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It is our great pleasure to invite you to a very special gathering at St Anne’s College, Oxford, on Friday 6th November, celebrating the enduring relationship between Britain and Japan through the Anglo-Japanese Academic Alliance Lecture Series.
The historic ties between Britain and Japan have been shaped over generations by diplomacy, scholarship, and cultural exchange. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance occupies an important place within that shared history, marking a significant chapter in the development of relations between our two countries. Today, that relationship continues to flourish through the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and learning between British and Japanese institutions.
This special day at St Anne’s offers an opportunity not simply to reflect upon that history, but to celebrate the intellectual and cultural connections that continue to bring Britain and Japan together. The Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education has played a transformational role at Oxford, supporting scholarship, fostering intellectual exchange, and helping to deepen the University’s academic engagement with Japan.
Through its remarkable commitment and generosity, the Foundation continues to strengthen the relationship, creating lasting connections between scholars and institutions in both countries and opening new opportunities for collaboration, dialogue, and the exchange of ideas. This occasion is therefore also an opportunity to celebrate that partnership, and the important role it continues to play in bringing Oxford and Japan ever closer together.
We are particularly honoured to be joined for the occasion by The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, alongside distinguished professors and scholars from Japan and Oxford. Together, they will explore some of the remarkable individuals, ideas and intellectual traditions that have shaped our two countries and their contributions to the wider world.
The day will open with a welcome from Helen King, Principal of St Anne’s College followed by four unique lectures in the Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre. Coffee and pastries will be served on arrival from 9.30am, with tea and coffee also available during the morning and afternoon breaks.
Lord Hague will explore the remarkable political career of William Pitt the Younger, who became Britain’s youngest Prime Minister at just 24 during a period of profound political and social change that included the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and debates surrounding parliamentary reform, taxation, and Britain’s expanding global influence. What does Pitt’s enduring political legacy and his experiences of leadership, power, and statesmanship tell us about politics today?
Professor Ogawara will explore the life and influence of one of the leading intellectual figures of nineteenth-century Japan. Covering Fukuzawa’s ideas on education, Western thought, social reform, and national independence, and the role they played in Japan’s transformation during the Meiji era. The talk will consider Fukuzawa’s lasting legacy, including his founding of Keio University and his wider influence on the development of modern Japanese society.
Professor Notomi will offer a personal reflection on his distinguished career studying ancient Greek philosophy and its continuing relevance in the modern world. Drawing on his work on figures such as Plato and the Sophists, Professor Notomi explores how Greek philosophical ideas have shaped his own thinking, teaching, and scholarship, while considering the enduring value of philosophy in helping us understand society, ethics, knowledge, and what it means to live well.
Professor Crisp will look at how Aristotle’s ethical thought can be understood both within its ancient historical context and as a continuing source of philosophical insight today. Professor Crisp examines key Aristotelian ideas surrounding virtue, happiness, character, and what it means to live a good life, while considering how our interpretation of historical philosophers can inform contemporary debates about morality and ethics.
We much hope you will join us for this important and celebratory occasion: a day of outstanding scholarship and conversation, but also an opportunity to recognise the depth of the connection between Britain and Japan and to celebrate the friendships, ideas and academic partnerships that will carry it forward for generations to come.
Please click here to reserve your place.