Keeping Japan on the Map

The tragic events of 11 March 2011 brought Japan abruptly into international focus as the impact of the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear problems were played out live on TV screens. Since then, so much of the world has returned to its ordinary business and Japan appears once more to have slipped off the world map.

But what happened in Japan earlier this year and how it has been reported by the media further demonstrated that there is still much that we can learn from Japan and Japan can learn from others. Indeed, the coverage of the disaster itself, as well as programmes and articles relating to Japan that subsequently appeared on UK TV and in the media, have revealed a deep-rooted interest in Japan today.

There are a number of UK universities that have staff conducting significant research on a range of Japan-related subjects. This conference is a celebration of that work. It also provides an opportunity to show-case some of the research being conducted by a number of the Sasakawa Lecturers who were appointed following a programme of staff expansion in Japanese studies by the Nippon Foundation and the GB Sasakawa Foundation in 2008.