The continuing low fertility rate in Japan, coupled with high ageing is a severe problem for Japan’s social welfare system and its economy. One important element of family policies is to provide affordable and good quality childcare institutions. In international scholarship on the evaluation of family policies, surveying parents specifically in regard to their satisfaction with family policies is rare. For the case of Germany, studies find daycare expansion positively associated particularly with maternal subjective well-being, with some differences between parents in West and East Germany, as well as that parents’ education, their income, and the age of the child all impact their levels of satisfaction with family policies. Mirroring the study by Camehl et al. (2015) and applying this to the case of Japan, I conducted a quantitative analysis of the JPWS 2012 (Japan Parental Well-Being Survey) data. Findings are that Japanese mothers’ and fathers’ own experiences are an important indicator for their satisfaction with family policies. If they managed to secure a childcare space, in particular in a public daycare center, they are more likely to be satisfied with family policies. A place in a public daycare center in contrast to any other childcare institution contributes most significantly to the parents’ satisfaction with family policies.

Furthermore, the region of living is a highly significant factor. Parents in the urban metropolitan areas of Kanto and Kinki are significantly less satisfied—due in part to the fact that in these urban areas daycare spaces are more difficult to get than in anywhere else. In regards to infrastructural family policy satisfaction, gender differences in satisfaction pale in comparison to regional differences. it is hoped that policy makers will acknowledge the importance of evaluating the “success” of family policies by the level of satisfaction of parents with family policies, and that the diverse conditions and needs of families in different regions be adequately addressed.

The temporary and permanent presence of numerous Japanese citizens in Dusseldorf is certainly one of the reasons why the offerings of Dusseldorf’s ‘Japanese’ food sector are particularly extensive and diverse in comparison to other German cities. In spite of increasing academic interest in the growing Japanese foodscapes, in Japanese communities abroad, and in the overseas mobility of Japanese women, so far there is almost no research on the relationship among these topics.

Düsseldorf and the (young) women who work in gastronomy there offer an interesting case study in this context. Using qualitative data from a field study in Dusseldorf’s ‘Japanese’ foodscapes from 2016 onwards, this article focuses on young Japanese women working in this sector.

Symposiumsbericht: Was ist „lokal“? Neue Ansätze zur Erforschung sub-nationaler Räume in Japan
Vom 18. bis zum 20. Oktober diskutierte am DIJ ein internationales Symposium die Frage: Was ist das „Lokale“ im gegenwärtigen Japan? Diese Frage mag trivial klingen – tatsächlich bringt sie jedoch je nach Disziplin und Forschungsgegenstand ganz unterschiedliche Problemstellungen hervor.

DIJ’s Flagship Journal: Contemporary Japan
In Contemporary Japan, der am DIJ herausgegeben internationalen Fachzeitschrift, erscheinen in zwei jährlichen Ausgaben doppelt begutachtete originäre wissenschaftliche Aufsätze auf dem Gebiet der sozial- und geisteswissenschaftlichen Japanforschung sowie Buchbesprechungen zu Neuerscheinungen in dem Bereich.

DIJ NIRA Workshop: Big Data – Wie gut ist Japan auf die digitale Transformation vorbereitet?
Big Data ist ein Kernbestandteil der digitalen Transformation. In einer digitalisierten und vernetzten Welt fallen Daten im Überfluss an. Sich rapide entwickelnde Anwendungen ermöglichen die Verarbeitung, Integration und Analyse voluminöser multimedialer Daten auf immer schnellere und intelligentere Weise. Sie eröffnen unermessliche Potenziale für Forschung, Wirtschaft und Politik.

Festakt im Hotel New Otani: 30 Jahre DIJ
Gemeinsam mit 170 geladenen Gästen, darunter hochrangigen Vertretern aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik, feierte das DIJ am 31. Oktober sein dreißigjähriges Bestehen.

Aktuelle Statistik: Weniger Überstunden: Ein Erfolg von Abes „Arbeitsstilreform“?
Die Entwicklung der Überstunden reagiert traditionell stark auf die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Doch seit 2016 fällt die Zahl der Überstunden fast durchgehend trotz Wachstum.