Wednesday 18 January 2006
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Out of the Past, Into the Future: The Demographic Challenge for the UK and Japan
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in association with The Japan Society
Changing demographics has become one of the major challenges facing government and business in the 21st century. The rapid ageing of societies, changes in household sizes, family structures, and so on, all point to a future in which family life, work and employment and social welfare needs will increasingly depart from established norms.
This first seminar in a year-long programme exploring the implications of demographic change in Britain and Japan will set the agenda for the series by addressing policy and contemporary debates on demographic trends and will outline ‘Japan’s 21st Century Vision’ which considers the role of government in responding to future needs.
Organised in association with The Japan Society.
About the contributors
Professor Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy is Professor of Demography at the London School of Economics. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and Research Secretary of the Population Investigation Committee. His interests include the demography of families, household and kin in developed and transitional societies; mortality and morbidity trends in ageing societies; and demographic methodologies. He has written on the implications of changing mortality, family formation and marriage trends for wider society.
Kenji Hiramatsu
Kenji Hiramatsu is Minister and Consul-General, Embassy of Japan, London. After graduating from the University of Kyoto in 1979, he joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as Director of National Security Policy Division (1998), Private Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1999), Director of Northeast Asia Division (2001), and Minister at the Embassy of Japan in the US (2003).
Lord Sutherland of Houndwood
Lord Sutherland of Houndwood (chair) is Provost of Gresham College. Former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Lord Sutherland has held a number of important public appointments including the Chair of the Royal Commission on the funding of long-term care of the elderly. He also chaired the recent inquiry into population ageing conducted by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. He read philosophy at Aberdeen University before completing his studies at Cambridge and embarking on a university teaching career which included posts in North Wales, Stirling and King’s College London where he was Principal for five years before becoming Vice-Chancellor of the University of London and HM Chief Inspector of Schools in England. He is President of the Saltire Society and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.