui, Chief Japan Equity Strategist at Goldman Sachs, refers to policies aimed at enabling women to make a larger contribution to the Japanese economy. It has become a key component of “Abenomics” – Prime Minister Abe’s overall policies for the revitalisation of Japan. As dual-income couples have increasingly become the norm in Japan, the female labour participation rate is, in fact, more or less in line with other developed countries. The difference is that Japanese female workers disproportionately work in positions with low status, low pay, and low job security.

The Power of Politics

This seminar took place just two days after the Japanese Lower House election, while the clock is also ticking towards a General Election in the UK next year. It seemed a timely moment to consider the power that politicians wield in the two countries, and the extent to which they can actually affect the lives of their citizens. How easy is it for politicians to push their policies through the legislature? And when they succeed, how much impact do those policies have?

The Power of Art

What is the power of art? What can art do? Can art deliver a social message, or any messages at all?

We invited Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator of the Mori Art Museum, one of Japan’s most active and prestigious galleries and James Lingwood, Director of Artangel, which commissions and produces exceptional projects by outstanding contemporary artists across Britain and beyond, to talk about the power of art.

The Power of Conscience

Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat based in the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1940, went against his superiors and granted visas to Jewish refugees looking to escape Europe by travelling to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Virtuous behaviour seems to be strongly linked to the notion of conscience, that inner voice that tells us what we ought to do. But when and how do we learn conscience, or are we born with it? Is conscience synonymous with ethics, morals and a sense of justice? Morals and values differ from country to country, so do cultural values influence people’s conscience?

The Power of Music: Yoshiki Classical

YOSHIKI, leader of X JAPAN and one of Asia’s most influential musical artists, is performing at London Royal Festival Hall on 29 May. The day before this, he gave a talk and mini recital at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation on 28 May, as part of our annual theme of “Power” to prove that music is the power that goes beyond country borders and reaches people’s hearts directly. No Japanese politician can attract the kind of crowds that YOSHIKI can.

Russia and the Power of Diplomacy: What can the International Community do?

The third seminar in our 2014 series on “Power”. In the previous seminar, we discussed “soft power”, and the panel concluded that a combination of hard and soft power, namely ‘smart power’, is the most effective way to influence other states in the contemporary world. But what can a weaker state with limited hard power (military force) do to deter other states? Can the international community be effective in pressuring stronger powers like Russia to change course without resorting to hard power? How can the diplomatic efforts of the international community be made effective?

Soft Power- Influence and Persuasion

“Soft power” can be defined as a country’s ability to get what it wants by attracting rather than coercing others – by engaging hearts and minds through cultural and political values and foreign policies that other countries see as legitimate and conducive to their own interests. Is Japan’s use of its soft power a success at the moment? Is it possible for a state to use soft power and not make it look like propaganda?

The Power of Information and Knowledge

This first seminar of our 2014 series on the theme of “Power” will focus on the relationship between information and society, and how the understanding and use of information have been the primary factors in the development and character of the modern age. Prominent British historian Professor Jeremy Black and the Asahi Shimbun European Bureau Chief, Mr Toshiya Umehara discussed the power of information and knowledge, and the dangers of its absence. The seminar was chaired by Professor Arthur Stockwin.

Shifting Values: How should we care for older people in society?

Despite persistent economic weakness, Japan, as the country with the world’s oldest population, set out in 2000 to establish an entirely new approach to social care. Part-social insurance model, part-general taxation model, the Japanese system has grappled with a series of questions which we are facing in the social care sector here in the UK: what should the state offer; who should be eligible; and how should it be funded? The speakers and chair, Holly Holder, discussed the Japanese experience of health care reform, care for frail and/or vulnerable older people, and the latest thinking on the progress towards funding reform and integration in England.