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

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

Tateuchi East Asia Library (TEAL) is hosting a special research presentation by Azusa Tanaka, TEAL Japanese collection librarian as part of the 2025-26 Digital Scholarship Series.  Tanaka’s research using microscopic examination and artificial intelligence unlocks the origin and age of paper used in premodern media. November 6, 2026 Gowen Hall 3 FL Seminar Room (enter

During her 2024-2025 research leave, Japan Studies Librarian Azusa Tanaka addressed a longstanding challenge in Japanese book history: dating premodern books (pre-1868) that lack publication dates. Traditional methods are often subjective or invasive, but Tanaka used a novel, non-invasive approach combining microscopic imaging and machine learning. Using a digital microscope, Tanaka captured over 13,000 images

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

Ultra-Low Birth Rate in East Asia: Crisis Discourses and Collaborative Responses The purpose of the conference is to deeply consider how young women (and their female and male counterparts) across East Asia are inadvertently, in some cases, and intentionally in others, challenging socio-cultural, gender, labor, family and national-cultural norms and expectations. We will look closely

Join us in-person to learn about research fellowship opportunities in Japan through the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Funding is available for: Graduate Students Postdoctoral Scholars Professors (of any level) Researchers (of any level) JANUARY 16, 2025 Noon – 1:00 PM Thomson Hall 317

“Hiroshima Maidens” loosely translates genbaku otome, a phrase first used in early 1950s Japan to refer to young women who had been scarred by injuries received during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.  Ten years later, 25 such women were flown to New York, where they underwent extensive reconstructive surgery.  The “Maidens”

Young people in Japan are considerably underrepresented in the country’s political institutions, leaving decision-making mostly in the hands of older politicians. This age bias in politics may have profound consequences for the structuring of welfare policies in Japan, which faces a declining birth rate and rapidly aging population. In this talk, Dr. McClean will explore