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DIJ Newsletter 64

Summer 2021

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Welcome to the Summer 2021 issue!
Everyone is talking about the Olympics. Will the Games turn into a superspreader event or will they be as safe as Japanese officials and the IOC have been promising? In this summer issue of the DIJ Newsletter you will find several activities of our researchers concerning our special research project 'Tokyo Olympics', including book talks, panel discussions, and media interviews. In addition: a selection of new publications, past and upcoming events with DIJ participation as well as a short introduction of our new staff member Gernot Mair. Finally, we also offer you a new edition of our popular Catchword series: who could possibly be referred to by the moniker "Baron Von Ripper-off"?
We hope you will enjoy exploring this new edition of the DIJ Newsletter. If you haven't done so yet, you can subscribe to receive it directly to your inbox here. We also welcome your feedback via email to newsletter@dijtokyo.org
With the best wishes for a relaxing summer,
Torsten Weber

New Publications – Gerade erschienen – 新刊

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Cover © Iudicium

New Book on 'Self-responsibility' in Japan
Hostages in war zones, nuclear refugees from Fukushima, and workers in precarious conditions: all have been assigned personal responsibility for their situation by the Japanese word jikosekinin. The term, literally translated as “self-responsibility”, has become a keyword in contemporary Japanese society. Laura Blecken examines the meaning of jikosekinin and how the term was established in the Japanese language. Her book is the latest publication in the DIJ Monograph Series.
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2021 book cover Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts

Cover © Palgrave

Edited Volume on Health and Technology
Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Case Studies from Japan explores the ways in which socio-technical settings in medical contexts are articulated in Japan. It consists of a detailed theory chapter and nine case studies including radiation in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Fukushima; end-of-life and high-tech medicine in hospitals; innovation and diffusion of medical technology; engineering and evaluating of novel devices in clinical trials. The book is edited by DIJ Principal Researcher Susanne Brucksch and Kaori Sasaki (Sapporo Medical University).
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Forthcoming Publications – Erscheint in Kürze – 近刊

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Cover © Performance Research Books

New Book on Japanese Theatre
Playwright, novelist, and theatre director Okada Toshiki is one of the most prominent voices of the current generation of Japanese theatre makers. This book explores his work and its importance to the development of contemporary performance in Japan and around the world. In addressing Okada's work from an interdisciplinary perspective, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the artist and contributes to a better understanding of art and society in Japan. The volume is edited by Peter Eckersall, Barbara Geilhorn, Andreas Regelsberger, and Cody Poulton.
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Cover © Routledge

Edited Volume explores 'the local' in Japan
What does it mean when we say "local" and what does "local" mean in the Japanese context? The forthcoming book Rethinking Locality in Japan examines broader political and socio-economic shifts in Japan through the window of locality. It covers demographic change, electoral and administrative reform, rural decline and revitalization, welfare reform, energy and food production. The volume is an outcome of the DIJ symposium 'What is the local?'. It is co-edited by Sonja Ganseforth and DIJ alumnus Hanno Jentzsch.
Recent articles and book chapters by DIJ researchers:

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

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Screenshot © EAJS

DIJ Researchers at EAJS Conference
Every three years, Japanese Studies experts from all over the world present their latest research at the EAJS conference. In August, Franz Waldenberger, Susanne Brucksch, Sonja Ganseforth, Barbara Geilhorn, Markus Heckel, Nora Kottmann, Harald Kümmerle, Torsten Weber, and Yufei Zhou will participate in this year's virtual EAJS conference as presenters, discussants, or chairs in the sections 'Anthropology and Sociology', 'Economy, Business and Political Economy', 'Language and Linguistics', 'Intellectual History and Philosophy', 'Urban, Regional and Environmental Studies', and 'Performing Arts'.
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Programme © DIJ

Web Forum Series 'Digital Transformation'
Digital transformation (DT) encompasses the digitalization, connectivity, and virtualization of our social, political, economic, and cultural life. Our Web Forum Series will discuss the implications of DT from international and multi-disciplinary perspectives. It puts DT in a historical context, analyzes the consequences for knowledge production and governance, and compares respective national strategies. The series starts on September 23 and will continue through the end of 2021. The preliminary programme can be downloaded here and will be updated on a regular basis.

