Supported CODE 8: Powers, Poverty and Policing at Hosei Tokyo

On 25 July 2026, our latest Open Talk Series session, "CODE 8: Powers, Poverty and Policing", was held at Multimedia Studio 0300, 3F Boissonade Tower, Ichigaya Campus, Hosei University.

After watching the movie Code 8, director Jeff Chan opened the session by sharing the motivations behind the film and the creative decisions that shaped its world. Joining online from Canada, he reflected on how the powered individuals in Code 8 are not simply fictional characters — they represent real communities in our society: minorities, the economically marginalised, and those caught between survival and the law.

For those who haven't seen it yet, Code 8: Part II is now streaming on Netflix — and Jeff let slip that Part III is on the way! The discussion that followed expanded into pressing contemporary questions. Naruhiko TAKESADA brought a sociological lens to how authority is exercised and legitimised, while Jason H.C. Cheung raised critical questions from a legal perspective — particularly around AI in policing: when an AI system makes a mistake, who bears responsibility? How do we assign accountability in a world where decisions are increasingly automated?

Together, the panel explored how fiction holds a mirror up to the structures of power and inequality we navigate every day. The audience brought their own perspectives to the room, sparking a lively exchange on surveillance, justice, and what it means to live in a society where the rules aren't written equally for everyone. Our sincere thanks to Jeff Chan, Naruhiko TAKESADA, and Jason H.C. Cheung, and to our moderator Juri Tamura for guiding the conversation with such care.

We are also grateful to our co-host Hosei University, and our supporting organisations — HKU Japanese Studies Programme, CUHK Department of Japanese Studies, HKUBS Alumni Network Japan, HKUST Alumni Network in Japan, and Commonverse — for making this event possible.

More conversations to come!