Challenges of Demographic Change
Research focus January 2005 - October 2015
Demographic change is a research topic that satisfies the above-mentioned criteria for research at the DIJ. It is interdisciplinary in scope, dependent on data and sources collected and analysed in Japan, and suitable for collaboration with Japanese researchers and institutions. Demographic change, while being of particular relevance for Japan, poses great challenges for many industrialized countries. Japan is a paradigm case for studying the interaction of heredity and environment, an interaction that leads to shifts in collective behaviour and demographic structure. In the history of humanity, the spread of ageing through the population is a very recent development that has changed and continues to change society at large.
In regards to population ageing, Japan plays a special role that is of interest beyond the confines of Japanese studies. Within the timeframe of only a century, Japan has transformed itself from latecomer to frontrunner. While at the beginning of the twentieth century the average life expectancy in Japan was significantly lower than it was in Western Europe, by the end of the century it was the highest in the world. Thus, in Japan, demographic ageing and fertility decline occurred much faster than in other industrialized countries, necessitating enormous adjustments of the social, economic and political systems. The complexity of the phenomenon and the multifacetedness of its manifestations in virtually all domains of society and at all stages of the life course (from birth to death) make it a paradigm case for interdisciplinary research. Moreover, the causes and consequences of Japan’s population development invite international comparison, especially with the prosperous nations of Western Europe. While declining birth rates, rising life expectancy and growing median age can be observed in all industrialized countries, changes in the population structure as well as responses to these changes on the part of both government and market tend to be country-specific. Japan is the first real-life test case when it comes to the question of whether a rapidly ageing and, in the medium term, shrinking society can maintain its economic clout.
Since the inception of the DIJ research focus, the challenges of demographic changes in Japan have steadily gained importance. Media coverage has increased notably; the government has designed policies and passed many laws concerning population development; and civil society steps in where state actors are ill prepared or too inflexible to cope with the tasks at hand. Investigating the social, economic, political and cultural transformations brought about by and accompanying population change proved to be a worthwhile undertaking.
In addition to many research papers, three major works have been compiled by researchers of the DIJ: Trilingual Glossary of Demographic Terminology, The Demographic Challenge. A Handbook about Japan, and Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany. In addition various workshops and symposia on the topic had been held (see events)
Completed Projects
Recent Publications
Lützeler, Ralph
Left Behind in the Global City: Spaces and Places of Ageing and Shrinking in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 473-491.
Elis, Volker
Rural Depopulation and Economic Shrinkage in Japan: What Can Affected Municipalities Do About It?
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 443-460.
Holthus, Barbara
Child Care and Work-Life Balance in Low Fertility Japan
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 203-228.
Klein, Axel
Actors of Social Policy Making in Japan: A Look at the Individual Level
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 229-245.
Kohlbacher, Florian
Business Implications of Demographic Change in Japan: Chances and Challenges for Human Resource and Marketing Management
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 269-294.
Godzik, Maren
New Housing Options for the Elderly in Japan: The Example of Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 309-322.
Vogt, Gabriele
The Political Economy of Health-Care Migration: A Japanese Perspective
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 323-346.
Backhaus, Peter
The Power of Address: Age and Gender in Japanese Eldercare Communication
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 361-372.
Ando, Junko
Japan’s Adult Guardianship System: Statutory guardianship and civil guardians
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 373-381.
Lützeler, Ralph; Coulmas, Florian
Population Implosion: Coping with the Unknown
In: Lützeler, Ralph : Imploding Populations in Japan and Germany Brill. pp. 1-32.
Kohlbacher, Florian
Japan – der Pionier
In: Naegele, Gerhard; Heinze, Rolf G.; Schneiders, Kathrin : Grundriss Gerontologie: Wirtschaftliche Potenziale des Alters Kohlhammer. pp. 251-273.
Kohlbacher, Florian; Gudorf, Pascal; Herstatt, Cornelius
Japan’s growing silver market – An attractive business opportunity for foreign companies?
In: Boppel, Michael; Boehm, Stephan; Kunisch, Sven : From Grey to Silver: Managing the Demographic Change Successfully Springer Verlag. pp. 189-205.
Kohlbacher, Florian; Hang, C. C.
Leveraging Disruptive Innovations for the Silver Market
In: Kohlbacher, Florian; Herstatt, Cornelius : The Silver Market Phenomenon. Marketing and Innovation in the Aging Society Springer Verlag. pp. 65-77.
Kohlbacher, Florian; Herstatt, Cornelius; Schweisfurth, Tim
Product Development for the Silver Market
In: Kohlbacher, Florian; Herstatt, Cornelius : The Silver Market Phenomenon. Marketing and Innovation in the Aging Society Springer Verlag. pp. 3-13.