Past Events – Vergangene Veranstaltungen – 最近のイベント

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Screenshot © DIJ

DIJ Web-Forum 'Data and Values'
Data are widely considered to be the 'oil' of the digital economy but the legal, social, and economic implications of their use are contested. The speakers in June's DIJ Web-Forum presented the main legal regulations and public discourses related to the concept of data in Japan and Germany. They also discussed major differences related to data ownership, protection, use, and international exchange. Slides of the presentations and a link to the video of the event on YouTube are available on our website.
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Screenshot © JDZB

Tokyo Olympics Book Talks
In June, Barbara Holthus, Sonja Ganseforth, and Torsten Weber as well as DIJ alumnus Axel Klein (Duisburg) and Wolfram Manzenreiter (Vienna) gave talks in the panel discussion Recovery Games under the Mask, organized jointly by the JDZB and the DIJ. Barbara Holthus, together with DIJ alumni Hanno Jentzsch, Florian Purkarthofer, and co-editor Wolfram Manzenreiter also participated in the 'Erlesenes Erfoschen' book presentation Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics at the University of Vienna.
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Photo © Eddi Aguirre on Unsplash

'Technology and Society' Workshop
Technologies and infrastructures are shaping our everyday life in manifold ways. The one-day workshop of the Research Initiative ‘Technology & Society in Japan and Beyond’ brought together scholars who addressed the themes ‘User, Visions and Technology Development’ and ‘Ethics, Health and Technology in Context’. The workshop was organized by Susanne Brucksch and Cosima Wagner (FU Berlin). A report and selection of presentation slides is available on our website.
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Photo © Daiki Hiramori & Saori Kamano

New DIJ Method Talks Lecture Series
In May, Sakura Yamamura's talk on mental mapping opened the new DIJ Method Talks lecture series, organized by Nora Kottmann. Social science researchers give talks on methods and methodological questions regarding their research on, in and beyond Japan. They discuss ‘classic’ methodological approaches and questions as well as new approaches, challenges, and trends. In June, Kaitlyn Ugoretz spoke on digital ethnography. The next speakers will be Daiki Hiramori and Saori Kamano on surveys in Japan (July 21).
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DIJ in the Media – In den Medien – メディアで知るDIJ

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Screenshot © ZDF

DIJ Expertise in International Media
Comments by several DIJ researchers have appeared in international media, including Barbara Holthus' expertise in the Tokyo Olympics on CNN, CBC, Fuji TV, PRI, SRF, ARD, HR2, ZDF TV, Mainichi Shinbun, and Zeit online. Franz Waldenberger commented on economic aspects of the Olympics on DLF and was interviewed for J-Wave's LOHAS talk radio programme. Interviews with Torsten Weber about the Olympics appeared in the German Merkur and TZ newspapers.

DIJ News – Aus dem DIJ – 研究所ニュース

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Gernot Mair © private

New DIJ Staff Member
Gernot Mair has joined the DIJ this July as IT and digital support expert. Gernot has previously worked for more than ten years as an IT officer and systems administrator in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna and later as an IT system engineer for a bank in Salzburg. At the DIJ, Gernot will be involved in our expanding online and IT activities. We welcome Gernot warmly at our institute!

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

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Screenshot © Duisburg Essen University

NOlympics? 25th Duisburg East Asia Day
Paracanoeist Katharina Bauernschmidt, journalist Martin Fritz, DIJ Deputy Director Barbara Holthus, and DIJ Principal Researcher Torsten Weber participated in the 25th East Asia Day at Duisburg Essen University in June (online). 'NOlympics? The Tokyo Games and what remains of them' focussed on the risks and potential legacy of the Games. The event was organized and moderated by former DIJ Senior Research Fellow Axel Klein.
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Cover © UT Press

New Book Publication by Hanno Jentzsch
Agriculture has been among the toughest political battlegrounds in postwar Japan and represents an ideal case study in institutional stability and change. Drawing on extensive qualitative field research, our former Senior Research Fellow Hanno Jentzsch (University of Vienna) investigates how local actors, including farmers, local governments, and local agricultural cooperatives, have translated abstract policies into local practice. Harvesting State Support (University of Toronto Press) reveals new links between agricultural reform and other shifts in Japan’s political economy.
If you are part of the growing group of DIJ alumni and have recently published a book or have any other news to share with us, please contact us via newsletter@dijtokyo.org

Catchword – Aktueller Begriff – 流行語

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Photo © Chihiro Kai

'Bottakuri Danshaku'
Recent opinion polls show that the public mood in Japan has turned against the Tokyo Olympics. As the organizers and the IOC insist on holding the Games amidst the pandemic, IOC President Thomas Bach has become a target of criticism in the media and by anti-Olympics activists. In this edition of our long-running and popular Catchword column, we introduce the term Bottakuri Danshaku (literally 'rip-off baron'), which has been trending in Japan during the past weeks.
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Social Media – Soziale Medien ソーシャルメディア

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Screenshot © DIJ

Olympics, Data, and BRI: New on YouTube
Videos of the DIJ Web-Forum 'Data and Values - German and Japanese perspectives', the round-table discussion 'BRI as Method: Forging Theoretical Agendas' from our cooperation partners at NUS, and the joint JDZB/DIJ panel discussion on the Olympics are now available on our YouTube channel. Also new on our Tokyo 2020 playlist: Barbara Holthus' interview with German press agency SID (in German) and with the Canadian broadcaster CBC.
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