– and some thoughts on the challenges of reporting from war and conflict zones Gabriele Riedle April 20, 2026/18:00-19:30 Room 301, building 10, Sophia University In person only/No registration necessary During a recent trip to Syria, Gabriele Riedle, a Berlin-based journalist and writer, investigated the current situation in a country that has been — and continues to be — deeply affected by 14 years of extremely bloody civil war, as well as ongoing domestic and regional

Bernhard Scheid , Austrian Academy of Sciences (Senior Scientist Emeritus) Date: April 16, 2026  Time: 18:00–19:30  Venue: Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University  Format: In person only In this talk, I will focus on apparent continental influences in the origin stories of the Tennō dynasty. In the mythical episodes of the official annals ( Kojiki  and  Nihon shoki ), a well-known implicit hierarchy exists between “heavenly” and “earthly” deities (rulers). I will d

Work, Space, and Community in Sumida’s Machikoba Neighbourhoods Wednesday 8 April 2026, 18:00-19:30 / Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Building 10, Room 301 In English without translation / In person only Speakers: Christian Dimmer (Waseda University), David H. Slater (Sophia University) Moderator: Sven Saaler (Sophia University) Although urban labour is a central policy domain shaping contemporary economies—and has historically constituted the very substrate