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So what metaphor or simile should we use to describe the situation we find ourselves in as we approach Christmas festivities and Bonenkai, in the second year of the pandemic? A roller-coaster? Round and round the mulberry bush? Groundhog Day? Or might we, in a more positive frame of mind, express gratitude for the many good things that have happened this year?

Watch the recording and read the report of our latest webinar, in which Bill Emmott was joined by Mihoko Matsubara and Marcus Willett to discuss cybersecurity.

Japan Society members and friends can receive a discount on tickets for Katsura Sunshine's upcoming show at Leicester Square Theatre.

Watch the recording of our webinar when Japan Society chairman Bill Emmott was joined by Hayashi Hajime, Japanese Ambassador to the UK, to discuss topics such as the Covid-19 pandemic, relations between Japan and the United Kingdom, and Japan’s defence policy.

Watch the recording of our online lecture when M.W. Shores offered a history of Kamigata (Osaka) rakugo tradition from the seventeenth century to the present day, considering the art in terms of gender, literature, performance, and society.

Watch the recording of our online lecture when Christine Guth discussed Japanese crafts during the Momoyama and Tokugawa periods, drawing critical attention to the dynamic, multidirectional network of forces that undergird Japan’s extraordinarily rich, diverse, and aesthetically sophisticated artifactual culture.

Join us on Tuesday 7 December for a special online workshop, focusing on how to teach haiku with haiku poet Paul Conneally. Paul will introduce this short-form of poetry and give practical guidance for teaching haiku - both inside and outside the classroom.

Watch the recording of our webinar when Japan Society chairman Bill Emmott was joined by two international relations and security experts: Professor Kiichi Fujiwara at the University of Tokyo and Professor Alessio Patalano at King’s College London to discuss AUKUS and its implications for Japan and the UK.

What news item struck you most over the past week or two? There has certainly been plenty going on both in Japan and the UK, what with the COP26 United Nations climate negotiations in Glasgow, a Lower House election in Japan which the opposition flunked and from which Prime Minister Kishida came out well and a dramatic U-turn by the British government over the enforcement of Parliamentary standards.

Watch the recording of our webinar when Japan Society chairman Bill Emmott was joined by activist Kimiko Hirata and energy and climate consultant Christopher Huhne to examine the ambitions and actions of the Japanese and UK governments in advance of the Glasgow Climate Change Conference on 31 October 2021.