Barbara Holthus
	
				 
	
	
	
			
				
					
						Stellvertretende Direktorin
					
				
				
					
						Soziologie
					
				
				
						
					
						Seit						April 2018 
																		
						
									
									
					
					
					
														
										
										 
					 					 
												
			 
	
			
				holthus@dijtokyo.org
			
			
			
				
					 Profil auf ORCID
 Profil auf ORCID
Barbara Holthus holds two Ph.D. degrees, in Japanese Studies from the University of Trier, Germany, 2006, and in Sociology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2010. Before taking up the position of deputy director at the German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo in April 2018, she was assistant professor at the Department of East Asian Studies / Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna. Her research is on marriage and the family, child care, happiness and well-being, volunteering, media, gender, rural Japan, as well as demographic and social change. She was principal investigator of a German Science Foundation (DFG) funded research project on comparing parental well-being in Germany and Japan (2014-2017). Her most recent publications are Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics (2020; co-editors I. Gagne, W. Manzenreiter, F. Waldenberger). Parental well-being: Satisfaction with work, family life, and family policy in Germany and Japan (2018; co-editor H. Bertram), Life course, happiness and well-being in Japan (2017; co-editor W. Manzenreiter), Happiness and the good life in Japan (2017; co-editor W. Manzenreiter).
You can reach Barbara at holthus@dijtokyo.org or follow her Twitter account @barbGhawaii.
				 
			
			
			
	
	
	
	Laufende DIJ Projekte
	
						The Sociology of Pets in Contemporary Japan
					Regionale Unterschiede des Wohlbefindens in Japan
					Gender und soziale Bewegungen nach 3.11
					Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics
					Eltern gegen Radioaktivität. Eine Fallstudie
			
