As part of a new cooperation between the DIJ and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, DIJ deputy director Barbara Holthus and principal researcher Markus Heckel taught two courses in the University’s Q+ study programme. Within the unit “Japan and Germany during the Sars-CoV2 Pandemic”, Barbara co-taught the course ‘Family Life in the Pandemic: Comparing Germany and Japan’ (with Marina Hennig, Mainz) focusing on how the pandemic and the regulations to contain it have affected family life in both countries. Together with Philipp Harms (Mainz), Markus co-taught the course ‘Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy-Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan and Germany’. Their course focused on the monetary policies of the Bank of Japan and of the European Central Bank as well as on programmes by the fiscal authorities in Japan and Germany since the beginning of the pandemic. Both courses were received well by the interdisciplinary group of students. Further teaching and research cooperation activities are planned for 2022.