Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 15:30-16:30 JST

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, even in historically less affected regions. This talk examines the drivers, consequences, and management of changing wildfire dynamics. A more flammable landscape—shaped by climate change, land abandonment, and afforestation—is intensifying fire regimes globally. While most of the 780 million hectares that burn annually are low-intensity savanna fires, high-intensity, destructive wildfires are increasing. Fire is an ancient ecological process with both benefits and harms, shaping ecosystems yet threatening lives and property. As suppression alone is insufficient, I advocate proactive adaptation through prevention, restoration, land-use planning, coordination, and improved fire literacy.

Monday, 4 March 2024, 15:00-16:30 JST

Robotics is gaining increasing importance across a wide range of applications, including industrial production, agriculture, assistance to individuals and households, and medicine. However, its progress is still constrained by the mechanical basis of construction and operation. The disadvantages of the constraints can be radically reduced by the advent of “soft robotics”. In this lecture, Prof. Viovy presents and illustrates the potentialities of this emerging field with a few examples, and discusses its future and potential limitations.

Wednesday, 28 February 2024, 15:00-16:30 JST

Macroeconomics has been a contested field since it was invented in 1936. It is dominated by sophisticated models that assume that people behave rationally. But slowly, the recognition that people do not behave like “homo economicus” is changing things. Hours of work, use of leisure time, patterns of spending, are affected by social norms and conventions; and these things affect how the economy responds to disruptions like wars and pandemics.

Wednesday, 24 January 2024 15:30-17:00 JST

As centralized technologies wield increasing influence over our society, the significance of Web3.0—decentralized, fair, and open web technologies—has never been more critical. Join us in envisioning a secure, transparent, and inclusive digital landscape, uncovering the transformative potential of the decentralized web in this forward-looking exploration.

Every Friday from December 1, 2023 (Available from 17:00 JST)

“The Salon” is a new dialogue series featuring distinguished scholars in the humanities at the University of Tokyo that aims to transcend disciplinary boundaries. It is hosted by Professor Naoko Shimazu of Tokyo College and Professor John Lie of UC Berkeley, who is currently staying at Tokyo College.

Wednesday, 17 January 2024, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (Doors Open: 2:30 pm)

In 2018, the public toilet renovation project, “THE TOKYO TOILET (TTT)” commenced in Shibuya, Tokyo. Representing Japan and featuring 16 internationally renowned creators, including architects at the forefront, this project brought creativity and design to the often-overlooked realm of urban architecture – the public toilet. It successfully introduced new value to this object. In 2021, Mr. Yanai also initiated a new art film project to address the challenges of TTT and his debut production, “PERFECT DAYS”, earned the Best Actor award at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival. Now the movie is currently being actively promoted for the Academy Awards. In this talk, Koji will explain why he embarked on the toilet project, what insights he gained, and why he produced a film at the end of those insights.

Wednesday, 10 January 2024 14:00-15:30 JST

In May 2023, the Prime Ministers of Japan and the UK sealed "an enhanced UK - Japan global strategic partnership," pledging to strengthen "the free and open international order based on the rule of law." Is this a realistic objective for two distant, mid-sized, island nations in an increasingly contested, volatile world? How much can their partnership really contribute to international rulemaking or tackling global issues? Can it indeed safeguard either party’s national security or prosperity? How should we measure the results?

Every Wednesday from November 1, 2023 (Available from 17:00 JST)

What constitutes groundbreaking research in a university setting? Tokyo College postdoctoral fellows will be conducting interviews with UTokyo professors in the UT7 research group to find out how they are engaging in new forms of research driven by curiosity and ultimately contributing to the evolution of our understanding of life.

Tuesday, 5 December 2023, 15:30-17:00 JST

In 2015, British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke of a ‘Golden Era’ in UK-China relations. In 2022, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak officially declared this over and his government has portrayed China as posing an epoch-defining challenge to the international order. How have British views towards China – both inside and outside government and in the press – evolved and diverged during this turbulent period? How best should Britain engage with, or disengage from, China to sustain British interests and values?

Tuesday, 5 December, 13:00-14:30 JST

Japanese companies are both criticised and praised for holding large cash balances. Globally companies have increased cash hoarding, but Japan remains an outlier. This lecture looks at Japanese companies’ saving and its economic effects, including on labour’s share of national income.

Monday, 27 November 2023, 15:00-16:30

CCTV cameras are installed almost everywhere in Tokyo and other Japanese cities, and private security systems, introduced in the 1980s, are now standard in most homes. Surveillance is also embedded in everyday life, work, and play and has become “a way of seeing” and influences “ways of being seen.” In this presentation Prof. Robertson explores how and why AI-enabled entertainment and surveillance technologies have become fused, and speculates on the consequences of their triangulation.

Monday, 20 November 2023, 2:00-4:00pm

In this webinar, we will introduce the toolkit and delve into critical topics confronting law enforcement agencies. These include ethical considerations, transparency, privacy protection, anti-bias measures, and security assessments related to the implementation of AI systems. Given the growing international interest in AI governance, we anticipate that the discussion will extend to Japanese law enforcement agencies. We aim to explore the future directions for AI utilization within Japanese law enforcement while raising awareness of these pivotal issues among various agencies, organizations, and businesses leveraging AI technology.

Thursday, 26 October 2023, 19:00-21:00 JST (London: 11:00-13:00; Sao Paulo: 7:00-9:00am; New York: 6:00-8:00am)

The new award-winning translation of The Bankruptcy by Júlia Lopes de Almeida makes this novel available to Anglophone readers for the very first time. To celebrate its publication, this symposium will gather the translators and editor of the novel together with scholars in translation and literary studies to discuss the state of world literature today and the role played by translation in Brazil, Japan and beyond.