Thursday, March 5, 2026, 13:00-14:30 JST (Doors Open at 12:30)

Following LDP's historic landslide victory in Japan’s lower house election, the Takaichi administration starts deliberating a temporary consumption tax cut, which LDP pledged during the campaign. This seminar examines what these promises imply for Japan’s consumption tax system and fiscal structure more broadly. Will this be just a short-term relief measure or the first step toward deeper reform, or a combination of both?

Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 14:00-15:00 JST

The concept of transition, derived from the Latin transire, meaning “to change state,” has been employed across a wide range of fields since the nineteenth century. In contemporary discourse, it is most often associated with climate change and the notion of an “energy transition.” This lecture introduces the concept of power transition – understood as energy flow over time – to account for the rapid acceleration of eco-social change since the mid-twentieth century. It examines the unprecedented challenge of voluntarily moving away from highly powerful fossil fuels. Moving beyond purely techno-solutionist approaches, the seminar emphasizes the central role of social and human innovation. Adapting to renewable and fluctuating energy sources will require a profound rethinking of lifestyles, drawing inspiration from the long-term resilience of living organisms.

Thursday, 23 June 2022, 4:00-5:30 pm (Doors open: 3:30 pm)

In 2022, we are commemorating the centennial of Marcel Proust's death with an extraordinary salvo of publications, exhibitions, and acclamations. “Proust is the man of the year,” advertised the Italian magazine La Repubblica on New Year’s Day. It gives us an occasion to evaluate the magnitude of his novel, Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time, and also to compare this anniversary with the previous one, 1971, a century after Proust’s birth. His star hasn’t stopped rising.

Available Early June 2022 (on Tokyo College YouTube Channel)

It has been said that by executing algorithms in the same way, there is no difference between the human brain and AI (artificial intelligence). Is this really the case? What does it mean to be “human”? To be an “AI”? What can current AI do and not do?
In anticipation of a future in which humans and AI coexist, we discuss what we should keep in mind and what we can do to prepare.

Tuesday, 7 June 2022, 4:00-5:30 pm (Doors open: 3:30pm)

Why do we need to rethink about the way we study and make sense of global diplomacy? In this lecture, I explore how cultural approaches can illuminate important aspects of diplomacy which have not been adequately considered in much of the existing scholarly literature.

Friday, 20 May 2022, 12:00-12:45 pm (JST)/ Thursday May 19 at 10:00-10:45pm (CDT)

Tokyo College hosted a series of interviews with researchers about their efforts to promote equity for International Women’s Day in March 2021 and March 2022. This May, we would like to continue these efforts beyond Women’s Day and invite Ksenia Zolotareva, the Women@JP Career Pillar Lead at Google Japan, to speak about strategies for increasing female talent in the paid workforce in Japan.

Friday, 13 May 2022, 15:00-16:30 (Doors open: 14:40）

This talk describes three phases of globalisation that have occupied the last five centuries and their role in making the world we know today. The first two phases were associated with the rise of Western empires, which integrated large parts of the world through a process of compulsory globalisation. The third phase, which began after 1945, brought empires to an end and produced the current world order - and disorder.

10 May 2022, 3:00-4:30 pm (Doors open: 2:40 pm)

Recent years have featured the US-China trade war, the coronavirus pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, each of which we can consider “radically uncertain” events that were not in any real sense predictable. This lecture seeks to identify how these events fit into conventional frameworks for explaining the world, how these events might have changed that framework, what elements of the framework remain unknown, and how we should respond to this age of uncertainty.

Friday, 22 April 2022 (available from 4:00pm 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, 20 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, 13 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.

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.