Events and Activities
New issue of Contemporary Japan with ‘Gender, Family and Work’ special section
We have just published a new issue of Contemporary Japan (vol. 35, no. 2), containing a special section on “Gender, Family and Work in the 21st Century: Challenges and Transformations”, guest edited by Glenda S. Roberts. The special section includes articles on the masculinization of deprivation by Kimio Itō & Allison Alexy, on women’s life and career choices in urban Japan by Vincent Mirza, and on gender equality and well-being among urban professionals in Paris and Tokyo by Glenda S. Roberts & Hiroko Costantini. This issue also contains two research articles on the politics of education by Kazuya Fukuoka and on robotic devices and ICT in long-term care by Gabriele Vogt and Anne-Sophie L. König. Rounding out the issue, our book review section covers three English language publications on urban migrants in rural Japan, on education and social justice, and on censorship in Japan. Please see the full issue here
Online DIJ Study Group on Japan’s Economic Security Policy
Germany, which has become accustomed to cheap gas from Russia, easy market access to China and peace and stability in Europe, has experienced a rude awakening. One of the most urgent tasks now is to ensure economic security. However, it is not the USA but Japan with its advanced system of economic security that seems to be the more appropriate role model. After all, Japan’s strong industrial production base, its export orientation and its positioning between economic dependence on China and security dependence on the USA are very similar to Germany’s situation. Against this background, the question arises as to which characteristics make the Japanese system of economic security so attractive from a German perspective? And how does Japan deal with the uncertainties, dilemmas and risks that state intervention in economic decision-making processes inevitably entails? Details and registration here
Hanns Günther Hilpert, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
Hybrid DIJ Study Group on National Identity Discourses in Japan
The Rugby World Cup held in Japan in 2019 was an intriguing example of a large-scale international sporting event that triggered national identity discourses. A multi-ethnic team which represented Japan with outstanding success, Japan’s national rugby team’s journey through the tournament was broadly covered in the media and the team was cheered on by fans across the country. Yet, the myth of mono-ethnicity still resonates with some segments in Japanese society. The resulting tension is brought into focus by intensive media reporting and can ultimately lead to a process of redefining a nation-state’s self-perception. This presentation will discuss the tensions between the assumed mono-ethnicity and the reality of a changing society. How does this discourse of national belonging in Japan take place? What is considered diverse in Japan and where do national and international reporting clash regarding Japanese national identity? Details and registration here
Jane Khanizadeh, LMU Munich/DIJ Tokyo
Isaac Gagné and Celia Spoden to give research presentations at the AAA Conference
DIJ researchers Isaac Gagné and Celia Spoden will attend this year’s annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in Toronto to present their latest research. Both will give presentations in the panel “Beyond ‘Lonely Death’: Communication and Engagement in Japan’s Aging Society” on November 17. Drawing from fieldwork in a hamlet in Nagano and the displaced district of Yuriage in Miyagi, Isaac’s paper (“Social Welfare of and for the Community: Neighborhoods, Networks, and Volunteerism in Aging Japan”) will discuss the roles of community-based social welfare services in aging suburban and rural communities. In her paper (“Cyber-Physical Spaces in Japan: Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities Through Avatar-Work”), Celia will present her fieldwork in an avatar café, where home-bound people remotely control robots and serve the guests. Drawing on interviews with the avatar pilots, she will explore their perception of social participation, work, and disability.
DIJ Newsletter Autumn 2023
The autumn issue of our DIJ Newsletter includes introductions of new DIJ team members and guests, Alumni news, a new Catchword (doryoku gimu), a call for applications for PhD fellowships, information on new publications as well as a selection of our recent and upcoming academic and 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.
