Chris Harding | Japanese history & culture
@drchrisharding.bsky.social
Cultural historian & broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh
Weekly essays 👉 http://www.japan-and-the-world.com/
Writings/podcast/video 👉 https://linkin.bio/chrisharding
Weekly essays 👉 http://www.japan-and-the-world.com/
Writings/podcast/video 👉 https://linkin.bio/chrisharding
Pinned
Pride of place this morning at our local @waterstones.bsky.social.
And no, I didn’t put it there… 😂
@hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
And no, I didn’t put it there… 😂
@hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social
If you're struggling with your new year's resolutions, take heart: philosophy and neuroscience agree that goals don't make sense.
Try a version of Japanese 'kaizen' instead: continuous improvement.
Swap your goal for a horizon and find incremental changes to match.
Try a version of Japanese 'kaizen' instead: continuous improvement.
Swap your goal for a horizon and find incremental changes to match.
January 9, 2026 at 6:15 PM
If you're struggling with your new year's resolutions, take heart: philosophy and neuroscience agree that goals don't make sense.
Try a version of Japanese 'kaizen' instead: continuous improvement.
Swap your goal for a horizon and find incremental changes to match.
Try a version of Japanese 'kaizen' instead: continuous improvement.
Swap your goal for a horizon and find incremental changes to match.
Reposted by Chris Harding | Japanese history & culture
As someone who's moved to JAPAN 🎌 not too long ago, I always wanted to explore the country's fascinating MODERN history... Thanks to @drchrisharding.bsky.social I finally got the chance!
Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻
YT:
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
Apple podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻
YT:
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
Apple podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
December 27, 2025 at 1:36 PM
As someone who's moved to JAPAN 🎌 not too long ago, I always wanted to explore the country's fascinating MODERN history... Thanks to @drchrisharding.bsky.social I finally got the chance!
Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻
YT:
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
Apple podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻
YT:
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
Apple podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
Such a great series. @philipgoff.bsky.social was excellent, as was Gilbert Markus talking about 'Is God Nothing?' (of interest to anyone thinking about inter-religious dialogue and concepts of the divine). @takeshimorisato.bsky.social @theosthinktank.bsky.social
And so another series of @theosthinktank.bsky.social's Reading our Times comes to an end, with a great interview with @philipgoff.bsky.social in which we simply ask does the universe have a purpose? After a series covering consciousness, quantum, time & God, what else? tinyurl.com/56t5uymc
Does the universe have a purpose? In conversation with Philip Goff
Podcast Episode · Reading Our Times · 16/12/2025 · 36m
tinyurl.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Such a great series. @philipgoff.bsky.social was excellent, as was Gilbert Markus talking about 'Is God Nothing?' (of interest to anyone thinking about inter-religious dialogue and concepts of the divine). @takeshimorisato.bsky.social @theosthinktank.bsky.social
Really enjoyed this conversation!
From Samurai to Shinkansen - how did JAPAN become a global superpower in just a short few decades? And why is it stagnating today?
Check the thrilling conversation with the eminent historian of Japan @drchrisharding.bsky.social HERE 👇🏻🎌
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
#japan #history
Check the thrilling conversation with the eminent historian of Japan @drchrisharding.bsky.social HERE 👇🏻🎌
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
#japan #history
December 21, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Really enjoyed this conversation!
Fantastic - thank you for sharing this. Have signed up for your Substack and will look forward to more there.
December 19, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Fantastic - thank you for sharing this. Have signed up for your Substack and will look forward to more there.
Interesting - thanks!
December 19, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Interesting - thanks!
Thank you for a great thread. What do you make of the claim that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon inside a year, starting from its current tech and resources?
December 19, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Thank you for a great thread. What do you make of the claim that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon inside a year, starting from its current tech and resources?
I keep reading that the 'permit' NNP might be nuanced or binned - unlikely though, in your view?
December 19, 2025 at 7:31 PM
I keep reading that the 'permit' NNP might be nuanced or binned - unlikely though, in your view?
Against a backdrop of North Korean nuclearisation, China's rise & Trump’s transactionalism, PM Takaichi will review Japan's three non-nuclear principles.
An anonymous source inside her Office suggested Japan may need its own deterrent.
Is the nuclear taboo fading? Link in bio.
An anonymous source inside her Office suggested Japan may need its own deterrent.
Is the nuclear taboo fading? Link in bio.
December 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Against a backdrop of North Korean nuclearisation, China's rise & Trump’s transactionalism, PM Takaichi will review Japan's three non-nuclear principles.
An anonymous source inside her Office suggested Japan may need its own deterrent.
Is the nuclear taboo fading? Link in bio.
An anonymous source inside her Office suggested Japan may need its own deterrent.
Is the nuclear taboo fading? Link in bio.
Looking forward to History Hit on Substack…!
