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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

Publications
November 3, 2023

Torsten Weber bespricht Nationalmuseum für Japanische Geschichte

© transcript

DIJ Historiker Torsten Weber hat für die neueste Ausgabe der Geschichtszeitschrift Werkstatt Geschichte (Vol. 31, No. 88) die Dauerausstellung des Nationalmuseums für Japanische Geschichte in Sakura (Chiba) besprochen. In “Vielfalt als Nationalgeschichte. Das japanische Rekihaku Museum” erklärt er die Entstehungsgeschichte des Museums, sein pädagogisches Konzept und die wichtigsten Exponate der sechs Abteilungen. Das Museum, das 2023 sein 40-jähriges Bestehen feiert, zeichne sich vor allem durch seinen Fokus auf Alltagsgeschichte, innerjapanische Diversität des historischen Erlebens sowie transnationale Verbindungen japanischer Geschichte in Ostasien aus. Außerdem reflektiere die Dauerausstellung zur Geschichte Japans von der Prähistorie bis zur Gegenwart den aktuellen Forschungsstand und adressiere auch offene Forschungsfragen. Darüber hinaus biete sie durch Film, Musik, zahlreiche “Science Lab”-Stationen und eine Tempelschule zum Mitlernen Einblicke in die Arbeit der Kuratoren sowie abwechslungsreiche pädagogische Elemente. Der Ausstellung gelinge es, stereotype Simplifizierungen zu vermeiden und präsentiere “die Geschichte Japans fast komplett ohne einen expliziten Fokus auf die Nation”.

Events
March 11, 2024

Harald Kümmerle speaker at Oxford’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific conference

© Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies

DIJ researcher Harald Kümmerle will present his paper on “‘Data Free Flow with Trust’ as a pillar of economic security in the digital realm” at the conference The Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Japan’s Strategic Vision Goes Global at Oxford University on March 11. Harald’s paper will highlight Japan’s initiative Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) as an important aspect of the development of economic security in the digital realm. He will discuss DFFT as a promising regulatory framework for the cross-border flow of non-personal data. One focus of his talk will lie on the data regulation and economic security discourse involving a variety of actors and positions that followed a scandal concerning the access of private data of Japanese social media users by a Chinese subcontractor firm. The two-day conference exploring the Indo-Pacific’s role in global politics is hosted by Oxford University’s Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies. Details here

Event Series
Events
February 29, 2024

Hybrid Study Group on AI and Jesuit Written Artefacts

© Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel

Between 1595 and 1610, the first recorded contacts between Europeans and Japanese took place. In the Jesuit Colleges in Kyushu, lectures were delivered on Aristotelian philosophy, theology, and Ptolemaic cosmology. In Germany, almost 450 years later in 2019, this tripartite work on science and religion is discovered in the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel: the first complete Japanese translation of the so-called Compendia compiled in Japan. Bridging the gap between computer science and historical linguistics, this talk will present a novel approach of understanding this written artefact by applying the possibilities artificial intelligence offers. It will address the challenges of finetuning AI-powered tools to historical Japanese, training AI models for text recognition in multiple text directions and writing systems, coding scripts tailored to historical romanization, and conducting quantitative analysis of a comparative text corpus of Jesuit codices. Details and registration here

Speaker:
Sophie Takahashi, Ruhr University Bochum/DIJ Tokyo
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
Publications
October 31, 2023

Co-authored book chapter by Nora Kottmann examines Japanese singles and solo-life

© Routledge

The average age of first marriage in Japan has steadily increased over the last century, as has the likelihood of never marrying, for both women and men. In conjunction with the decline in average length of marriage, these trends indicate that Japanese people are spending more of their lives singles, in the sense of being legally unmarried. Against this background, the chapter “Japanese Singles and Solo-Life”, co-authored by Laura Dales and former DIJ researcher Nora Kottmann discusses the implications of singlehood and the ways that being single and solo activities (sorokatsu) have been framed and re-framed in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explore the possibilities for belonging, as well as marginality, in singlehood at a time when intimate and relational practices are shaped by the proscription of the ‘3 Cs’ (closed spaces, crowds, and close-contact situations). The chapter was published in Singular Selves: An Introduction to Singles Studies (Routledge India 2024), edited by Ketaki Chowkhani and Craig Wynne.

Publications
October 2, 2023

New book by Harald Kümmerle on Mathematics as science in Japan

The new open access book Die Institutionalisierung der Mathematik als Wissenschaft im Japan der Meiji- und Taishō-Zeit (1868–1926) by DIJ researcher Harald Kümmerle examines the rapid institutionalization of mathematics as a scientific discipline in Meiji and Taishō-era Japan. This development was based on a rich pre-existing tradition of knowledge and is analysed with a focus on the foundations, the course, and the characteristics of knowledge circulation. To this end, Harald’s study examines the organisational formation, standardisation, professionalisation, and disciplinary formation of mathematics in Japan. The book is published in the Acta historica Leopoldina series (vol. 77) by Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart. It is based on Harald’s PhD dissertation which was awarded the Johannes Zilkens Dissertation Award in 2020.

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

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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    Call for Submissions

    Contemporary Japan
    current issue Vol. 36, No.1
    Contemporary Japan is open year-round for rolling submissions, with accepted publications published immediately online. Please see the instructions for submission here.

    DIJ Monograph Series

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    7-1 Kioicho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
    102-0094 Japan
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    DIJ-ARI Asian Infrastructures Research Partnership