This lecture has ended. Thank you to everyone who attended.

As the third in its series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," the Society for the Studies of Nation Issues will hold the Special Lecture "Crisis in West Africa: The Building of a Dictatorship in Benin." We have invited Mr. Zomahoun Rufin, former Ambassador of Benin to Japan, to speak, with commentary and conversation led by Mr. Minetoshi Yasuda. University of Tokyo students and working people alike are very welcome.

Overview

Event	Series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," Third Special Lecture "Crisis in West Africa: The Building of a Dictatorship in Benin"
Date and time	Tuesday, June 16, 2026, starting at 19:00
Venue	Building 18 Hall, Komaba Campus, University of Tokyo (Right by the East Exit of Komaba-todaimae Station on the Keio Inokashira Line)
Speakers	Mr. Zomahoun Rufin (TV personality; former Ambassador of Benin to Japan) Mr. Minetoshi Yasuda (nonfiction writer) * Moderator
Open to	Students of the University and the general public (working people welcome)
Organizer	Society for the Studies of Nation Issues

About the Event

An Evening at the University of Tokyo Thinking About West Africa

In recent years, a wave of authoritarianism has been sweeping West Africa. There, a figure well known to Japanese people has been struggling in search of a better tomorrow.

In this lecture, we invite Mr. Zomahoun, former Ambassador of Benin to Japan, and, with commentary and conversation led by Mr. Yasuda, take the concrete case of Benin as a starting point to widen our view and dig deeper into the crises and ethnic questions facing West Africa as a whole. A 30-minute question-and-answer session will follow the lecture.