Few questions carry more weight for the future of international security than how artificial intelligence will transform defense capabilities, alliance structures, and the very nature of warfare itself. Against this backdrop, the Jackson School’s Program on Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR) brought together scholars and practitioners for “Positioning Japan in AI and Emerging Technologies,”

JOIN US on Friday, April 24 for an panel discussion at Japan and AI. The Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR) Speaker Series hosts scholars, experts, and professionals from across the security, policy, and diplomacy world for virtual and in-person sessions at the University of Washington.  GO HERE for full participant bios. Friday, April 24

RSVP – Japanese Video Game Culture Crossing the Pacific Wednesday, March 4, 2026 Seminar: 4:30-6:30 p.m.  |  Kane Hall 210  |  Free and open to all – registration required Reception: 7:00-8:30 p.m.  |  Walker Ames  |  Tickets: $25 for members, $40 for non-members, $10 for member students and $15 for non-member students Event location: University

Japan’s 2024 general election for the House of Representatives marked a turning point. The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered its second-worst showing since 1955, while the far-right populist party Sanseito entered the lower house for the first time, signaling potential shifts in governance with global implications. The fifth volume of “Japan Decides,” co-edited by

The University of Washington’s own Paul S. Atkins, Professor of Asian Languages and Literature, was recently awarded the 28th Yamagata Bantō Prize for his book “Teika: The Life and Works of a Medieval Japanese Poet”. This award honors individuals whose work contributes to introducing international audiences to Japanese culture. In his book, Atkins explores the

Earlier this month, the Government of Japan announced the recipients of the 2025 Autumn Conferment of Decoration on Foreign Nationals. Among the recipients is Marie Anchordoguy, a professor emerita at the Jackson School and former chair of the Center for Japanese Studies. Anchordoguy was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun in the third

On Oct. 24, the Jackson School’s Program on Strategy, Policy and Diplomacy Research (SPDR) hosted the public panel, “Positioning Japan in Cybersecurity Trajectories.” Sponsored through a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation, the panel is part of the SPDR Speaker Series. Professor Saadia Pekkanen, the SDPR director, welcomed the panel, moderated and chaired by Steven Vogel, a professor

Join Jackson School Acting Assistant Professor ​​​​​​​Andrea Gevurtz Arai on Wednesday, Nov. 12 as she dives into the world “Spaces of Creative Resistance: Social Change Projects in 21st-Century East Asia,” of which she is the editor. Over the last two decades, social disconnection, increased income disparity, and new burdens have been placed on the young,

A new edited volume, “Spaces of Creative Resistance: Social Change Projects in Twenty-First Century East Asia” (Rutgers University Press, 2025), brings together case studies of youth- and community-led movements across the region. Edited by Jackson School Acting Assistant Professor Andrea Gevurtz Arai, the book is the outcome of a multi-year cross-college and cross-regional research initiative

Join Center for Japanese Studies Acting Assistant Professor Andrea Gevurtz Arai on Friday, July 11 from 7-8 p.m. at the Elliot Bay Book Company for a discussion on the new book, “Spaces of Creative Resistance: Social Change Projects in Twenty-First-Century East Asia.” She will be joined by Summer Dai, a Ph.D. student in the University