EVENT

Friday, 11 July, 10:30–12:00 JST

Achieving planetary health requires not only scientific solutions but also fundamental cultural and behavioral transformations. This lecture will present a comprehensive approach that addresses both individual values and social systems. Through examples from Japan and Scandinavia, it emphasizes the importance of integrating eco-sophy—ecological philosophy—into policy and societal frameworks. Furthermore, it highlights the crucial roles of non-state actors, including NGOs and academic institutions involved in the water and energy sectors, alongside governments, in addressing climate change challenges.

Wednesday, 16 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Since the Edo period, intellectual exchange between Japan and Korea has continued in a　sustained　manner. Despite the colonial rule in the 20th century, intellectual interactions became even more active. This lecture revisits several cases of such exchange between Japanese and Korean intellectuals, such as Fujiwara Seika and Gang Hang, Yamazaki Ansai and Yi Hwang, the Kogaku school and Jeong Yakyong, and Fukuzawa Yukichi and Yu Giljun, to explore the potential for a future Japan-Korea intellectual community. While past attempts to make an East Asian community have often faced the “East Asian paradox”, namely, the reinforcement of nationalism, this lecture is also an attempt to seek clues for overcoming such challenges.

Wednesday, 23 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Human senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—shape how we perceive and interact with the world, influencing environmental experiences and cultural practices. Yet sensory politics—the social organization of touch, smell, and taste—often reinforces hierarchies, marginalizing certain groups as environmental ‘others.’ This lecture examines the ‘environmentality’ of the senses, focusing on their role in perpetuating inequalities within discriminatory social structures. By interrogating how sensory norms sustain injustice, I argue for a new environmental justice vocabulary—one that integrates sensory and social dimensions to address the entangled relationships between environment, power, and lived experience in caste-based societies.

Wednesday, 30 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, associated with sociality, alertness, and productivity. Over time, coffee production has contributed to environmental degradation, rural poverty, and societal inequities. Currently, its production is threatened by climate change, market volatility and economic uncertainties. Drawing on longitudinal research with coffee producers in Central America, this talk will examine coffee producers’ efforts to improve their coffee quality, socioeconomic well-being, and environmental sustainability in contexts of extreme weather events and myriad insecurities. The discussion also will consider consumer roles, the impacts of certifications, and approaches for supporting climate resilient coffee production.

Monday, 11 April 2022 (available from 10:00am JST)

How is the Russian invasion of Ukraine being reported around the world? How do people perceive these reports? And how are governments responding? In this series, we interview experts on regions outside of the United States and Europe on issues surrounding the current crisis.

Wednesday, 7 April 2022 (available from 1:00pm JST)

How is the Russian invasion of Ukraine being reported around the world? How do people perceive these reports? And how are governments responding? In this series, we interview experts on regions outside of the United States and Europe on issues surrounding the current crisis.

Wednesday, 6 April 2022 (available from 1:00pm JST)

How is the Russian invasion of Ukraine being reported around the world? How do people perceive these reports? And how are governments responding? In this series, we interview experts on regions outside of the United States and Europe on issues surrounding the current crisis.

Tuesday, 5 April 2022 (17:00-18:00 JST)

A wide variety of new structures are created using the phenomenon of “self-assembly,” in which molecules spontaneously assemble and order themselves. This presentation introduces the tiny world of manufacturing, where new structures are magically created simply by mixing metal ions and organic molecules.

Wednesday, 23 March 2022 (available from 5:00pm JST)

What does advocating for equity look like in art and design? Join us as we chat with De Nichols, a Senior UX Researcher at YouTube and social practice artist who is helping communities engage with societal issues in equity in the United States. 

Wednesday, 16 March 2022 (available from 5:00pm JST)

Women in the workforce in the United States and globally continue to face gender discrimination in a variety of forms, such as wage discrepancies and harassment. Join us as we talk to psychology professor Ho Kwan Cheung about strategies for building more women- and family-friendly workplaces. 

Wednesday, 9 March 2022, (15:00-18:00)

Taking into account the diverse issues surrounding academia today, such as the nature of transdisciplinary knowledge, the interaction between academia and society, diversity, globalization, and digitalization, each organization in this symposium will boldly propose its vision for the future of human society and a new humanities and social sciences. By taking a three-dimensional approach to the intersection of these ideas, we will survey how the humanities and social sciences can contribute to both the development of academia and ourselves.

Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 4:15pm-5:00pm (PST) / Friday, March 4, 2022 at 9:15am-10:00am (JST)

What can we learn through user research to proactively include and amplify the experiences of underrepresented users? This talk will look at the gap between how historically underserved users experience Airbnb vs. the "general population", and how this gap can help to guide where efforts should be focused to make our platform more inclusive.

Available on January 20 2022, 17:00

The world has struggled to cope with the COVID-19 that changes our economic system and deepens pre-existing social challenges like inequality. Amid these trying times, the facilitation of growth and distribution has emerged as an underlying theme of political discussions in Asia. What does it mean? How will they impact the relationships between countries?

January 18-20, 2022, 21:00-23:00

The International Conference on Sustainability Science (ICSS2022) will focus on biodiversity solutions for sustainable and resilient food systems, health and sustainability transition. The conference will facilitate creative discussions between academics, policy-makers and practitioners on how biodiversity-based solutions can contribute to sustainable development.
Program:
18 January 2022. 21:00 - 23:00 (JST)
Biodiversity solutions for sustainable and resilient food systems
19 January 2022. 21:00 - 23:00 (JST)
Biodiversity solutions driving sustainability transition – a lesson from SDG Labs.
20 January 2022. 21:00 - 22:45 (JST)
Biodiversity solutions for health

Thursday, 6 January, 2022, 16:00-17:30pm

In its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy carried out in March 2021, the British government published a brief framework for a proposed ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ by the UK. Professor Alastair MORGAN will assess the ‘tilt’ in terms of UK diplomatic relations, including the promotion of values, defence and security policy, trade and investment, and the tackling of global challenges.

Friday, 10 December 2021, 5:00-8:00 pm