The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Supporting closer links between the UK and Japan

Japanese Politics under the Takaichi Administration

Prime Minister Takaichi has marked six months in office after becoming Japan’s first female Prime Minister last October. While her approval rating among the population remains high, it is uncertain whether she can sustain this level of support in months to come. Factors such as inflation and economic and energy security may play a key role in determining this. In this webinar, moderated by Professor John Nilsson-Wright, Professor Izuru Makihara will analyse the first six months of her administration, including her leadership and policy initiatives, as well as the major challenges she faces.

バイリンガル研究：第二言語習得とAI

日本や英国で増加するバイリンガルは、未来を創る重要な存在です。しかし、その習得プロセスには、今も多くの謎が残されています。本ウェビナーでは、最新のバイリンガル研究の知見を解き明かします。環境要因や個人の能力の影響や、ロンドン大学(UCL)の最新研究を通して、なぜ言語習得に差が生まれるのか、そして何がその大きな要因となるのかを紐解きます。

そしてこれらの知見をもとに、AI時代の今、家庭内外でどのように積極的な多言語環境を築けるのかについて考えます。未来の教育と研究の可能性について、皆さんと共に議論します。

Ishiuchi Miyako: Traces

Through subjects as diverse as old apartment blocks, human scars, kimono fabrics, personal belongings of the deceased and even her own water-damaged prints, Ishiuchi Miyako (b. 1947) captures time, atmosphere and memory in photographic form. Ishiuchi Miyako: Traces charts the course of her practice over fifty years and identifies themes that resurface throughout her work, including her relationship with place, the passage of time and the bodies and possessions of people, always with an emphasis on ephemerality. In this book launch, co-editor Lena Fritsch will introduce the book and discuss Ishiuchi’s work with the artist.

Gallery Tour: SECOND LAW

Join us for a free lunchtime tour of Reijiro Wada’s first solo exhibition in the UK, SECOND LAW, led by Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation staff.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics holds that the universe is always tending towards disorder. Ultimately all structures disintegrate and no system can withstand the flow of time. This is the fundamental direction of nature. How then is it possible that life, as we know it, can give rise to things that are beautiful, sublime and have profound meaning for us?

How far does the glinting light of life reach in a chaotic cosmos?

The Japanese Fiction Boom: From the publisher’s desk

Over the last few years Japanese titles have taken up half of the slots on translated literature bestseller lists. What caused this sudden wave of Western interest in Japanese fiction across all genres? This talk will go behind the perfect storm of reasons that made Japanese literature the biggest publishing trend of recent years. Jane Lawson and Kaja Murawska will also try to answer the question of what aspect of reading experience the Western public was missing and why Japanese writers are uniquely positioned to fill that gap. What are the remaining Japanese titles that are still being overlooked? They will try to share their future predictions as well.

Isn't London a catalyst for storytelling?

In this talk, moderated by Jonathan Watkins, Taihei Soejima will present artworks that explore histories in which multiple truths coexist, employing the contrasting media of generative AI and analogue film, alongside portraiture capturing individuals in multicultural communities undergoing gentrification. He will reflect on how his “unresolved experiences” have been transformed into his current artistic practice, with London acting as a catalyst.