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Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies On Site

DIJ Newsletter 84

Summer 2026
Welcome to the Summer 2026 issue!
Summer is back, and with it the heat. Whilst Europe seems to have overcome the record high temperatures in June, Japan is still set to face the worst of the summer heat in the coming weeks. At least linguistically, Japan is well prepared: a new official term has recently been introduced for hot days exceeding 40 degrees – kokushobi, or ‘brutally hot day'. It is meant to raise awareness about how dangerous summer heat can be. Last summer, more than 100,000 people in Japan were sent to hospitals due to heatstroke and more than 1,500 people died. In June, the government announced the goal of reducing the number of annual heatstroke deaths to below 1,000. You can read more about kokushobi in our ‘Catchword’ section below.
This edition of the DIJ Newsletter includes updates on our research as well as new publications, calls for applications, Alumni news, outreach and social media activities, and farewells and welcomes to former and new colleagues. If you are interested in joining the DIJ: we have several openings for research positions and visiting fellowships.
If you haven't yet done so, you can subscribe to receive the DIJ Newsletter directly to your inbox here. We also welcome your feedback and email address updates via email.
From all of us at the DIJ, we wish you a cool summer season with few 'brutally hot days'!
Torsten Weber

Research News ・Neues aus der Forschung ・研究活動ニュース

Image © EAJS
DIJ Researchers at EAJS Conference
Five DIJ researchers and more than 20 DIJ alumni will present their latest research at this year's tri-annual conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) in Poland. Paper presenters include Isaac Gagné (Religion and Religious Thought section), Nicole M. Mueller (Anthropology and Sociology section), Dolf-Alexander Neuhaus (History section), Sebastian Polak-Rottmann (Politics and International Relations section), and Torsten Weber (Intellectual History and Philosophy section). The conference takes place at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań from August 27-30, 2026.

New Publication ・Gerade erschienen ・ 新刊

Cover © Karen Olze
Communicative Places for Rural Spaces
The German-language open access publication Kommunikative Orte für ländliche Räume is now also available in Japanese. Exploring “communicative places” in rural Germany and Japan, it features four short research articles and seven essays from researchers, local actors, and visitors, offering both conceptual insights and practical case studies. The term “communicative places” refers to spatial aspects of revitalization in rural communities — also known as social places or places of resilience. The publication is co-edited by Claudia Neu, Norio Okada, Yoshiyuki Yama, and DIJ's Sebastian Polak-Rottmann.
Recent journal articles, book chapters, and outreach articles by DIJ researchers:

DIJ News ・Aus dem DIJ・研究所ニュース

Image © DIJ
Join the DIJ Research Team
The DIJ is seeking several research fellows to join our team from 1 February 2027 onward. Requirements: an outstanding PhD; very good knowledge of the Japanese language; research experience in Japan; advanced German language skills. The research project planned at the DIJ should align with the future research programme ‘Cultures of Transformation – Japan in Comparison’ which explores the dynamics of fundamental processes of change that have a lasting impact on politics, the economy, society, and culture. The posts are for a fixed term of three years; an extension is possible. Application deadline: 9 August 2026.

Image © MWS
Travel Grants for Multi-Country Research
Are you an early-career researcher looking for funding for research stays abroad of up to three months? If your countries of interest match, why not consider applying for a Gerald D. Feldman Travel Grant for researchers in the humanities and social sciences? The Max Weber Foundation (MWS) offers travel grants to conduct your own research project in two or three countries where MWS institutes and branches are located or at the Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History in Israel. We particularly encourage applicants whose research includes Japan. Application deadline: 4 October 2026.

Photo © DIJ
Saying Goodbye to Two Colleagues
In April we bid farewell to Principal Researcher Celia Spoden (Social Science, Bioethics) and to Mayumi Uesugi (Secretariat). Celia joined the DIJ in 2021 in the research field "Digital Transformation". In her projects, she analysed the opportunities and risks posed by avatar robots to society in general and to vulnerable populations such as disabled individuals in particular. In May, she started her new position as Project Researcher at the University of Tokyo's Tokyo College. Mayumi Uesugi left the DIJ in April to take on a new position in the field of German-Japanese business cooperation. She had only joined our team in 2024, but in that short time she earned a high level of respect both internally and amongst guests thanks to her friendly and efficient manner. We wish them both all the best for their new positions!

Photo © DIJ
Welcoming New Team Members
In April, Keiko Otoshi joined the DIJ as secretary. Having spent several years in Germany and South Korea, she brings a strong international background to our team. Before joining the DIJ, Keiko Otoshi worked for the Asian Development Bank Institute and Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau. In May, we welcomed Masato Sekine-Schneider in our administration team. After obtaining a BA in Law in Japan, he completed an MA in Law in Germany as well as a professional training as an administrative assistant at Mainz University. Before joining the DIJ, he worked for a municipal administration in Germany.

Photo © DIJ
Introducing Our New PhD Students
From April to July, four new PhD students have joined the DIJ. Francesca Lerz (Trier) researches the influence of esoteric and Zen Buddhist traditions in Noh. Pursuing a research project on bookshops and the self-publishing world, Simone Decker (LMU Munich) conducts field research on the emergence, functionality, and future of independent bookshops in Japan. Jaein Seol (Leipzig) investigates how right-wing movements in Japan and South Korea produce, circulate, and legitimize discourses of “historical truth”. Violetta Janzen (Dusseldorf) analyses interactions between the Japanese animation industry, popular culture, and reception in Japan and abroad.

