Events and Activities
DIJ Roundtable on recruitment and training strategies
Japan is a highly attractive, but difficult market for multinational companies. Their presence is by far the lowest among the OECD when measured by the stock of foreign direct investment relative to GDP. One of the biggest hurdles is the recruitment of qualified personnel. What strategies do foreign companies in Japan pursue to address the human resource challenge? To what extent do their strategies incorporate practices applied in their home market? This DIJ Roundtable presents findings from interviews with 25 experts from the field of human resource management in ten German companies in Japan. The presentation by Matthias Pilz will be followed by a panel discussion with Shigeki Egami and Carolina Kawakubo, moderated by Franz Waldenberger, a Q&A session, and a networking reception. Details and registration here
Deutschsprachiges Kaffeekränzchen „Philosophie-Jause“
Die Jause geht weiter! In Frankreich ist das café philosophique eine Veranstaltung zum Philosophieren, an der jede Person teilnehmen kann. Auch in Japan gibt es bereits ähnliche Programme auf dem Land. The University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP) und das Deutsche Institut für Japanstudien (DIJ) organisieren gemeinsam ein philosophisches Café auch in Tokyo, allerdings mit einer kleinen Besonderheit: Wir möchten deutschsprachigen Personen die Möglichkeit des Austauschs bieten und daher das Café auf Deutsch abhalten. Das Organisationsteam (Yukiko Kuwayama, UTCP und Sebastian Polak-Rottmann, DIJ) freut sich, Sie dieses Mal auf den Campus Komaba der Universität Tokyo einzuladen, um gemeinsam in entspannter Atmosphäre über ein Thema zu diskutieren. Fachliche Vorkenntnisse benötigen Sie nicht. Bei Interesse melden Sie sich bitte bis zum 27. Februar an. Weitere Informationen hier
DIJ co-hosts symposium on animal welfare at Nichibunken
Together with the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto (Nichibunken), the DIJ will co-host the international symposium The Current State of Animal Welfare Movement Research (main language: Japanese) on February 14-15. It aims to explore the animal welfare movement in Japan from multiple perspectives, including ethics, history, and society. The term “animal welfare movement” here refers to all social activities aimed at human-animal coexistence, improving animal treatment, protection, and legal recognition. Four researchers from Japan and abroad, including DIJ sociologist Barbara Holthus (“The Sociology of Humans and Pets: Happiness, Loneliness, Multispecies Families”, in Japanese), will give presentations to examine human efforts concerning animal treatment under the umbrella term “animal welfare movement,” re-examining the nature of human-animal relationships. Participation in the symposium is only possible online.
Hybrid Study Group on Haga Yaichi and the Imagination of National Identity
In 1907, amidst the national triumph following the Russo-Japanese War and the domestic unrest symbolised by the Hibiya riots, Haga Yaichi published Kokuminsei jūron [Ten Essays on National Character]. As an heir to the kokugaku tradition, a “father” of Japan’s literary canon, and a transmitter of German philology, Haga identified ten characteristics of the Japanese people in this widely circulated volume. While scholars in the 1970s embraced it as a precursor to nihonjinron, recent scholarship has reinterpreted it primarily as a tool of governmental suppression. This presentation challenges both interpretations through a close reading and contextual analysis. It aims to expand our understanding beyond familiar themes of imperial loyalism or agrarian nostalgia, reframing kokuminsei as a dynamic site of identity production. Details and registration here
DIJ researchers at ‘Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific Imaginaries’ conference
The present geopolitical landscapes are shifting, with global powers realigning their strategies. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), a concept proposed by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, aims at promoting peace and prosperity in the region, particularly in the fields of fundamental values, economic prosperity, and peace and stability. Southeast Asia has been one center of this strategy with a particular focus on maritime security and safety. The conference Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific Imaginaries takes an interdisciplinary approach to study FOIP strategies. It features two DIJ panels, including research papers by David M. Malitz (“Japanese-Indian Relations and the Imaginations of an Indo-Pacific Region”) and Dolf-Alexander Neuhaus (“Developmental Imaginaries: Japan’s Educational Aid Programs and the Shaping of the Indo-Pacific Order”). The conference is co-hosted by University of the Philippines – Visayas, the Japan Foundation Manila, and the DIJ and takes place 29–30 January 2026 at the National Museum of the Philippines, Iloilo.
David Malitz joins roundtable discussion with Thai Foreign Minister
On December 19th, DIJ Principal Researcher David M. Malitz was invited to join a roundtable discussion with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Japanese academics at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo. As the head of the research cluster Japan in Transregional Perspective, David conducts research on Japan-Southeast Asia relations. The discussion covered regional developments, Japan-Thailand relations, and potential future cooperation between the two countries. Thailand is a key economic partner of Japan, hosting approximately 6,000 Japanese companies and over 70,000 Japanese nationals. In November 2022, bilateral relations were elevated to the status of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The year 2027 will mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Thailand.
DIJ Newsletter Winter 2025/26
Innovation, games, machizukuri, climate, and ‘the mouse’: the winter 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 book chapter and article by Harald Kümmerle on Mathematical Knowledge and Digital Sovereignty
Two new studies by DIJ researcher Harald Kümmerle were recently published. His book chapter “Bridging Göttingen and Tokyo: Oral Culture and the Dynamics of Mathematical Knowledge”, published in Felix Klein’s Foreign Students. Opening Up the Way for Transnational Mathematics (Birkhäuser Cham 2025), examines the reception of Felix Klein’s school of mathematical productivity in Japan, particularly at Tokyo Imperial University, whose central position within Japan contrasts with Göttingen University’s peripheral position within Germany. The study focuses on the work of two Japanese mathematicians, Tsuruichi Hayashi and Takuji Yoshiye. Harald’s article “Datenströme und Raumordnung. Japans Regulierungsmodell im globalen Kontext” (Data flows and spatial order. Japan’s regulatory model in a global context), published in German in the Zeitschrift für Digitalisierung und Recht (4/2025), studies how data flows are embedded in geographical and economic orders and constitute spaces themselves. Focusing on developments in Japan, the article shows that data flows are not only technical or regulatory objects, but space-constituting phenomena in which Japan’s consensus-oriented regulatory model appears as a relevant factor in global order-making.
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Contemporary Japan
current issue Vol. 38, No. 1
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