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 alumni. 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.

In his chapter “Korea and the League of Nations: from Versailles to the Manchurian Crisis, 1919–1933” Dolf-Alexander Neuhaus examines the relationship between the Korean independence movement and the League of Nations. The chapter elucidates the complex interactions between non-sovereign entities like Korea under Japanese rule and the international organization, offering insights into how Koreans and anti-Japanese nationalists perceived and engaged with the League of Nations during the interwar period. In 1919, when the League was established, Koreans were denied the right to self-govern. However, individuals and factions within the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea still sought to utilize the League for their ends in the 1920s and early 1930s. By exploring these diplomatic and political dynamics, the chapter presents a nuanced picture of Korea’s struggle for recognition and national self-determination within the broader context of international politics. The chapter is published in The League of Nations Experience: Overlapping Readings  (De Gruyter 2025).

In her book chapter „Thomas Mann bei Mishima Yukio, Kita Morio und Tsuji Kunio: Verehrungspathos und Neuverortung als Vorbedingungen einer produktiven kulturüberschreitenden Rezeption“ (in German), DIJ researcher Nicole M. Mueller sheds new light on the reception of Thomas Mann’s literary works by the Japanese authors Mishima Yukio, Kita Morio, and Tsuji Kunio. The idealization of Mann had been an essential element of Japan’s cultural modernization and westernization in the first decades of the 20th century, making him one of the larger-than-life figureheads of Japan’s prewar academic elite. Mishima and his contemporaries developed novel modes of reception based on a critical analysis of Mann’s work. Nicole’s chapter examines the extent to which Mishima’s, Kita’s, and Tsuji’s reception of Mann was conditioned by historical context and what characteristics make cross-cultural literary reception “productive”. The chapter is published in the edited volume Thomas Mann produktiv rezipiert. Zum Fortleben von Werk und Autor (Brill/Fink 2025).

The new issue of Contemporary Japan (vol. 36, no. 2) features five research articles, the biennial 2023 VSJF award-winning paper, and a book review section. The research articles include an inquiry into the relevance and effectiveness of national apologies by Jane Munro; Ryotaro Takahashi addresses the relationship of income inequality and the size of the government in Japan; Ken Hijino analyzes the politics of depopulation in local elections; Silvia Croydon investigates the politics of inclusiveness in terms of consultation on disability policies; and Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt and Aidana Bolatbekkyzy explore how foodscapes are invoked in critical commentary on the “capitalocene” in post-3.11 Japanese literature. The English translation of the VSJF award-winning paper by David Adebahr offers unprecedented access to the conversations and thought processes behind Japan’s security policy among key political actors in Japan. CJ’s book review section includes recent publications on religion and fundamentalism, the history of Kyoto, public discourse on fertility policies, and the use of robots in eldercare.