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, 29 July 2021, 17:00-19:00 pm

This panel invites international scholars who study knowledge systems in the past, present and future. Taking up themes from the first two panels, we will discuss perspectives on the future of the humanities and social sciences beyond the immediate pressures of institutional reform.

Monday, 19 July 2021, 10:00-12:00 am

In this panel, researchers from different backgrounds and specialties engage in a frank discussion on the shape of the humanities and social sciences to come. Their conversation touches on various topics, including the future and possibilities of these fields, as well as upcoming plans for education and research in these areas at the University of Tokyo.

Monday, 12 July 2021 (Available from 17:00 JST)

Following the Tokyo College lecture “Resilience and Innovation in Japan’s Economy” by Professor Jenny Corbett, Professor MATSUI Akihiko (School of Economics, game theory,  economics of disability), Project Assistant Professor Marcin Jarzebski (Tokyo College, sustainability, resilience, vulnerability, aging, and shrinking society), and Postdoctoral Fellow Mark Bookman (Tokyo College, history of disability policy and related social movements) have a discussion with Professor Corbett on the topics she presented.

Monday, 12 July 2021, 10:00-12:00 am

Thursday, 24 June 2021, 4:00-5:00 pm

Over 50 years, Japan changed from a rapidly-growing economic superstar to a sedate veteran, raising questions about what transitions are needed to succeed as a post-industrial, advanced economy. Japan is in the vanguard of the problems that face many other countries, and its experience raises questions about how to adapt to slow-moving and ubiquitous problems such as ageing population, inequality, changing work patterns, slow productivity growth and industrial hollowing out, but also about resilience, response to short-term crises and change. For all its specific characteristics there is a lot the world needs to learn from Japan.

Wednesday, 9 June 2021 8:30-10:00am (JST) / Tuesday, 8 June 2021 7:30-9:00pm (EST)

This Tokyo College Symposium welcomes Professor Benjamin Friedman to our campus (virtually) for a discussion on the relationship between economic and religious thinking in relation to his recently published book titled “Religion and the Rise of Capitalism.” The symposium begins with a brief presentation by Professor Friedman on the main ideas of the book with remarks by Professor Shinji Nohara and Dr. Rory Schacter to follow. A panel discussion moderated by Professor Takeo Hoshi further explores how political economic thinking is influenced by religious and other intellectual debates in the societies of not only Western countries but in Japan and East Asia as well.

Thursday, 27 May 2021, 9:00-10:30 am (JST) / Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 08:00-09:30 pm(EDT)

Recent studies and media accounts reporting Japan to be unusually vaccine hesitant require critical scrutiny. Our historical review shows that many vaccines have been accepted and that today recommended routine vaccines are universally accepted. That said, social mobilization of vaccine-injured victims has generated public and official hesitancy toward new vaccines and represents a significant challenge for Japan’s public policy.

Wednesday, 23 April 2021, 4:00-6:00 pm

Wednesday, 21 April 2021, 8:30am- (JST) / Tuesday, 20 April 2021, 4:30pm-(PST)

Tuesday, 20 April 2021, 5:00-6:30 pm

Tokyo College is a young institute at the University of Tokyo founded to address some of global society’s pressing issues through interdisciplinary research, international network building and public engagement. In this talk, we will present our effort to collaboratively design and teach a bilingual interdisciplinary undergraduate seminar entitled “The Earth and Human Society in 2050” in the framework of the university’s liberal arts program zengaku zemi.

Thursday, 15 April, 2021, 15:30-17:00 pm

Wednesday, 14 April 2021, 9:00–11:00 am