December 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Looking forward to History Hit on Substack…!
Full essay here 👇
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/why-is-jap...
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/why-is-jap...
Why is Japan Falling Behind in AI?
And What Can Be Done?
www.chrishardingjapan.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Full essay here 👇
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/why-is-jap...
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/why-is-jap...
How do you train an AI on a language where this sentence is perfectly normal:
Because already finished, gave book.
(Mō owatta kara, hon o ageta)
Humans resolve the meaning instantly using context.
AI doesn’t - and that turns out to matter a lot for Japan’s AI ambitions.
Because already finished, gave book.
(Mō owatta kara, hon o ageta)
Humans resolve the meaning instantly using context.
AI doesn’t - and that turns out to matter a lot for Japan’s AI ambitions.
December 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM
How do you train an AI on a language where this sentence is perfectly normal:
Because already finished, gave book.
(Mō owatta kara, hon o ageta)
Humans resolve the meaning instantly using context.
AI doesn’t - and that turns out to matter a lot for Japan’s AI ambitions.
Because already finished, gave book.
(Mō owatta kara, hon o ageta)
Humans resolve the meaning instantly using context.
AI doesn’t - and that turns out to matter a lot for Japan’s AI ambitions.
😂
December 12, 2025 at 7:39 PM
😂
Seems reasonable. Fingers crossed it helps a bit...!
December 12, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Seems reasonable. Fingers crossed it helps a bit...!
Or indeed this... (Lib Dem leader, 2024 UK election). 😂
December 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Or indeed this... (Lib Dem leader, 2024 UK election). 😂
😂
December 12, 2025 at 7:34 PM
😂
Bluesky worked in my case - thanks for sharing it!
December 12, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Bluesky worked in my case - thanks for sharing it!
Ha! 😂
October 22, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Ha! 😂
Japan is losing more than 2,000 people every day to population decline.
Is automation the answer?
This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Is automation the answer?
This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Can Vending Machines Save Japan?
Part II: Salvation Through Automation
www.chrishardingjapan.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Japan is losing more than 2,000 people every day to population decline.
Is automation the answer?
This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Is automation the answer?
This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Japan's famous vending machines look like late 20th-century tech.
In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.
They may also hold the key to the country's future.
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.
They may also hold the key to the country's future.
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Can Vending Machines Save Japan?
Part I: Trust meets High Technology
www.chrishardingjapan.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Japan's famous vending machines look like late 20th-century tech.
In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.
They may also hold the key to the country's future.
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.
They may also hold the key to the country's future.
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Exciting times in Japan...
BREAKING: Sanae Takaichi has been elected leader of the LDP, and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister.
October 4, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Exciting times in Japan...
Promises to be an interesting evening - do come!
As part of Noh Reimagined 2025 curator Gina Buenfeld-Murley and Daiwa Scholarships alumnus @drchrisharding.bsky.social will discuss ‘Bashō’ (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405–1470), ahead of its first-ever performance outside Japan.
Fri, 28 Nov at 6pm:
www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/wor...
Fri, 28 Nov at 6pm:
www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/wor...
Pre-Performance Talk - Bashō: The Botanical Mind • Words • Kings Place
Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator of the exhibition 'The Botanical Mind' at Camden Art Centre, joins Dr Christopher Harding, arts historian, to discuss the noh play 'Bashō' (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenc...
www.kingsplace.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Promises to be an interesting evening - do come!
From gangster to kingmaker: Kodama’s story is the focus for the second of my five essays on America's transformative occupation of Japan, from 1945 to 1952.
www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/the-gangster
www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/the-gangster
September 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
From gangster to kingmaker: Kodama’s story is the focus for the second of my five essays on America's transformative occupation of Japan, from 1945 to 1952.
www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/the-gangster
www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/the-gangster
Arrested as a Class-A suspect, he was jailed in Sugamo Prison, where he befriended future PM Kishi Nobusuke.
Released in 1948 as US policy shifted, Kodama returned as kuromaku - funding and co-ordinating conservatives, liaising with the CIA, and helping to build the LDP.
Released in 1948 as US policy shifted, Kodama returned as kuromaku - funding and co-ordinating conservatives, liaising with the CIA, and helping to build the LDP.
September 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Arrested as a Class-A suspect, he was jailed in Sugamo Prison, where he befriended future PM Kishi Nobusuke.
Released in 1948 as US policy shifted, Kodama returned as kuromaku - funding and co-ordinating conservatives, liaising with the CIA, and helping to build the LDP.
Released in 1948 as US policy shifted, Kodama returned as kuromaku - funding and co-ordinating conservatives, liaising with the CIA, and helping to build the LDP.
Kodama Yoshio, born poor in Fukushima in 1911, became an ultranationalist adventurer.
He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
September 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Kodama Yoshio, born poor in Fukushima in 1911, became an ultranationalist adventurer.
He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.