The study of Japanese culture, the Japanese economy, and Japanese society by foreign scholars can be traced back as far as the Edo period. However, it was not until the early 21st century that such external perspectives began to attract significant academic attention and public interest inside Japan. Research institutes, faculties, and departments named “International Japanese Studies” or “Global Japanese Studies” have gradually emerged in Japanese higher education and opened up innovative areas of research. As a new field of study with an interdisciplinary and highly international nature, International/Global Japanese Studies is confronted by many challenges and uncertainties. On September 27, the DIJ, together with the Center for Japanese Studies of Fudan University (Shanghai) and the Global Japanese Studies Education and Research Incubator (GJS-ERI) of Osaka University will hold an online workshop to approach International/Global Japanese Studies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and cultural backgrounds. Details and registration here

DIJ researcher Nora Kottmann will present her paper „Space, place and the pandemic: First insights into changing spatial configurations of singles’ intimate practices“ at this week’s Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA) 2021 Conference. It is part of the panel „Singles and Intimate Practices in COVID times: Perspectives from an Original Survey“ which also includes presentations by her cooperation partners Laura Dales and Akiko Yoshida. The panel presents findings from the analyses of the survey data, with an aim to better understand the lives and non-familial relationship worlds of unmarried adults, and the experiences and practices from COVID-19 related changes to lifestyle and social practices. This research is part of Nora’s project COVID-19 and its effects on singles in Japan: Personal relationships and practices of intimacy in the time of ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-discipline’. The panel session takes place on Thursday, September 30th, from 11.30 am JST. Conference programme here

Every three years, Japanese Studies experts from all over the world present their latest research at the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) conference. From 24-28 August, Franz Waldenberger, Susanne Brucksch, Isaac Gagné, Sonja Ganseforth, Barbara Geilhorn, Markus Heckel, Nora Kottmann, Harald Kümmerle, Torsten Weber, and Yufei Zhou will participate in this year’s virtual EAJS conference as presenters, discussants, or chairs in the sections ‚Anthropology and Sociology‘, ‚Economy, Business and Political Economy‘, ‚Language and Linguistics‘, ‚Intellectual History and Philosophy‘, ‚Urban, Regional and Environmental Studies‘, and ‚Performing Arts‘. Programme and details here. In addition, Yufei Zhou will give a presentation on „Transoceanic Contacts in the Making of Sinological Knowledge“ at the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) conference on August 27 and Sonja Ganseforth will present her book publication Rethinking Locality in Japan (Routledge 2021), co-edited with DIJ alumnus Hanno Jentzsch, at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) on August 28.