Past Events

The Japan Society is delighted to invite members and friends to a special guided visit to Harcourt Arboretum, part of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum. Led by Arboretum Curator Ben Jones, the visit will offer an opportunity to explore the Arboretum’s Japanese collections and learn more about its wider work in plant conservation.

For our Film Club in October, we will discuss Yoji Yamada's Tora-San, Our Lovable Tramp (1969), the first instalment of the iconic Tora-san series, a warm and humorous portrait of a free-spirited traveller.

For this October edition of Macro Salon, Jesper and Bill will be joined by Eleanor Olcott, China Tech Correspondent at the Financial Times. They will discuss China’s rapidly evolving technology sector, including AI and semiconductors, US-China tech competition, and Japan-China relations, including competition in key technology sectors and changing attitudes towards Japan among younger generations in China.

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.

JAPAN MATSURI, the UK’s much-loved and biggest annual festival of Japanese culture and food, will return to Trafalgar Square on Sunday 4 October 2026.

In this lecture, Tokyo Jazz Joints creator and photographer Philip Arneill will explore the origins, history and impact of the jazz kissa in Japan over the last decade and what might be next in their continued evolution.

Vanishing World imagines a near‑future society in which artificial reproduction replaces sexual relationships, reshaping ideas of love, family, and identity.

In the September Film Club, we will discuss Kazuhiro Soda’s political documentary Campaign (2007), an unvarnished portrait of a novice candidate navigating the rigid world of Japanese local elections.

The Japan Society is delighted to invite members to a guided tour of Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now, a landmark exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery reframing the history of Japanese photography through the voices and lenses of women artists.

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.