News

Lecture Series: Taro Kono on “Japan’s Energy Challenges after Fukushima”

January 26, 2015

Yellow radioactive waste barrel against blue sky.

As part of the 2014-2015 Mitsubishi Corporation Lecture Series, Taro Kono gave a talk about Japan’s changing energy dynamics in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Taro Kono is a member of the Japan National Diet House of Representatives. A graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Rep. Kono is currently serving his 6th term in

2014 Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture – Daniel Foote on “Japan’s New Jury System: a Five-Year Progress Report”

December 3, 2014

Cartoon depiction of court room in Japan

In May 2009, following a five-year period for planning and preparation, Japan’s new so-called jury system went into operation. The talk began with a discussion of the background and debates leading up to introduction of the new system, including the motivations for introduction and concerns surrounding the system before it went into effect. It then

Lecture Series: Shinichi Kitaoka on “East Asian Security Challenges and Japan’s New Strategy under Abe”

May 28, 2014

Satellite image of Asia from east Africa across Russia and Pacific ocean.

Renowned author, diplomat and scholar, Dr. Shinichi Kitaoka delivered a talk for the 2013-2014 Mitsubishi Corporation Lecture Series. The focus was on Japan’s first-ever National Security Strategy, as well as the restructuring of the legal basis for Japan’s national security. Shinichi Kitaoka is a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and Executive Director

Lecture Series: Motoshige Itoh on “‘Abenomics’ and the Japanese Economy”

February 27, 2014

Pink piggy bank with assorted coins

As part of the 2013-2014 Mitsubishi Corporation Lecture Series, Motoshige Itoh delivered a talk titled “On ‘Abenomics’ and the Japanese Economy: Prime Minister Abe’s New Policies to Boost Japan’s Economy.” Motoshige Itoh is professor of international economics at the Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo, and president of the National Institute for Research Advancements (NIRA),

2013 Way Lecture: Kenneth Pyle on “Hiroshima and the Historians”

November 18, 2013

An allied correspondent stands in a sea of rubble before the shell of a building that once was a movie theater in Hiroshima

It has been said that no single decision ever made by an American president has aroused more discussion and debate than the decision to use the atomic bomb. Watch our very own Kenneth B. Pyle discuss the continuing controversy among historians over this decision as part of the Griffith and Patricia Way Lecture Series.