Events and Activities
Hybrid Study Group on Human Rights Narratives in Japan
Are human rights a shield to protect victims of human rights violations or are they a sword wielded by human rights lawyers to attack everyone disagreeing with their opinions? Do people in Japan care about human rights or are they just window-dressing for the international community? Language connected to human rights is essentially contested. This talk presents human rights narratives collected from various human rights actors in Japanese society. These narratives form the basis of human rights discourse in Japanese civil society, media, the legal landscape, academia, and politics. The study uses mixed methods to map the political discourse quantitatively and qualitatively to then trace back how discursive shifts occurred. An interdisciplinary approach helps understanding human rights in contemporary Japanese society within in a world which increasingly puts pressure on liberal norms. Details and registration here
Book Launch ‘Unleashing Innovation the East Asian Way’
The book Unleashing Innovation the East Asian Way. Startup Ecosystems in Japan, South Korea and China (Springer Singapore 2026) provides new perspectives on startup ecosystems in East Asia – a region which has over decades shaped innovation and global competition. Focusing on Japan, South Korea, and Mainland China, the chapters sketch the dynamic and diverse development of East Asian startup ecosystems considering their wider historical and national contexts. The authors Ying Cheng, Adam Cross, Martin Hemmert, Agata Kapturkiewicz, Masahiro Kotosaka, and DIJ director Franz Waldenberger systematically analyze and compare startup ecosystems. Published open access, this book aims to make these findings, which have so far only been presented in academic journals, accessible to a wider readership. At this book launch you can meet authors of this volume and discuss its findings with them. The event will be followed by a networking reception. Details and registration here
Barbara Holthus quoted in AP and DLF media reports
For a report published by Associated Press, DIJ sociologist Barbara Holthus explained how socialization, collectivism, and the concept of meiwaku, or not wanting to pose an inconvenience to others, contribute to the phenomenon of Japanese soccer fans cleaning up after sports games. “If you grew up with a certain way of how things are being done, you apply that to even cleaning up a stadium afterwards.” Barbara was also interviewed by German radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur for a feature on Japanese women’s fights against stereotypes (in German). Commenting on changes and continuities in Japanese society regarding gender equality and equal opportunities, she explained that “men in Japan still tend to marry below their social class”. The radio feature also quotes insights on traditional gender roles and recent political developments in Japan from DIJ alumnus Vincent B. Lesch.
New blog posts on sustainability at Aichi Triennale and knowledge production in Korea
DIJ researchers Carolin Fleischer-Heininger and Dolf-Alexander Neuhaus have contributed articles to the DIJ’s Sustainability in Japan and Beyond blog and the TRAFO Blog for Transregional Research, respectively. Carolin’s article “Tracing Sustainability at the Aichi Triennale 2025 in Japan” reports on her experience as a visitor of the Aichi Triennale 2025, a well-established art festival mainly held in the city of Nagoya, from the perspective of someone who is visually impaired. “Addressing cultural, social and ecological dimensions of sustainability and often also gaining inspiration and authority from personal experience”, she writes, the Triennale “validates sustainability as a matter of responsibility and of justice to give voice to the perspectives that are less prominent in most debates on eco-social sustainability.” Dolf’s article “Beyond Binaries: Decentring Foreign Knowledge in 20th Century Korea”, part of the blog series “De-centering Academia: InterAsian Perspectives”, draws on the history of education in 20th century (South) Korea to examine the historical development and adaption of foreign epistemologies and knowledge systems in Korea.
New issue of Contemporary Japan published
Contemporary Japan Volume 38 Issue 1 is out! The six original research articles include “Rainbows and Ratings: Assessing indices of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the Japanese workplace” (Clasen & Conrad) on Japanese companies attempts at improving diversity, “Perks or burdens? Being ‘nearly (Im)mobile’ as IT foreign professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan” (Muranaka) on Vietnamese IT professionals, “Leadership in crisis: Comparing Prime Minister Abe’s and Chancellor Merkel’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic” (Gaunder & Wiliarty) on leadership style, institutional coordination, and policy narratives, “Portraying the refugee crisis: The framing of Afghan, Burmese, and Ukrainian asylum seekers in Japanese print media” (Mitsui & Green) on media portrayals of refugees/asylum seekers, “The Bibliography of Post-War Documentary Literature: Processing war and defeat in post-World War II Japan” (Jeong) on subjective narratives in postwar literature, and “Workers’ uprising: Japanese factories and labor movement in Thailand during the Pacific War” (Takahashi) on anti-colonial labor activism during the Pacific War. The articles are complemented by Wolfram Manzenreiter’s review of Kate Sylvester’s book Women and Martial Art in Japan.
DIJ Newsletter Spring 2026
Digital capitalism and science, disability and inclusion, recruitment strategies, and ‘akiya’ problem: the spring issue of our DIJ Newsletter features updates on our research, publications, and events as well as news from the Institute, our team, and our outreach activities. We hope you will enjoy exploring this new edition of the DIJ Newsletter. If you haven’t done so yet, you can subscribe to receive our Newsletters directly to your inbox. The full issues and subscription form are available here.
Hybrid DIJ Forum on Japanese Labor Imaginaries
Popular imaginations of Japanese society are deeply intertwined with work, often oscillating between stereotypes of the exhausted salary man and idealized concepts of optimization (kaizen) or life purpose (ikigai). While work has been a celebrated pillar of Japan’s postwar identity, it has also faced scrutiny for fostering inequality and precarity. Beyond the familiar tropes, our keynote speakers unpack the complexities of Japanese labor history and corporate culture. Chelsea S. Schieder will present her research on the 1971 Mitsui Miike coal mine lawsuit following Japan’s largest postwar industrial accident. Shifting the focus to the everyday intersection of corporate life and culture, Hiromichi Hasebe explores how Hitachi corporation shaped organizational identity through its in-house magazine. Together, these presentations provide a re-evaluation of how Japan’s labor landscape from postwar factories to today’s AI-powered workplaces, continuously negotiates the meaning of work. Details and registration here
Hiromichi Hasebe, Nihon University
Franz Waldenberger next presenter in Contemporary Tokyo Seminar Series
Tokyo continues to attract a disproportionate share of Japan’s university enrollments and corporate headquarters, outpacing comparable European mega-cities in terms of functional concentration. While the overall population has risen modestly over the past five years, but the city is aging; the proportion of residents over 65 is high and continues to increase. Large‑scale infrastructure projects proceed on schedule, and the public‑transport network routinely handles tens of millions of passenger trips daily with high punctuality. Air quality measurements place Tokyo among the cleanest major cities. Resilience strategies encompass the world’s largest underground flood control system and AI‑driven sea level projections that anticipate substantial future impacts. Exploring these themes, this talk demonstrates how hyper‑concentrated mega-cities can sustain functionality and adaptability through coordinated governance, technological innovation, and proactive risk mitigation. But will this be enough, when the next big disaster strikes? Details and registration here
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Call for Submissions
Contemporary Japan
current issue Vol. 38, No. 1
Contemporary Japan is open year-round for rolling submissions, with accepted publications published immediately online. Please see the instructions for submission here.
DIJ Monograph Series
Our monograph series is 
Open Access after a one-year embargo period. Downloads are available on our
→ monographs pages.
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