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Associate Professor Chiyo of Faculty of Languages and Cultures gave a lecture titled "Why Can't Latin America Solve Social Problems?"

On Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Yuichi Chiyo of Teikyo University Faculty of Languages and Cultures Department of Foreign Languages Spanish Course Associate Professor spoke at a lecture titled “An Introduction to Latin American Society: Let’s Learn About and Explore These Societies,” hosted by the Institute of International Relations at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, where he gave a presentation on social issues in Latin America.

The lecture was held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online sessions, and attracted many participants from both within Japan and overseas.
In the lecture, based on the e-book "An Invitation to Latin America: Let's Learn About and Understand Society," published in March 2026, the speaker explained the drug problem and security issues, which are of great interest in Japan. In addition to the history of conflicts with military regimes and armed groups and the expansion of the drug business, the speaker introduced the current situation in which poor farmers are forced to continue cultivating coca in order to make a living. The speaker also pointed out that the drug problem is difficult to solve by simple crackdowns alone because it is a complex interplay of multiple factors such as poverty, land issues, weak national governance, and demand in consuming countries. Furthermore, the speaker illustrated the difficulty of countermeasures by citing the "balloon effect," in which drugs move to other areas after forced removal of cultivation sites. At the end of the lecture, the speaker asked the participants, "Considering the structures behind these social problems, I would like you all to think about what Japan and we can do to solve them."
Associate Professor Chiyo commented, "This textbook, which forms the basis of the lecture, is a free downloadable ebook that allows direct access to cited materials, references, videos, and more. You can use the data and literature to formulate your own questions and learn in a more advanced way. It introduces Latin American society from various perspectives, including religion, gender, and poverty. Although geographically distant from Japan, I hope that this will spark your interest in Latin American society and culture, with which we have close ties."

Associate Professor Chiyo, in her seminar on Latin American politics, economics, and society, incorporates practical learning using the Colombian presidential election held in May and June 2026 as a case study. She also actively disseminates information utilizing her expertise, such as by providing commentary on the situation in Colombia on news programs. Moving forward, our university will continue to widely disseminate the results of our education and research to society, creating opportunities to deepen understanding of the challenges facing various regions of the world.

Click here for information about Faculty of Languages and Cultures
Click here for information about Associate Professor Yuichi Chiyo.
Click here for information on the ebook "An Invitation to Latin America: Let's Learn About and Understand Society" (Institute of Developing Economies).

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