Events and Activities
International Workshop on the Aging Challenge in Europe and Japan
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
Online Study Group on Mediation of Deaf and Hearing Sign Language Interpreters in Japan
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
DIJ researchers co-organise symposium ‘Loneliness as a Social Phenomenon’
DIJ researchers Carolin Fleischer-Heininger and Celia Spoden will present their research related to loneliness and social isolation at the international symposium Loneliness as a Social Phenomenon: Cross-Cultural Approaches to a Human Condition. The symposium examines loneliness as a social phenomenon that has increased as a result of social transformations and structural changes. It brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners to explore loneliness and social isolation. To investigate both conditions, it takes a holistic and cross-cultural approach, and explores themes that connect theoretical understandings with practical application. Participants will share their expertise on the ambivalent role of digital technologies; civil-society measures to foster social inclusion; literary representations of loneliness; and the ethical implications of social fragmentation. In addition to academic presentations, the symposium includes an ethnographic film screening, a workshop, and a field trip to a local project addressing loneliness. The symposium takes place in Hanover from June 11 to 13 and is part of the theme week “(Tackling) Loneliness”, sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation. Details here
DIJ Newsletter Spring 2025
The spring issue of our DIJ Newsletter features updates on our research, publications, and events as well as news from the Institute, our team, and our outreach activities. We hope you will enjoy exploring this new edition of the DIJ Newsletter. If you haven’t done so yet, you can subscribe to receive our Newsletters directly to your inbox. The full issues and subscription form are available here.
New issue of Contemporary Japan published
The new issue of Contemporary Japan includes research articles on new forms of labor market dualization in the platform economy (Deborah Giustini), an analysis of Murakami Ryu’s Popular Hits of the Showa Era from the perspective of precarity (Barbara Greene), a discussion of media discourses of the peaceful use of nuclear power in the early postwar period (Jincao Wang), an analysis of Japanese identity construction through railway technology (Taku Tamaki), narratives of multiculturalism and community-building among Nikkei in the city of Toyota (Scott Ma and Mariana Alonso Ishihara), and an assessment of political rhetoric, public contest outcomes, and populism in 21st century Japanese politics (Petter Lindgren). The book review section covers publications on Jesuit enterprise in Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on the impact of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on psychological science, on East-West encounters in Japanese art, and on the history of the Japanese business community in Düsseldorf.
Blindness as disability: New book chapter by Carolin Fleischer-Heininger analyses novel by Gunji Nanae
DIJ researcher Carolin Fleischer-Heininger‘s latest publication “Perspektiven auf Blindheit in Beruna no shippo (1996) von Gunji Nanae” studies the discussion of blindness as a disability in Gunji’s autobiographical novel Beruna no shippo. A close reading, taking into account theories from Disability Studies, shows that the novel is aimed at a general public that promotes guide dogs. At the same time, the novel portrays blindness – in particular with regard to mobility and motherhood – as a difference and as a deficit. Carolin’s analysis is preceded by an introductory section on the author, the novel, and the context in which it was written and received. It also includes comments on blindness as a disability in Japan and in Japanese literature as well as a review of related research. Her chapter was published in Formationsprozesse japanischer Literatur: Selbstreflexionen, Metafiktion und die Relevanz des Mediums (EB-Verlag 2025), edited by Lisette Gebhardt and Christian Chappelow.
Franz Waldenberger and Barbara Holthus in German radio feature on poverty in Japan
Weak Yen and high inflation: as a consequence, poverty is spreading in Japan, a country previously known as ‘middle class society’. For the radio feature “Armut in Japan: Wenig Akzeptanz, wenig Hilfe”, Deutschlandfunk Kultur interviewed DIJ director Franz Waldenberger and deputy director Barbara Holthus about the causes of poverty in Japan and countermeasures taken by society and politics. Elderly people, children, and single mothers are particularly vulnerable to slip below the poverty line. According to Holthus, one reason is the lack of social security for people working part-time. However, poverty is not a major issue in Japanese politics, Waldenberger explains. “Because there is little pressure from the population on the government, poverty is not much discussed in the public and not a priority for Prime Minister Ishiba’s government”. The radio feature (in German), part of Deutschlandfunk’s Weltzeit series, is available here.
DIJ researchers at MWS Conference ‘Thinking between languages’
DIJ researcher Nicole M. Mueller and DIJ director Franz Waldenberger will participate in this year’s foundation conference on the theme ‘Thinking between languages’ organised by the German Center for Art History Paris (DFK Paris) and the Max Weber Stiftung (MWS). Nicole Mueller will give a presentation on “Japan’s Translation Culture between Innovation and Subordination. Retraced through 15 Retranslations of Thomas Mann’s Tonio Kröger“, based on her research project Thomas Mann’s reception in Japan between cultural heteronomy and emancipatory impulses. Franz Waldenberger will be a panelist in the final discussion on ‘Simultaneous Interpretations: The Max Weber Institutes as Translators of Languages, (Academic) Cultures, Methodologies, and More’. The conference takes place at the Goethe-Institute Paris on May 13 and 14. Details here
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Contemporary Japan
current issue Vol. 37, No. 1
Contemporary Japan is open year-round for rolling submissions, with accepted publications published immediately online. Please see the instructions for submission here.
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