On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Japan, Torsten Weber has made several comments in German media on the legacy of the war in East Asia (in German) and participated in an online outreach event on the global commemoration of the war (in English). For Deutsche Welle, Torsten explained how territorial and ideological disputes in the region have remained a burden of the war in East Asia. In Badische Zeitung and Berliner Zeitung, Torsten commented on the role of the Japanese Emperor during and after the war. Together with Yukiko Koshiro (Nihon University), Torsten also appeared in the Histocon talk event “Global Perceptions of WW2: Japan” which is part of an online series to discuss how the Second World War is commemorated globally. It is sponsored by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung).

“Technology that enables more people to work from home could also help women, said Barbara G. Holthus, deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo.” Read more of Barbara Holthus‘ comments on post-Abe Japan, teleworking, the role of women and her advice for Japan’s next prime minister in Motoko Rich’s article Many Want to Be Japan’s New Leader. Do They Know What Awaits Them? in the New York Times.

Our research fellows Sonja Ganseforth and Isaac Gagné presented their latest research on different aspects of rural Japan at the ‘Asia’s New Ruralities’ online conference (August 12-13) at the University of Vienna. Sonja’s paper (“Remaking rurality in Japanese fishing villages”) on global dynamics and structural change in rural Japanese fishing villages emphasized the need to pay close attention to the maritime side of fishing communities. Isaac’s paper “Local Economies of Care: The Impact of Demographic Changes on Social Welfare in Rural Japan” argued that it is in the rural areas, which are often seen as the most backward, most vulnerable, and least adaptive, where some of the most innovative transformations in welfare have been taking place. Among others they were joined by former DIJ research fellow Hanno Jentzsch who gave a presentation on “Wine Tourism and Rural Revitalization in Yamanashi”, based on fieldwork he conducted during his time at the DIJ. The full conference programme and abstracts are available here.

The value of tender offers, i.e. public takeover bids to purchase a major portion or all of a companies outstanding stock, have risen to a record in Japan this year. According to some experts the surge has been caused by the COVID-19 crisis because companies are now rushing to consolidate amid the business slowdown. On NHK World TV, DIJ director Franz Waldenberger explains what the increase in tender offers means for the Japanese economy and how the surge is related to the digital transformation. The interview was broadcast on NHK World’s Newsroom Tokyo programme on July 14, 2020 and can be viewed for one month on NHK World’s website.

“Japan and Tokyo are trying to reinvent themselves with the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a place of diversity, inclusion, cosmopolitanism, “coolness”, and hospitality. They will also try to present the nuclear disaster of Fukushima as “overcome”. All in all, Tokyo 2020 serves as a prism in which the hopes of a wide range of stakeholders are paired with the commercial interests of the IOC and the sponsors.”

In the current issue of jdzb echo, the newsletter of the Japanese-German Center Berlin, Barbara Holthus is interviewed on the Tokyo Olympics and the book project Japan through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics, of which she is a co-editor. Please note: the JDZB event scheduled for April 2 has been postponed. 

Following recommendations by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare regarding measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the DIJ has decided to close its institute temporarily (incl. library) and to cancel all public events until further notice. We ask for your kind understanding.

Harald Kümmerle, senior research fellow at the DIJ since January of this year, has been selected as the recipient of the Johannes Zilkens Dissertation Prize 2020. Every year, the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) awards this prize for an outstanding dissertation from the humanities and social sciences. It is endowed with 5,000 euros.

Kümmerle has defended his dissertation on the “Institutionalization of mathematics as a science in Meiji- and Taishō-era Japan” at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in January 2019. According to the interdisciplinary jury, it “impressively bridges mathematics, Japanese Studies, and social sciences”. The work gives “important impulses for the advancement of Japanese Studies, and extending beyond this, for the understanding of the development of sites of science and the organization of knowledge transfer”.

https://www.studienstiftung.de/aktuelles/artikel/studienstiftung-vergibt-promotionspreise-2020-arbeiten-aus-der-chemie-und-japanologie-ausgezeichnet/

Fujisawa, October 8, 2019 — IBER-Kotosaka of Keio University announced today that it will be collaborating with the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) to conduct a survey on the business and management environment of technology intensive startups in Japan.

This research project is a collaboration between not just Keio University and DIJ, but along with researchers from Korea University, Hoseo University, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, and Chongqing University