Sign language interpreting plays a crucial role in ensuring effective communication between Deaf and hearing individuals, particularly in highly specialized settings such as court hearings and psychotherapy sessions. However, interpreting in these fields presents unique challenges, as it requires not only linguistic skills but also the ability to navigate cultural nuances, emotional contexts, and diverse communication needs. This research project examines the practices of Deaf and hearing sign language interpreters in Japan, focusing on how they handle demands, interpret nuances, and adapt their interpreting strategies to individual Deaf sign language users. Key areas of investigation include the strategies employed by interpreters in the courtroom, psychotherapy sessions, conferences, and media, and how these strategies vary according to context and audience, as well as their adaptation to the linguistically and culturally diverse needs of Deaf sign language users. This presentation will outline the research project and offer a critical overview of the research methodology employed in the study. Details and registration here

Economies in Europe and Asia are facing a “slow crisis” with a dual demographic shift: their population is expected to start contracting by 2050; the proportion of older adults is expected to surpass 30% by the same date. Japan is at the forefront of this change, having experienced already a decade of population decline while the share of the elderly is projected to reach 40%.  Particularly challenging is the situation of the “oldest old” who are losing autonomy. The French-Japanese INNOVCARE consortium has introduced “care-led innovation” as a novel approach to reconcile social needs and technological dynamics. The one-day workshop Addressing the Aging Challenge in Europe and Japan – Insights from the INNOVCARE Project , organised by the European Institute of Sophia University, the EHESS, and the DIJ, brings together fifteen international scholars to discuss different perspectives on the aging challenge in Japan. The afternoon part of the workshop will be interpreted into Japanese and is open to the public. Details here

As in many cultures, the imagery of the cat in Japan is highly ambiguous: it is marked both as protective kami and ferocious yôkai that haunts the house and kills its owners to take on their shape. But Japan’s felines are also viewed as necromancers, soul stealers, body snatchers. This presentation will take a closer look at the cat’s strong association with death through the lens of the Kasha, a former Buddhist demon that took on the shape of a supernatural cat during the late 17th/early 18th century. Together with the well-known story complex of the “Neko danka” (Cat Parishioner) the motif of the body-snatching Kasha will serve as an example of how cats appear in the popular culture of the Edo period as a representation of Japanese folklore. Details and registration here

A rapidly ageing population, global warming, digitalization and AI, heightened geopolitical risks and a U.S.-induced tariff war – entering 2025, the German and Japanese economies confront an increasingly challenging as well as uncertain economic environment. How do they confront the fundamental domestic and international challenges? What possible scenarios do they envisage? These and related questions will be addressed by two leading economic scholars, Monika Schnitzer (German Council of Economic Experts) and Noriyuki Yanagawa (Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy). Their input statements will be followed by comments from two Japanese corporate leaders, Osamu Mogi (Kikkoman Corporation) and Makoto Shiono (Industrial Growth Platform) before the floor will be opened to questions from the general audience. The event will be held in English, admission is free. It is co-organised with Japan Association of Corporate Executives and will be followed by a small reception. Details and registration here

Die Jause geht weiter! In Frankreich ist das café philosophique eine Veranstaltung zum Philosophieren, an der jede Person teilnehmen kann. Auch in Japan gibt es bereits ähnliche Programme auf dem Land. The University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP) und das Deutsche Institut für Japanstudien (DIJ) organisieren nun gemeinsam ein philosophisches Café auch in Tokyo, allerdings mit einer kleinen Besonderheit: Wir möchten deutschsprachigen Personen die Möglichkeit des Austauschs bieten und daher das Café auf Deutsch abhalten. Das Organisationsteam (Yukiko Kuwayama, UTCP und Sebastian Polak-Rottmann, DIJ) freut sich, Sie einzuladen, gemeinsam in entspannter Atmosphäre über ein Thema zu diskutieren. Fachliche Vorkenntnisse benötigen Sie nicht. Das Diskussionsthema entscheiden wir gemeinsam vor Ort. Bei Interesse melden Sie sich bitte bis zum 28. März an. Weitere Informationen hier

Japan is experiencing a growing influx of international migrants. These individuals establish new social connections in both their private and professional lives, which often involves learning Japanese. However, Japanese is just one resource within a broader, multilingual repertoire. This presentation explores the lived experiences of multilingual individuals in Japan, focusing on two spheres that typically require distinct sets of communicative competences: romantic relationships and workplaces. Drawing on data from narrative interviews, our speaker will demonstrate how multilinguals rationalize their interactional partners’ behavior and attribute intentional states to them to make sense of their experiences and their implications for perceptions of language competence. He will argue that competence should be understood as an intersubjective capability that emerges in interactions between individuals, across time and spaces, and institutional contexts, all while being intertwined with emotional expressions. Details and registration here