Japan-Stipendien für Promovierende
Für das Jahr 2024 vergibt das DIJ wieder attraktive Stipendien zur Förderung von Forschungsaufenthalten in Japan im Rahmen von Promotionsvorhaben. Die Stipendien sind mit zurzeit 2400 Euro/Monat dotiert und werden für die Dauer von drei bis maximal zwölf Monaten vergeben. Gefördert werden Forschungsaufenthalte, deren Beginn in den Zeitraum zwischen 1. Februar und 1. Dezember 2024 fällt. Über die Voraussetzungen sowie das Bewerbungsverfahren informiert unsere Stipendienordnung. Bewerbungsschluss für diese Ausschreibung ist der 20. Oktober 2023.
Open access journal article by David Malitz examines Thai nationalisms
“A Long-Term View of Thai Nationalisms: From Royal to Civic Nationalism?” by David M. Malitz is now available as an open access article (Asien, No. 164/165, July/October 2022). Rejecting a linear evolution of Thai nationalist ideas, it traces the development of very different political imaginations of a Siamese/Thai political community from the early nineteenth century through the student protests of 2020/2021. It does not consider, therefore, these recent demands for reform of the country’s monarchy to represent a radical rupture with established Thai political culture. Rather, the student protests constitute a new iteration of a long-standing trend of contesting official nationalisms in the country. This is evident in the students’ own symbolic embracing of the history of the Siamese Revolution of 1932. For analytical purposes, the article employs a twofold approach: it differentiates between inclusive and exclusive imaginations of the national community on the one hand and between its democratic versus autocratic political organization on the other.
Hybrid Seminar ‘Infrastructure and the Remaking of Asia’
In the 21st century, infrastructure has undergone a seismic shift from West to East. Once concentrated in Europe and North America, global infrastructure production today is focused squarely on Asia. This hybrid seminar will introduce the open access book Infrastructure and the Remaking of Asia (University of Hawai’i Press 2023) which investigates the deeper implications of that pivot to the East. Written by leading international infrastructure experts, it demonstrates how new roads, airports, pipelines, and cables are changing Asian economies, societies, and geopolitics—from the Bosporus to Beijing, and from Indonesia to the Arctic. Ten tightly interwoven case studies powerfully illustrate infrastructure’s leading role in three global paradigm shifts: climate change, digitalization, and China’s emergence as a superpower. This event is part of the DIJ’s research partnership on Asian Infrastructures with the Asia Research Institute (ARI) at the National University of Singapore. Details and registration here
;
Global countryside & performing arts: #OpenAccess Introduction to CJ's Special Section on Art & Regional Revitalization in Japan looks at art festivals, Triennals, tourism, and vacant houses (akiya) in Japan's 'global countryside' @b_geilhorn @japansocsci https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2024.2322262
Wenn der Paketbote nur noch einmal klingelt: DIJ-Direktor @franzDIJTokyo und #DIJAlum @CarolaHommerich erklären, wie der Fachkräftemangel in Japan die Wirtschaft & Gesellschaft verändert @morgenpost @FelixLill @nina_kugler https://www.morgenpost.de/wirtschaft/article242133288/Ueberstunden-verbieten-Ist-Japans-Weg-die-beste-Loesung.html
Using digital #TopicModeling, DIJ's Nicole M. Mueller analysed 15 Japanese translations of Thomas Mann's Tonio Kröger to explain changes, influences, and priorities. Now available #OpenAccess in Japanese
日本の『トーニオ・クレーガー』再翻訳の時代的変遷https://koara.lib.keio.ac.jp/xoonips/modules/xoonips/detail.php?koara_id=AN00189695-20240300-0133
Thanks to everyone who attended last week's #DIJStudyGroup "Give Us Our Blue Skies Back!" & to Anna Schrade for fascinating insights into the anti-pollution movement of ordinary Japanese housewives @HaraldKuemmerle Slides are now available on our website https://dijtokyo.org/event/give-us-our-blue-skies-back-the-extraordinary-anti-pollution-movement-of-ordinary-japanese-housewives-1950-1969/
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
Our monograph series is 
Open Access after a one-year embargo period. Downloads are available on our
→ monographs pages.
Access
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
dijtokyo@dijtokyo.org
DIJ-ARI Asian Infrastructures Research Partnership
