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DIJ Newsletter 62

December 2020

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Welcome to issue 62 of the DIJ Newsletter!
This is the first edition of our new electronic newsletter with the latest news from our institute and its research activities. Despite the ongoing global struggle with the pandemic, we have continued to engage in scholarly exchange and research via online events, publications, and outreach activities. A selection of them is featured in this newsletter.
At the end of this turbulent year, we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued interest in and support of the DIJ. We hope to be able to welcome you back at the DIJ in person from next spring onwards. In the meantime: stay safe and healthy.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and all the best wishes for 2021 from the entire DIJ team!
New format, new content.
After 23 years, the DIJ replaces its print edition of the DIJ Newsletter with a new, electronic format. While some sections from our print version remain, some are new, such as:
  • Upcoming Events
  • DIJ in the Media
  • Alumni News
  • Social Media
Also new in this issue: you will find links to information on our DIJ webpages in German, Japanese, and English whenever content in these languages is available.
We hope you will enjoy exploring this new DIJ Newsletter and the selection of activities and output of the DIJ and its researchers during the past months. Your feedback is very welcome via email to newsletter@dijtokyo.org

Research News Neues aus der Forschung – 研究活動ニュース

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Screenshot © NHK World

Special research project on 'COVID-19'
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the DIJ has organized and co-hosted several online events to explore the impact of the Corona crisis on Japan in a comparative setting. Please see our special project website for a collection of our activities related to the ongoing pandemic.
Mehr More 詳細
New research focus on 'Methods'
In November 2020, we have added a new research focus on 'Area Studies: Methodological Approaches' to our research programme 'Risks and Opportunities in Japan'. This new focus is led by Nora Kottmann and complements the two existing research foci on Digital Transformation and the Future of Local Communities.
Mehr More 詳細
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OAG Hall © Ian Thomas Ash

Upcoming Events – Kommende Veranstaltungen – 今後のイベント

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Screenshot © VSJF

VSJF Conference: '10 Years after 3.11'
Next March marks the 10th anniversary of the 3.11 triple disaster of 2011. On this occasion, the German Association for Social Science Research on Japan (VSJF) is organizing the conference 'Continuity and Change 10 years after 3.11' to discuss the lasting impact of the disaster on Japan. The conference will take place in a hybrid format on March 19th, both in Berlin and Tokyo, co-hosted by the Japanese-German Centre Berlin (JDZB) and the DIJ.
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Past Events – Vergangene Veranstaltungen – 最近のイベント

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© Pixabay/Gerd Altmann

DIJ Web-Fora on the impact of COVID-19
Together with the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) Tokyo and Taylor Wessing, the DIJ has hosted three online web-fora on the impact of the Corona pandemic: on economic policy responses (September), monetary policy (November), and new work (December). Presentations can be downloaded from the event pages. The November and December web-fora are also available on the DIJ YouTube channel.
Mehr More 詳細
DIJ Study Groups
Yosuke Buchmeier (LMU Munich) and Aya Adachi (Ruhr University Bochum & University of Duisburg-Essen) gave talks on their ongoing PhD research projects in DIJ Study Group sessions in October and December. Yosuke Buchmeier presented his project on Agenda-Cutting in Media News Coverage and Aya Adachi gave a presentation on PTAs and Domestic Economic and Political Structures. Both were PhD students at the DIJ in 2020.
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Presentation slide © Yosuke Buchmeier

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Symposium poster © Chalo-Art (Bangkok)

Symposium on 'Global Views of Japanese Parliamentarism'
In November 1890, the Japanese Diet met for its first session. To mark the 130th anniversary of the opening of Japan's parliament, the DIJ – together with the Faculty of Arts of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University – hosted a two-day international symposium to discuss the global appeal of the first constitutional government in Asia and beyond.
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New Publications – Gerade erschienen – 新刊

Handbook: Studying Japan
Studying Japan, edited by Nora Kottmann and Cornelia Reiher, is the first comprehensive guide to qualitative methods, research designs, and fieldwork in social science research on Japan. More than 70 Japan scholars provide an easy-to-read overview of methods used in research on Japan’s society, culture, and history. The book covers the entire process from the formulation of research topics to the completion of a thesis, paper, or book.
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Flyer © Nomos Verlag

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Book cover © Iudicium Verlag

New Miscellanea: Digital Transformation
This new volume of our DIJ Miscellanea series approaches DT by exploring technological developments and methodology, research data and infrastructure, new research objects and perspectives as well as shifting boundaries of the social sciences and humanities. The volume consists of ten chapters, including by Susanne Brucksch and the co-editors Harald Kümmerle and Franz Waldenberger. It is the outcome of the workshop The Digital Transformation – Implications for the Social Sciences and the Humanities, held at the DIJ in 2019.
More
New issue of Contemporary Japan
The latest issue of Contemporary Japan is now available online and in print. CJ 32(2) features articles exploring photography and ethnographic research among Japanese in Berlin; the role of centers for international exchange in multicultural community building; notions of selfhood among deaf and hard-of-hearing youth; and moral education in elementary school classrooms. It also features an Invited Commentary by Eyal Ben-Ari on the relationship between area studies and the disciplines, as well as five book reviews.
Mehr More 詳細
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Journal cover © Taylor&Francis

