In this online session of the DIJ Business & Economics Study Group, our former PhD fellow Aya Adachi will present her research project which explores through a Comparative Political Economy perspective why Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) patterns differ in form and scope. The cases of China and Japan demonstrate the value of analyzing the role of the state and its interrelations with sub-national and market actors and spheres in PTA policy-making within two vastly different political systems. The main findings of this project show that the scope and depth of Japan’s PTAs are more consistent pronounced, while the scope of China’s PTAs are limited, with a main focus on liberalization of trade in goods. These differences have also regional and global economic governance implications: while China is promoting a supplementary and informal approach, Japan is supporting a more regulatory-based governance. Details

Speaker:
Aya Adachi, Ruhr University Bochum & University of Duisburg-Essen

Deputy director Barbara Holthus and Senior Research Fellow Nora Kottmann will present their latest and upcoming book publications at the European Research Day & Night “Publish and Prosper” on December 9th. The event is organized by Euraxess Japan, the EU-sponsored initiative to support and connect researchers in Japan. Barbara will present the recent DIJ publication project “Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics: an Open Access Book”. Nora’s talk “Doing Research on/in Japan: Methods and Methodologies” will introduce her forthcoming co-edited volume Studying Japan. Handbook of Research Designs, Fieldwork and Methods. Registration and programme of this online event here

DIJ Web-Forum
Due to the corona pandemic, work organization has been subject to dramatic change, and teleworking from home offices had to be suddenly implemented to keep businesses running. Mobile working, software-based collaboration, web-based meetings and new means of performance control were installed at a large scale. Have we suddenly reached the long-discussed digital future of work? Or is this only a temporary phase, and work life will return to what it was before the pandemic? Our speakers will outline the major changes in the organization of work caused by the pandemic in Japan and Germany. They will also discuss to what extent national regulations have been obstructing, shaping or supporting respective adjustments and assess to what extent the newly introduced workstyles can be expected to last. Details
Speakers:
Andrea Hammermann, German Economic Institute
Nobuko Nagase, Ochanomizu University
Michael Johannes Pils, Taylor Wessing
Chisako Takaya, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto
moderated by Franz Waldenberger, DIJ

Online Symposium (26-27 November 2020)
On November 29, 1890, the parliament of the Empire of Japan, the Imperial Diet, met for the first time marking the beginning of parliamentary government not only in Japan but also in Asia. While the recognition of Japan as a role model for successful ‘modernization’ of a non-Western society in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War has received much scholarly attention, the transnational appeal of this successful establishment of representative governance in Japan has not yet received much interest. Together with the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, the DIJ will take the occasion of this year’s 130th anniversary of the opening of the Imperial Japanese Diet as an opportunity to hold a symposium to discuss the global appeal of this first functioning constitutional government in Asia and beyond. For the programme and registration information see our event page.

Several DIJ researchers and alums will participate in this year’s sections’ meetings of the German Association for Social Science Research on Japan (VSJF). The sections’ meetings replace the annual conference which has been postponed to 2021 due to the Corona pandemic. Research fellow Nora Kottmann and DIJ alum Carola Hommerich are organizers of the Sociology Section (with Celia Spoden). The History Section is convened by VSJF president Anke Scherer and research fellow Torsten Weber. The Technology Section is convened by DIJ alum Cosima Wagner and research fellow Susanne Brucksch who will also give a paper (“Trend report: Digital health developments in Japan during the pandemic”) in that section. Former DIJ research fellow Harald Conrad organizes the Economy Section. The sections meet online on Saturday, 21 November, from 19.00-20.15 and 20.30-21.30 (JST). During the VSJF members’ meeting, the Contemporary Japan Best Paper Award 2020 will be presented by CJ’s Managing Editor Isaac Gagné. For the programme of all sections’ meetings see the VSJF website.

DIJ DWIH Web-Forum
Central bank laws in the US, Japan, and Europe consider price stability as the prime goal of monetary policy. However, since the Global Financial Crisis and even more so during the present COVID-19 crisis, we have observed the implementation of unconventional monetary policy measures accompanied by an unprecedented concerted action between monetary and fiscal authorities. Are these changes only temporary or do they indicate a fundamental change in the role of central banks, their relationship with governments and the constitution of monetary policy? How does the “new normal” affect the independence of central banks? The discussions in this Web-Forum will explore monetary policy in the COVID-19 crisis and its implications for current and future central banking. Details
Speakers:
Kiyohiko G. Nishimura, former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor (2008-2013)
Katrin Assenmacher, Head of the Monetary Policy Strategy Division, ECB
Moderated by Kazuo Momma, Executive Economist, Mizuho Research Institute

In liberal democracies, there is the expectation that the role of mass media is to provide swift and accurate information to the public – especially in times of crisis such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Risk communication is particularly challenging for journalists as they have to balance the circulation of precise information on dangers and the avoidance of fear-mongering. This presentation by Yosuke Buchmeier addresses the question of how the Covid-19 crisis has been covered in the Japanese media, primarily focusing on television news coverage of the public broadcaster NHK. This research project is based on the theoretical concept of ‘agenda-cutting’, which describes the phenomenon when a relevant societal issue is deliberately de-emphasized, entirely omitted or removed from a news agenda. Details

Speaker:
Yosuke Buchmeier, LMU Munich/DIJ Tokyo

The year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of writer Mishima Yukio. On this occasion, the International House of Japan Library, the Bibliothèque de la Maison franco-japonaise and the Library of the German Institute for Japanese Studies present translations of Mishima’s works and critical studies of his writings and life to the public. Please take this opportunity to enjoy the numerous masterpieces in English, French, and German. The exhibition is open from October 1 to October 31, 2020. For more information about the exhibition, opening hours, and participating libraries, please see this flyer. A list of writings on display in the DIJ library is available here. Before planning your visit, please contact the respective library directly.