On September 24 and 26, 2019, Ma Yansong was invited by the "AICA Modern Architecture Seminar" in Japan to give keynote speeches in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan respectively.

The "AICA Modern Architecture Symposium" began in 1983. The symposium invites only one world-renowned architect to give a keynote speech every year, sharing his views and insights in the fields of housing, environment, urban space, etc. It is regarded as a phenomenal lecture series highly anticipated by the Japanese architectural community. Past guests include: Kisho Kurokawa, Tadao Ando, ​​Arata Isozaki, Fumihiko Maki, Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa, Kengo Kuma, Shigeru Ban, Philip Johnson, Richard Meier, Renzo Piano, Peter Zumthor, Jean Nouvel, Herzog & de Meuron, Christian de Portzamparc, Dominique Perrault, etc.

Ma Yansong, who was invited this year, is the first Chinese architect invited since the inception of the lecture series.

Ma Yansong introduced the design concept and core concerns of MAD, which he leads, from different social, cultural and urban perspectives: the relationship between architecture and nature, and that architecture should be designed for people, etc. He also used several classic MAD works, such as Hutong Bubbles, Fish Tank, 34 East Street Apartment, Harbin Opera House, Absolutely Monroe Building, and Echigo-Tsumari "Light Tunnel" to illustrate his views.