Photo © DIJ
Two New Interns Support the DIJ
From May to July, Abir Khedr (MA student, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt) assisted Franz Waldenberger with literature reviews, the analysis of scholarly texts, and the preparation of presentations for a project on the connection between knowledge and action. Since July, Mari Akazawa (MA student, TU Darmstadt) supports Torsten Weber in the field of science communication (social media, editing, content creation) as well as his research in the field of history politics with data analysis. If you are interested in joining our team as an intern, please check our guidelines (in German). We look forward to your application!

Past Event ・Vergangene Veranstaltung・最近のイベント

Photo © DIJ
DIJ Forum on Japanese Labor Imaginaries
Beyond the stereotypes of the exhausted salaryman and idealized concepts of optimization (kaizen) or life purpose (ikigai), our speakers unpacked the complexities of Japanese labor history and corporate culture. Chelsea S. Schieder presented her research on the Mitsui Miike coal mine lawsuit following a large industrial accident. Shifting the focus to the everyday intersection of corporate life and culture, Hiromichi Hasebe explored how the Japanese Hitachi corporation actively shaped organizational identity through its in-house magazine. Both presentations provided a nuanced re-evaluation of how Japan’s labor landscape, from postwar factories to today’s AI-powered workplaces, negotiates the meaning of work. A video of this DIJ Forum is available on our YouTube channel.

Library News ・ Aus der Bibliothek ・ 図書室ニュース

Photo © DIJ
Pop-up Hokkaido Workshop Book Display
In connection with the "Russia and Japan: Imperial Encounters in the North Pacific" workshop held at the DIJ in May, our librarian Megumi Ono put together a display of books related to the workshop's theme. Inspired by the workshop's "Indigenous cultures" panel, the pop-up selection featured Ainu-related materials in German, Japanese, and English from the DIJ Library's collection. Students from Ruhr University Bochum enjoyed browsing books, magazines, and museum catalogs about the Ainu during breaks and at lunchtime.

DIJ in the Media ・ In den Medien・メディアで知るDIJ

Screenshot © Focus
DIJ Expertise in International Media
In a report published by the Associated Press, 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 sports fans cleaning up after matches. Barbara was also interviewed by the German radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur for a feature on Japanese women’s fights against stereotypes. In the French magazine La Croix and in Aljazeera online, Barbara was quoted on the humanization of pets in Japan. Franz Waldenberger was quoted in the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau on the future of Japan's pension system as well as in a Focus Money article on the AI strategy of the Japanese company SoftBank.

Catchword・Aktueller Begriff ・流行語

Screenshot © tenki.jp
New Name for 'Brutally Hot Days'
The Japanese summer is notorious for reaching unbearable levels of heat. In 2025, temperatures at 30 different monitoring stations across the country reached highs of at least 40 degrees Celsius on a total of nine days. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, there were over 2,100 heatstroke-related deaths in 2024. To emphasize the severity of the situation, days on which the 40-degree mark is exceeded are now designated as kokushobi, which can be translated as ‘brutally hot days’.

Social Media ・Soziale Medien・ソーシャルメディア

Screenshot © DIJ

Join 1,820 DIJ Followers on LinkedIn
In October, the next issue of the DIJ Newsletter will provide you with fresh updates from our institute. If you don't want to wait until autumn, we invite you to join our currently 1,820 followers of the DIJ's social media account on LinkedIn. This way you will be the first to receive announcements of upcoming events, new publications, other activities of our institute and its researchers, job and fellowship advertisements. Follow us here!

Alumni News ・Unsere Ehemaligen ・DIJ 同窓会

Book Covers © Reprodukt / Sanwa Shoseki
New Books: Manga and Pan-Asianism
Verena Maser, doctoral researcher at the DIJ in 2011-12, has translated Akino Kondoh's autobiographical manga Noodling in New York into German. Streifzüge durch New York 1 is available from publisher Reprodukt. The Japanese version of a documentary history of Pan-Asianism has been published by Sanwa Shoseki as Shiryō de yomitoku Ajiashugi. The book is co-edited by former DIJ research fellow Sven Saaler (2000-05) and Christopher W.A. Szpilman. It contains six chapters by Sven Saaler, two chapters by former DIJ doctoral researcher Urs Matthias Zachmann (2002-03), and three chapters by current DIJ research fellow Torsten Weber.
If you are part of the growing group of DIJ alumni and have recently published a book, received your PhD, or have any other news to share with us, please contact us via email.
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© DIJ Tokyo, 2026
Banner photo 'Palm trees in Miyazaki' © Torsten Weber

Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien
Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F
7-1 Kioicho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0094
Japan

Director: Franz Waldenberger
Editor: Torsten Weber
Assistant Editor: Mari Akazawa

+81 (0)3 3222-5077
dijtokyo@dijtokyo.org

The DIJ Tokyo is an institute of the Max Weber Foundation.
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