Venue
German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo
Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F, 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0094, Japan
Access
International workshop
Improving the people’s lot? Different conceptions of well-being between promises and reality
July 29 - July 30, 2014
This multi-disciplinary workshop brought together a group of scholars from the fields of political science, history, religious studies and economics to explore how political actors, religions and ideologies have promised to improve the well-being of individuals and how these promises and the policies that may follow, have been perceived by the people. As the establishment of government commissions studying well-being in many industrialized nations including Germany and Japan has shown, these questions have gained significant importance in today’s pluralized societies. In these societies, it has become common knowledge that material wealth alone does not make people happy. Moreover, pre-determined value sets describing how to live a fulfilled life as prescribed by ideologies, unions or churches are not as influential as they used to be. These changes make the aforementioned questions even more relevant for the academic community and society as a whole.
Supported by:
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Presentations
Day 1 July 29th (Tuesday)
9:30 A.M. - 9:40 A.M.
Opening Remarks
Florian Coulmas
9:40 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.
Introduction to the workshop
Chris Winkler
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Session 1: Ideology, religion and well-being in Japan – Different concepts in past, present and future
Tatsuo Inoue, Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo
Helen Hardacre, Reischauer Institute, Harvard University
2:30 P.M. - 5:15 P.M.
Session 2: Voters: Changing perceptions and receptions
Yutaka Tsujinaka, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Rieko Kage, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo
Kenneth Mori Mc Elwain, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan
Tim Tiefenbach
Day 2 July 30th (Wednesday)
9:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
Session 3: Political parties and the promise of well-being between promises and reality
Mari Miura, Faculty of Law, Sophia University
Axel Klein, IN EAST, University of Duisburg-Essen
Chris Winkler
1:30 P.M. - 4:15 P.M.
Session 4: Public policy and happiness
Takao Katsuragi, Faculty of Law, Gakushuin University
Takayoshi Kusago, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University
Alexander Pacek, Department of Political Science, Texas A&M
(Benjamin Radcliff, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame; together with Gregory Shufeldt
4:15 P.M. - 5:15 P.M.
Final discussion
6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Panel Discussion (DIJ Forum)
Benjamin Radcliff, Helen Hardacre, Takayoshi Kusago, Kenneth Mori McElwain; Host: Axel Klein