Recently published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters by DIJ researchers:

DIJ in the Media – In den Medien – メディアで知るDIJ

DIJ expertise in international media
Over the past months, DIJ researchers have been interviewed by several German, Japanese, and international media, including for commentary on the Tokyo Olympics, the Corona pandemic, the Japanese economy, Fukushima, and the anniversary of the end of World War Two. Among others, Barbara Holthus was quoted in the New York Times and Die Zeit, Torsten Weber in Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle, and Sonja Ganseforth in The Japan Times (AP) and taz.
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Screenshot © Associated Press

DIJ News – Aus dem DIJ – 研究所ニュース

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Ambassador Hidenao Yanagi with Franz Waldenberger (right) and Joachim Röhr (left) © DIJ

Japan's Ambassador to Germany visits DIJ
In November 2020, Japan’s new Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Hidenao Yanagi, visited our institute. Director Franz Waldenberger and Administrative Director Joachim Röhr informed Ambassador Yanagi about the ongoing research at the DIJ and the international network of the Max Weber Foundation. During his visit Mr. Yanagi praised the important role the DIJ has played since its foundation for German-Japanese relations.
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Media training for DIJ researchers
Explaining research to a non-expert audience has increasingly become important for scientists. But how can researchers ‘translate’ their complex research results into suitable language for media and a general audience? To train our media skills, NHK journalist Yuko Fukushima provided six sessions of professional video media training to DIJ researchers.
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© Yuko Fukushima

Library News – Aus der Bibliothek – 図書室ニュース

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Mishima book display at DIJ Library © DIJ

Joint Mishima book exhibition
To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of writer Mishima Yukio, the International House of Japan Library, the Bibliothèque de la Maison franco-japonaise, and the DIJ Library presented translations of Mishima’s works and critical studies of his writings and life to the public. The exhibition was open in the month of October and included books written in English, French, and German. The DIJ collection is still on display in our library.
Mehr More 詳細

Alumni News – Unsere Ehemaligen – アルムナイニュース

DIJ alumni elected to EAJS Council
Several of our former research fellows have been elected as members of the Council of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS). We congratulate Verena Blechinger-Talcott (FU Berlin), DIJ alumna (1997-2002) and currently chairwoman of our advisory board, on her election as president, and alumnus Urs Matthias Zachmann (2002-03, FU Berlin) as the EAJS' new treasurer. New members of the extended council include DIJ alumna Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt (2008-13, Nagoya University) and our current Senior Research Fellow Barbara Geilhorn.
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Screenshot © EAJS

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Book cover © SUNY

New book publications by DIJ alumni
We congratulate our former Senior Research Fellows Susanne Klien (2009-13, Hokkaido University) on the recent publication of her book Urban Migrants in Rural Japan: Between Agency and Anomie in a Post-growth Society (SUNY Press) and Sven Saaler (2000-05, Sophia University) on the publication of his book Men in Metal: A Topography of Public Bronze Statuary in Modern Japan (Brill).
If you are a DIJ alumna or alumnus and have recently published a book or have any other news to share with us, please contact newsletter@dijtokyo.org

Read for you Für Sie gelesen – 書評

Understanding Japan by the alphabet
Abc 4 Japan is the latest book publication by journalist and author Martin Fritz. A long-term resident in Japan, Fritz draws on a wealth of knowledge of the country, its people, history, and everyday culture. His book (in German) is well-researched and goes beyond the usual stereotypes and exoticism. Written in an informing and entertaining style, this guide to Japan's culture includes entries as diverse as plastic, whaling, Confucius, the LDP, Heidi, Christmas, Empress Masako, and sleep.
Mehr
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Book cover © Stämpfli Verlag

Social Media – Soziale Medien ソーシャルメディア

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Screenshot DIJ Twitter account

Follow DIJ research on Twitter
If you are active on Twitter you may have noticed that the DIJ and its researchers have increasingly been using social media to inform about their activities and output. Follow @dij_tokyo for the latest DIJ news, @dij_tokyo2020 to get updates on the DIJ’s special project on the Tokyo Olympics, and @regional_japan for updates on the DIJ’s research focus on the Future of Local Communities. Also on Twitter: Contemporary Japan, the interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal of global Japanese Studies, edited by the DIJ (@cj_jrnl).
New DIJ YouTube channel
Since June 2020, the DIJ also has its own YouTube channel. Missed our recent DIJ DWIH Web-Forum on Monetary Policy or the DIJ MFJ Web-Forum on National COVID-19 Statistics? You will find the videos on our channel, alongside more than 20 other videos of DIJ events or events with DIJ participants, including the author interviews series for our open access book publication on the Tokyo Olympics.
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Screenshot DIJ YouTube account

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