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Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien

German Institute for Japanese Studies

Research focused on modern Japan, in global and regional perspectives. Located in one of the important economic and political hubs of East Asia, Tokyo.

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Events and Activities

Event Series
Events
February 21, 2024

Hybrid Study Group on Feminist Foreign Policy in Japan

© Women7/Yuichi Mori

In recent years, feminist foreign policy (FFP) has become a buzzword in foreign policy. Since 2015, the Japanese government has been trying to push for more gender equality in its foreign policy and adopted a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. In 2023, the Kishida cabinet appointed the second woman in Japan’s history as foreign minister and Japan’s latest National Action Plan includes even more gender-sensitive norms. At the same time, Japan is under intense scrutiny for consistently ranking last among G7 countries on gender equality and women’s empowerment. This clashes sharply with Japan’s international image as an ethically “good state”. Against this background, this lecture examines how Japan attempts to catch up with the international trend of FFP and the promotion of pro-gender norms in its foreign policy. Details and registration here

Speaker:
Annika Clasen, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf/DIJ Tokyo
Events
March 14, 2024

DIJ researchers at conference on Digital Humanities and Digital History

DIJ researchers Harald Kümmerle and Nicole M. Mueller will participate in the international conference Exploring Epistemic Virtues and Vices: Data, Infrastructures, and Episteme between Collaboration and Exploitation in Luxembourg from March 14 to 16. Harald will deliver the keynote speech on “Epistemological challenges of doing research in/on Japan in the age of Digital Humanities”. Nicole will give her paper discussing “Epistemic Potentials and Pitfalls of Scalability” in the panel on Epistemic Virtues and Vices of Digital Research Practices. The conference is organized by the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) in collaboration with the German Historical Institute Washington, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and the DIJ. Details here

Events
March 14, 2024

Workshop explores relationship in human-machine interaction

When humans and machines interact, do they form (real) relationships? At the workshop Relationship in Human-Machine Interaction, six keynote speakers will share insights on the relationship-building aspects of humans and robots, avatars, or devices. Their talks will cover social psychology, media studies, computer science, and engineering viewpoints, including a presentation by DIJ researcher Celia Spoden on avatar robots as alter ego for hospitalized students. The talks and discussions are followed by the interactive workshop “Detour: Brand characters, tonalities, and emotions”. The event highlights the potential of technology to support communication, ease loneliness and decrease isolation, and enable new ways to organize work and life. All participants are invited to join the discussions and share their perspectives. The workshop is organised by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Centre for Research and Innovation Tokyo (DWIH Tokyo). It is co-supported by the DIJ. Details and registration here

Events
February 13, 2024

Barbara Holthus panelist at pet industry conference

As part of her research on the sociology of pets in contemporary Japan, DIJ deputy director Barbara Holthus will participate in a panel discussion on the challenges resulting from the cohabitation of humans and pets in Japan’s super-aged society. The panel is part of an event organised by the Japan Animalpic Committee, an association that promotes the well-being of and interactions between humans and animals. Other panelists include former Minister of State Katayama Satsuki, pet activists Katsumata Kazuyoshi (Japan Animalpic Committee), Ito Hiroshi (Medical Ark School), Hosoda Nobuyuki  (Japan Animalpic Committee), and dog trainer Ito Tetsuro. The event takes place on February 13 in Tokyo’s Office Building of the House of Representatives. Details and registration here (in Japanese)

Event Series
Events
February 1, 2024

Online Study Group on Japanese Female Doctors in the Meiji Era

This online presentation offers a novel perspective on the historical study of education in Japan by focusing on Japanese female medical students in Germany. It will examine the educational experience of two pioneer females, Dr. Urata Tada (1873-1936) and Dr. Fukui Shigeko (1874-1961) who received their MD degrees from Marburg University. Upon returning to Japan, Urata became dean of Dōjin Hospital in Tianjin, China, and Fukui worked as an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Osaka Ogata Hospital. Urata and Fukui achieved a breakthrough in the status of female doctors in the Japanese medical profession. This presentation will argue for their roles in facilitating the dissemination of knowledge during Japan’s modernization in medical areas. Importantly, it offers insights into the reform of Japanese female higher education in modern Japan. Details and registration here

