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6 March 2026

Japan’s Lost Decades: A Call for Fundamental Statecraft Reform

The world is gripped by geopolitical crisis, with wars intensifying and tensions in East Asia running high. For Japan, still constrained by its ‘Lost 30 Years’, the central question is how to secure national interests and achieve true renewal. The Committee to Examine Japan’s Lost 30 Years has formulated comprehensive proposals for the fundamental reform of national governance, which will be presented at this lecture. The Committee contends that ‘the lost 30 years were in fact ‘the 30 years we lost’, the result of political and bureaucratic inertia. At the heart of the problem lies the absence of statecraft — the strategic, long-term management of the state.

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10 March 2026

The Donroe Doctrine and Japan’s Position in a New World Order

The post-war international order, anchored in international law, the UN charter and multilateralism, is undergoing a profound transformation with the emergence of so called ‘great power politics’ and the adoption of the ‘Donroe doctrine’ as the US’s new foreign policy under the Trump administration. Traditional security alliances and economic relations between countries are being tested, accelerating the transition away from a US-centred order. In this webinar, Japan’s former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hitoshi Tanaka, will explore what is driving change in the global order, as well as the impact of the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ on Japan and East Asia.

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8 April 2026

Storytelling in the Age of AI

In this talk moderated by Mattias Frey, the filmmaker and researcher Hikaru Kinouchi will explore the theme “Storytelling in the Age of AI: What Changes, What Doesn’t.” Drawing on his multidisciplinary experience as a film producer and his academic background in neuroscience and the social sciences, Hikaru will discuss the current state of AI in the film industry, how it is reshaping the filmmaking process, and how it is redefining the role of the creator. He will also examine the relationship between storytelling and investment, why stories matter and how their value is assessed, and how AI may reshape the way stories are created and evaluated in the future.

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16 April 2026

Tojo: The Rise and Fall of Japan's Most Controversial World War II General

In this talk, based on his new book ‘Tojo’, Peter Mauch gives us a nuanced look at the life and leadership of General Tojo and his role in the rise and fall of Japanese militarism. This is the first English-language biography of the controversial leader since 1961, and Peter draws on the new archival sources that have since become available, including Tojo’s own writings and the diaries of his secretaries and numerous military sources. We follow Tojo’s career as he successfully launched himself into the highest echelons of political power and negotiated fractious military rivalries.

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Latest news

2 February 2026

Rest in Peace, Arthur Stockwin

In early January 2026, all of us at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation were saddened to hear of the death of Professor Arthur Stockwin. He was a towering figure in Japanese Studies in the UK, and a long-standing friend of the Daiwa Foundation, sometimes speaking at or moderating our events, but most memorably as a member of the interview panel assessing potential Daiwa Scholars.

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22 January 2026

Daiwa Foundation funds projects ranging from a comparative historical study of monetary systems in pre-modern Afro-Eurasia to a knowledge exchange in inclusive coaching methods in disabled football

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (www.dajf.org.uk) has published details of its Small Grants and Awards awarded to support a total of 24 UK-Japan projects in its latest funding round: September 2025. A Daiwa Foundation Small Grant will support the travel to Japan of five cast and team members from Raw Material Arts Limited to tour the

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2 December 2025

Zines are all around us: DIY Publications in Japan

Piece written by Heidi Clark Daiwa Scholar in Japanese Studies 2024 In May of this year, I became interested in zines. The word ‘zine’ (pronounced ‘zeen’) refers to a type of DIY publication. Its origins are often traced back to 1930s Chicago, with the first issue of the Science Correspondence Club’s science fiction publication, The

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