- Friday the 19th of April -

(12pm) 

- Immigration to Japan -

As I mentioned in class, I recently heard from various news sources that Japan has been increasing the level of immigration. This has been an on going process spanning a few years, with the pandemic causing a short term pause. However, Japan has a record number of foreign workers right now, over 2 million. And politicians are often talking about the level and kind of immigration. Many foreign commentators claim that Japan has to embrace immigration in order to solve the population crisis, while others desperately try to claim that Japan shouldn't accept more foreign workers like western countries have.

Should Japan embrace immigration like western countries? Would it help the population crisis? What kind of immigration, what level of immigration is acceptable? If the current number of foreign workers is 2 million, that's only about 2% of the entire population of Japan.

Let's discuss this!

- Friday the 19th of April -

(8pm) 

- Terrorist attack in Russia -

Recently there was a terrorist attack in a concert hall in Russia, that killed over 130 people. The terrorist group Islamic State have claimed responsibility but there there have been rumours going around online that it might have been Ukraine or some other country or organisation.

How did this happen? Why did this happen? Why would IS want to attack Russia? What effect has this had on international relations? Was it IS? Or do you think it could have been some other group? And if so, who and why? And what has Russia's response to the attack been like?

 - Sunday the 21st of April -

(11am) 

 The 21st century has seen an unprecedented growth of productivity due to automation. However, the economic system has largely stayed the same in the West: a welfare-state capitalist system. However, wages have not kept up with the increase in productivity, which has led some to question how the current system could be restructured in order to better redistribute the fruits of automation. Some on the left have suggested shared ownership over the automated technology itself, while those on the right have suggested wealth distribution in the form of "freedom dividends" or less regulations. With the rise of AI this has become an even bigger concern as many fear that even more jobs will be automated and replaced.

How do you think the current economic system should respond to this new reality? Is it able to handle things as is, or is some sort of wealth redistribution necessary? If so, what is the best way to go about it to ensure fairness while also encouraging innovation and rewarding work?