“Marriage hunting” (konkatsu) is a multi-billion-yen industry comprising diverse dating services, from matchmaking apps to marriage agencies. With marriage remaining an important precursor to childbearing, the Japanese government has increasingly invested in “marriage support” to address population decline and aging. This talk draws on data from twenty-seven months of research in Japan, including more than 150 interviews with market professionals and their male and female clients, participant observation of marriage-hunting events, and documentary evidence, to explore the various collaborations between the private and public sector in marriage promotion efforts. The speaker suggests that these alliances constitute a new form of intimate governance which regulates how individuals enter and conceptualize romantic and familial relationships. Details and registration here

This presentation examines the relationship between educational hypogamy and life satisfaction within the realm of traditional norms in Japan. Educational hypogamy in this context refers to women who have attained a higher level of education than their husbands. Using Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers data the analysis reveals a significant negative correlation between hypogamy and life satisfaction in traditional households, where men often adhere to inflexible labor market roles and limited engagement in household chores. The findings suggest that hypogamous women experience lower life satisfaction, potentially due to increased burdens in balancing household and labor market responsibilities. In contrast, women in non-traditional households exhibit no such negative association, and in some cases, hypogamy positively correlates with life satisfaction. The talk contributes to discussions on gender roles, household economics, and well-being from a perspective rooted in household and labor economics. Details and registration here

This talk explores how laypeople and experts in Japan assess the role of technology in a desirable future. It will introduce two separate studies, spotlighting perceptions on two different streams of technology with two different stakeholder groups: laypeoples’ perceptions of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) and experts’ perspectives on cybernetic avatar (CA) technology. Both studies draw on a Research through Design (RtD) inspired Futuring approach, carried out through workshop formats. RtD refers to generating knowledge through the act of designing, while Futuring broadly refers to a set of approaches to strategically think about future developments and their (social) implications. This talk spotlights how the role of technology is anticipated by different stakeholders in Japan and sheds light on attitudes and values driving these socio-technical imaginations. Details and registration here

It is indisputable that innovations are needed to achieve the ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas emission goals by 2050. Japan’s green transformation (GX) growth strategy explicitly counts on breakthrough innovations as exemplified by the roadmaps for carbon-intensive industries. Subsidies and sovereign green bonds are used to incentivize respective private R&D efforts. Europe and Germany also acknowledge the vital importance of innovation in these fields. Their policies are, however, less explicit about the content of new technological solutions. Instead, they rely on the incentives created by rising emission prices set by compulsory emission trading schemes. Bringing together five Japanese and German experts on carbon recycling technologies and sustainable aviation fuels, this conference will discuss the state of green innovation. This joint DIJ-RIEEM event takes places online and on site at the DIJ on December 4. Details and registration here