NEWS

On Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1, 2025, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) hosted a two-day commemorative event marking the 80th year since the end of World War II and the 25th anniversary of APU’s founding. Entitled “Interrogating the Aesthetic Creativity of War Memories: From Japan to Asia and the World,” the event brought together numerous participants, including researchers from Japan and abroad, current students, and local community members.

Since its establishment, APU has upheld “Freedom, Peace, and Humanity” as one of its basic ideals. In this milestone year marking 80 years since the end of World War II, the event—led by Professor Kaori Yoshida (College of Asia Pacific Studies) and Professor Huong T. Bui (College of Sustainability and Tourism)— was organized to revisit war memories from diverse perspectives and to reflect on the future of peace.

Beginning with President Yoneyama’s opening speech, across the two days, the participatory research and education program featured several creative engagements with war memory: an exhibition of war-themed paintings created by high school students based on the testimonies of survivors, a kamishibai (paper theater) performance on the theme of Hiroshima’s postwar reconstruction accompanied by a talk from its creators, and a session titled “War Memories and Narratives Across Generations: Considering Hiroshima Through Ōkunoshima.” In this session, a tour guide from Ōkunoshima was invited to engage participants in discussions about various issues related to remembering the war.

Additionally, an academic symposium and poster session with participants from both inside and outside the university provided opportunities for multifaceted discussions on the representation of war and the transmission of memory.

Through this event, students, researchers, and the local community came together to engage in dialogue on the “inheritance and creation of memory.” APU will continue to advance educational and research initiatives that embody its commitment to peacebuilding and multicultural coexistence.