Interdisciplinary Symposium of War Trauma and Memory in Australia and Japan
Interdisciplinary Symposium of War Trauma and Memory in Australia and Japan

Interdisciplinary Symposium of War Trauma and Memory in Australia and Japan

Interdisciplinary Symposium of War Trauma and Memory in Australia and Japan

Bi-National Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War

As the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches, the world is facing the prospect of a series of extended wars, which might coalesce into a third world war. Some find it too painful to talk about the past, but if we don’t talk about it and learn from it, it will happen again. Talking about the past together, especially across divides, is often the first step to peace.

Since 2019, a group of Japanese researchers, community leaders, and mental health and trauma specialists, have come together to talk about the long-term effects of Japan’s trauma from the Second World War, both as a perpetrator and victim. Through a series of interdisciplinary symposia, workshops, and meetings, the group has sought to facilitate a national conversation about a very painful subject and address the collusive silence which persists in Japan today.

After engaging more than a thousand participants in Japan, the study group decided they needed to reach out to the countries Japan attacked and occupied during the war, to talk together about what happened. This symposium, to be held simultaneously online in Australia and Japan, is the 14th of these interdisciplinary symposia, and the first of a series of bi-national symposia.

These meetings not only aim to deepen our understanding of the legacy of war but to facilitate healing, peace and reconciliation.

Date, Time, Location

Friday 15 August, 2025

10:00am – 6:00pm Melbourne Time (AEST UTC/GMT+10) Find this time in your
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Online via Zoom

Registration is essential – please register via this link
Short URL: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/oz7p
Full URL: https://unimelb.zoom.us/meeting/register/BnGR3AR7QvS6iU6h53duNQ
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Program and Schedule

Short URL: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/5z7p
Full URL: https://sway.cloud.microsoft/eOFA0Xf2Ed2ZfDgl?ref=Link
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A collaboration between:

  • The University of Melbourne (Australia)
    Asia Institute
    School of Population and Global Health
  • Japan Society for Interdisciplinary Study of Long Term Effects of War

Thank you also to our co-hosts:

  • Center for Peace, Hiroshima University

Thank you to our sponsors:

  • This symposium is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 23K22176 and
    24K03606.