Speaker:
Wen-Wei Lan, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU Munich)
Event Series
Events
January 31, 2024

Hybrid Study Group on Traffic Accident Disputes in Japan

Compared to other industrialized nations, the litigation rate for traffic accident disputes in Japan is remarkably low, leading to the widespread belief that the Japanese tend to avoid taking legal action. This has sparked a debate about the ‘legal consciousness’ in Japanese society. Julien Schickling will present research findings from expert interviews conducted with judges, lawyers, insurance companies, and dispute resolution institutions to shed light on the system for resolving traffic accident disputes in Japan. In addition, he will analyze the rise in litigation rates for traffic accident disputes in Japan observed since the early 2000s, with the aim of providing comprehensive reasons for this shift. Details and registration here

Speaker:
Julien Schickling, Goethe University Frankfurt/DIJ Tokyo
Event Series
Events
December 11, 2023

Workshop on communicative spaces in rural Japan and Germany

Example for a communicative space in an abandoned elementary school in rural Japan
© Christina & Sebastian Polak-Rottmann

Rural areas in Japan have been facing challenges due to ongoing demographic decline and high rates of aging — but they are often also home to vibrant places offering space for deliberation, communication, networking, and political activities. While some of these spaces can be small in size, focusing on specific local problems, others may have goals reaching far beyond the local sphere. The DIJ workshop Conceptualizing communicative spaces in rural areas in Japan and Germany brings together scholars who have been analysing and conceptualising such spaces in their research in Japan and Germany. The speakers will present their research, followed by a discussion to conceptualize these dynamic spaces and to reflect on the differences between Japan and Germany. The aim of the workshop is to exchange ideas on how these places might help to deal with current challenges in rural areas and to establish a network of scholars and practitioners working on the topic. Details and registration here

Event Series
Events
December 7, 2023

Hybrid DIJ Forum on Women in Japanese Politics

Japanese politics has a woman problem. Not only are women relatively absent from legislative assemblies; when they run for elections, and even after they’ve won, they are often faced with sexual harassment. These issues seem particularly acute in local level assemblies, and even more so in rural areas. In Japan, 15.6% of local assembly seats are occupied by women, and only 2 of the 47 governors are women. This is in spite of the enactment in 2018 of a gender parity law, the Act on Promotion of Gender Equality in the Political Field. The speakers in this DIJ Forum will explore the causes of women’s under-representation in local politics and highlight the sexism experienced by women who campaign for and get elected to office. By considering institutional and cultural barriers, they will present a big-picture analysis of the problem of male-dominated politics in Japan. Details and registration here

Speakers:
Emma Dalton, La Trobe University
Naoko Oki, Sugiyama Jogakuen University

Upcoming Events

04/04/2024
  • Conference
    13:00 ~ 16:00

    How to deal with China - A Dialogue between European and Japanese experts on China

09/04/2024
  • DIJ Forum
    18:30 ~ 20:00

    Moving to rural Japan – Film Screening and Discussion

12/04/2024
  • DIJ Business & Economics Study Group
    18:30 ~ 20:00

    The Political Economy of Green Industrial Policies in East Asian Neo-Developmental States

18/04/2024
  • Joint Social Science Study Group and Business & Economics Study Group
    18:30 ~ 20:00

    Who Drives the Green Shift? Environmental Attitudes in Japan from 1993 to 2020

25/04/2024
  • DIJ History & Humanities Study Group
    18:30 ~ 20:00

    Captured in Reflection – Japanese photography in Manchuria

15/05/2024
  • DIJ Study Group
    18:30 ~ 20:00

    Inhabiting the Interstice: the Regulation of Post-Bubble Housing Insecurity in Tokyo

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    Contemporary Japan
    current issue Vol. 36, No.1
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    DIJ Tokyo
    Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F
    7-1 Kioicho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
    102-0094 Japan
    Where to find us

    +81 (0)3 3222-5077
    +81 (0)3 3222-5420
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    DIJ-ARI Asian Infrastructures Research Partnership