Deputy Director Barbara Holthus introduces the DIJ at the Monumenta Nipponica 80th Anniversary Symposium:

The event’s full video playlist is available on YouTube.

Many modern societies are increasingly confronting demographic change, i.e. the ageing and shrinking of population. This is particularly true for Japan and Germany, which are the worldwide “front-runners”. The social, economic and political implications are most strongly and directly felt at the level of local communities.

The idea of the WeberWorldCafé on “Demographic Change – Challenges and Answers for Local Communities” jointly conceived and organized by the German Institute of Japanese Studies (Tokyo) and the Institute of Gerontology at the Technical University of Dortmund is to bring together researchers, policy makers and civic society representatives with proven expertise in local demographic policies from Germany, the EU and Japan, to discuss how local communities can best prepare to cope with the demographic challenge.

Das Jahr 2017 markiert den 90. Todestag von Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, welcher als Japans herausragendster Autor der Taishō-Zeit angesehen wird.

Die International House of Japan Library, die Bibliothèque de la Maison franco-japonaise, und die Bibliothek des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien stellen Übersetzungen von Akutagawas Arbeiten und kritischen Studien aus.

Genießen Sie bei dieser Gelegenheit die zahlreichen Meisterwerke auf Englisch, Französisch und Deutsch.

150 years have passed since the Taiseihōkan, the return of rule to the Emperor from the Shoguns.

In the exposition, materials on the history of foreign relations from the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853 to the Taiseihōkan in 1867 are displayed.

For further information on the exposition, please contact each library.

Energy transition, or Energiewende in German, describes a set of policies and practices to phase out the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy for electricity generation, heat and mobility and to rely more on renewable energy while improving energy efficiency.

This joint event will offer a chance to discuss the potentials and challenges related to energy transition in Japan and Germany together with Dimitri Pescia of Agora Energiewende and Mika Ōbayashi of the Renewable Energy Institute (自然エネルギー財団).

In March, the two organizations are going to publish the report “10 Q&A on the German Energiewende – A contribution to the Japanese energy debate” (『ドイツのエネルギー転換　10のQ&A－日本への教訓』).

Bernhardt Schulte-Drüggelte
Mitglied des Deutschen Bundestages
Franz Waldenberger
Direktor des DIJ

Deutschland und Japan verfolgen eine sehr unterschiedliche Haushaltspolitik. Deutschland setzt auf Konsolidierung. Der Staat unterliegt neben den im Stabilitätspakt von Maastricht definierten Verschuldungsobergrenzen auch einer verfassungsrechtlichen „Schuldenbremse, die einen in der Regel ausgeglichenen Haushalt vorsieht.

Japan, das inzwischen gemessen an der Schuldenquote zu den am höchsten verschuldeten OECD Ländern gehört, räumt einem ausgeglichenen Staatshaushalt dagegen keine besondere politische Priorität ein.

Speakers:
David Chiavacci
Mercator Professor in Social Science of Japan, University of Zurich
Carola Hommerich
Associate Professor of Sociology, Hokkaido University
Sawako Shirahase
Professor of Sociology, The University of Tokyo

In recent decades Japan has changed from a strongly growing, economically successful country regarded as prime example of social equality and inclusion to a country with a stagnating economy, a shrinking population and a very high proportion of elderly people. New forms of inequality have been emerging and deepening, and a new perception of Japan as “gap society” (kakusa shakai) has become commonly acknowledged.
The book provides a comprehensive overview of inequality in contemporary Japan. It examines inequality in labor and employment, welfare and family, education and social mobility, in the urban-rural divide, and with regard to immigration, ethnic minorities and gender.

The WeberWorldCafé is an interactive, biannual event format that brings together researchers and practitioners from various disciplines and regions who meet and exchange their thoughts in a relaxed, coffeehouse-like atmosphere.

To enrich the discussions we particularly invite students, young scholars and the interested public to participate in the talks.

Scheduled:
November 24, 2016 | 3:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.

Registration deadline:
November 22, 2016