			Abgeschlossene DIJ Projekte
					COVID-19: Japans Umgang mit einer neuen Herausforderung im internationalen Vergleich
					The meaning of local community for happiness and selfhood
					Parental well-being in the rural periphery of Germany and Japan: Choices, challenges, and considerations
					Soziale Aspekte der Fertilitätsentwicklung in Japan
					Eheliches Glück und Unglück: Eine Diskursanalyse japanischer Frauenzeitschriften
					Elterliches Wohlbefinden: Ein Deutsch-Japanischer Vergleich
					Großes Ostjapanisches Erdbeben
					Kindertagesstätten in der Debatte um Japans niedrige Geburtenrate
					Fertilität und soziale Stratification
			Aktuelle Publikationen
Holthus, Barbara (1. September 2025). "Meat consumption and sustainability: the case of Japan". 
DIJ Sustainability blog: Sustainability in Japan and beyond. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2025). 
Animals in Japanese Society – The case of companion versus farm animals (ICAS Seminar).  LINKHolthus, Barbara, Conrad, Harald & Klein, Axel (2024). 
Introduction to Sustainability in Japan.  LINKHolthus, Barbara (2024). 
Stumbling upon furry friends in Aso: Transitioning to studying Japan’s urban-rural divide through the lens of pets.  LINKHolthus, Barbara (2024). "ドイツの出生率推移を紐解く [Unravelling Germany’s fertility rate development]". 
Nenkin to keizai, Vol 43, No. 2 (pp. 12-31). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2024). 
Peer Review for: Costantini et al: Developing Inclusive Community Platforms: A Catalyst for DEI Community.  LINKHolthus, Barbara & Schwarzbart, Ricarda  (2023). "Nachhaltigkeit und (Haus)tierrecht: Ein deutsch-japanischer Vergleich". Rescriptum, vol. 21, 2 (pp. 81-90).
Holthus, Barbara (1. Juli 2023). "Soziologie der Haustiere im heutigen Japan". 
Max Weber Stiftung, Themenportal. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2022). "Covid-Olympia 2020/2021: Japans Wunsch nach Neuerfindung". In: Blechinger-Talcott, Verena, Chiavacci, David & Schwentker, Wolfgang (Eds.), 
Japan: Ein Land im Umbruch (pp. 299-311). BeBra Verlag. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2022). "Review of Amorphous Dissent: Post-Fukushima Social Movements in Japan, edited by Horie Takashi, Tanaka Hikaru, and Tanno Kiyoto. Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2021". 
Social Science Japan Journal, 25:2 (Summer 2022) (pp. 357-360). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2022). "Catchword: Kodomo kateicho". 
DIJ Newsletter, 67. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara & Manzenreiter, Wolfram (2021). "A board game approach to studying the multidimensionality of life satisfaction". In: Cieslik, Mark (Ed.), 
Researching happiness: Qualitative, biographical and critical perspectives (pp. 199-218). Bristol University Press. 
LINKManzenreiter, Wolfram & Holthus, Barbara (2021). "The Meaning of Place for Selfhood and Well-being in Rural Japan". In: Ganseforth, Sonja & Jentzsch, Hanno (Eds.), 
Rethinking Locality in Japan (pp. 69-84). Routledge. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2021). 
Gendered social movements in post-3.11 Japan: A survey report. DIJ (DIJ Working Papers). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara & Manzenreiter, Wolfram  (2020). "‘Bullseye view on happiness’: A qualitative interview survey method". In: Kottmann, Nora & Reiher, Cornelia  (Eds.), 
Studying Japan: Research Designs, Fieldwork and Methods (pp. 151-154). Nomos. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2020). "Review of Empire of dogs. Canines, Japan, and the making of the modern imperial world. Aaron Herald Skabelund". 
Contemporary Japan. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara & Higuchi , N. (2020). "デモ参加をめぐるジェンダーギャプ [Gender gap in demonstration participation]". In: Higuchi, N. & Matsutani, M. (Eds.), 3.11後の社会運 [Social movements post-3.11] (pp. 121-143). Chikuma.
Holthus, Barbara (2020). "Japan and the Olympic Games [Japan und die Olympischen Spiele]". 
DIJ Newsletter, 61. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (2020). "Postscript: The new Olympic race against COVID-19". In: Holthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (Eds.), 
Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics (pp. 17-17). Routledge. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2020). "Volunteering Japan-style: ‘Field cast’ for the Tokyo Olympics". In: Holthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (Eds.), Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics (pp. 104-109). Routledge.
Holthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (2020). "Understanding Japan through the lens of Tokyo 2020". In: Holthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (Eds.), Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics (pp. 1-7). Routledge.
Holthus, Barbara (2020). 
Wie Phönix aus der Asche – oder Japans Wunsch der Neuerfindung durch die Olympischen Spiele 2020. DIJ (DIJ Working Papers). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara, Gagné, Isaac, Manzenreiter, Wolfram & Waldenberger, Franz (Eds.) (2020). 
Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics. Routledge. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara & Kottmann, Nora (2019). "(No) sex in the city?". DIJ Newsletter, 60.
Holthus, Barbara (2019). "Introduction to special section: Emotions and affect in studies on contemporary Japan". Contemporary Japan, 31.2 (pp. 118-121).
Holthus, Barbara (2019). 
Infrastructural Family Policy in Japan: Parental Evaluation. DIJ (DIJ Working Papers). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2019). "Infrastructural family policy in Japan: Parental evaluation". In: Meier-Gräwe, Uta, Motozawa, Miyoko & Schad-Seifert, Annette  (Eds.), Family life in Japan and Germany. Challenges for a gender sensitive family policy (pp. 135-156). Springer.
Holthus, Barbara & Manzenreiter, Wolfram  (2019). 
Bullseye view: Developing a sociological method for studying happiness. DIJ (DIJ Working Papers). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2018). "Review of Fukushima and the Arts.  Barbara Geilhorn, Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt (Eds.)". Journal of Japanese Studies, 44,2 (pp. 461-465).
Holthus, Barbara & Lützeler, Ralph  (2018). "Parental well-being in Japan: Regional differences". In: Lützeler, Ralph  (Ed.), Rural areas between decline and resurgence: Lessons from Japan and Austria (pp. 93-97). Department of East Asian Studies/ Japanese Studies, Univ. of Vienna.
Holthus, Barbara & Bertram, Hans   (Eds.) (2018). 
Parental well-being. Satisfaction with work, family life, and family policy in Germany and Japan. Iudicium. 
LINKHolthus, Barbara & Waldenberger, Franz (2018). "30 Jahre gesellschafts- und geisteswissenschaftliche Forschung zu Japan. Das Deutsche Institut für Japanstudien, 1988-2018". 
Weltweit vor Ort. Das Magazin der Max Weber Stiftung, 2 (pp. 26-29). 
LINKHolthus, Barbara (2018). "Parental satisfaction with family policies in Japan: An overview". In: Holthus, Barbara & Bertram, Hans  (Eds.), Parental well-being. Satisfaction with work, family life, and family policy in Germany and Japan (pp. 264-292). Iudicium. (DIJ Monographien).
Holthus, Barbara, Fankhauser, Peter & Hundsdorfer, Stefan  (2018). "Partnership satisfaction in Germany and Japan: The role of family work distribution and gender ideology". In: Holthus, Barbara & Bertram, Hans  (Eds.), Parental well-being. Satisfaction with work, family life, and family policy in Germany and Japan (pp. 164-196). Iudicium. (DIJ Monographien).
Holthus, Barbara & Bertram, Hans  (2018). "Parents in transitional Germany and Japan". In: Holthus, Barbara & Bertram, Hans  (Eds.), Parental well-being. Satisfaction with work, family life, and family policy in Germany and Japan (pp. 9-15). Iudicium. (DIJ Monographien).
Eichelberg, Sven & Holthus, Barbara (2018). 
30 Years Interdisciplinary Research on Site. 1988 – 2018. DIJ. 
LINK