Coulmas, Florian
The Bitter Fruits of Success
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette; Shimada, Shingo : Demographic Change in Japan and the EU: Comparative Perspectives Düsseldorf University Press. pp. 17-36.
Godzik, Maren
Elderly Housing in Contemporary Japan: Exploring Alternative Forms of Living
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette; Shimada, Shingo : Demographic Change in Japan and the EU: Comparative Perspectives Düsseldorf University Press. pp. 37–60.
Godzik, Maren
Alternative housing for the elderly in Japan – attitudes of residents towards their housing choice
In: Ye, J.; Chiu, R. L.H. : Proceedings of 2010 International Conference of Asia Pacific Network for Housing research (APNHR). Housing Affordability, Sustainability and Liability China Architecture & Building Press. pp. 233–241.
Tanaka, Hiromi
Stated Desire versus Actual Practice: Reviewing the Literature on Low Fertility Rates in Contemporary Japanese Society
In: Japanese Studies pp. 415-430.
Godzik, Maren
Altern in Japan. Herausforderungen und Chancen
In: Godzik, Maren : Japanstudien 21 iudicium Verlag. pp. 15-24.
Ando, Junko
Ältere Menschen und das Vormundschaftsrecht für Volljährige in Japan
In: Godzik, Maren : Japanstudien 21 iudicium Verlag. pp. 55-71.
Prieler, Michael; Kohlbacher, Florian; Hagiwara, Shigeru; Arima, Akie
Ältere Menschen in der japanischen Fernsehwerbung: Eine umfragebasierte und inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung
In: Godzik, Maren : Japanstudien 21 iudicium Verlag. pp. 197-222.
Kohlbacher, Florian; Prieler, Michael; Hagiwara, Shigeru; Arima, Akie
Gendered Portrayals of Older People in Japanese Television Advertising. Working Papers. Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien. Tokyo
Conrad, Harald
Die Beschäftigung älterer Menschen in Japan – Ursachen und Rahmenbedingungen einer hohen Alterserwerbsquote
In: Nova Acta Leopoldina NF 101, No. 365 pp. 111-142.
Koch, Matthias
History of Demography in Japan
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 97-117.
Backhaus, Peter
Coming to Terms with Age: Some Linguistic Consequences of Population Ageing
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 455-471.
Lützeler, Ralph
Regional Demographics
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 61-79.
Conrad, Harald
Human Resource Management Practices and the Ageing Workforce
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 979-997.
Elis, Volker
The Impact of the Ageing Society on Regional Economies
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 861-877.
Moerke, Andreas
The Ageing Society and Reactions of the Automobile Industry - a Case Study
In: Schad-Seifert, Annette : The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan Brill. pp. 1017-1032.
Godzik, Maren
Ruheständler als Lebenselixier? Ruhestandswanderung und lokale Neubelebungsstrategien am Beispiel von Atami und Ishigaki
In: Elis, Volker : Japanstudien 20 iudicium Verlag. pp. 129-162.
Vogt, Gabriele
Trends in Japans Zuwanderungspolitik
In: Online-Handbuch Demografie Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung.
Vogt, Gabriele
Bevölkerungsentwicklung in Japan: Fokus Migration
In: Online-Handbuch Demografie Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung.
Tanaka, Hiromi
Low fertility, the wish for children, and social inequalities in contemporary Japanese society . 41 p. Working Papers. Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien. Tokyo
Prieler, Michael
Silver advertising: Elderly people in Japanese TV ads
In: Kohlbacher, Florian; Herstatt, Cornelius : The Silver Market Phenomenon. Business Opportunities in an Era of Demographic Change Springer Verlag.
Vogt, Gabriele
Talking Politics: Demographic Variables and Policy Measures in Japan
In: Kohlbacher, Florian; Herstatt, Cornelius : The Silver Market Phenomenon. Business Opportunities in an Era of Demographic Change Springer Verlag. pp. 17-29.
Prieler, Michael; Kohlbacher, Florian; Hagiwara, Shigeru; Arima, Akie
The Representation of Older People in Japanese Television Advertising . 44 p. Working Papers. Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien. Tokyo
Vogt, Gabriele; Lersch, Philipp
Migrant Support Organizations in Japan - A Mixed-Method Approach
In: Pohl, Manfred; Wieczorek, Iris : Japan 2007. Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Vereinigung für sozialwissenschaftliche Japanforschung. pp. 265-285.
Lützeler, Ralph; Elis, Volker
Der Demografische Wandel in Japan – Hintergründe und aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Sozial-, Beschäftigungs- und Regionalpolitik (Demographic Chnage in Japan - Its Background and Recent Developments in Social, Employment and Regional Policy)
In: Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter 54; 4 pp. 705-720.
Schad-Seifert, Annette
Japans Abschied von der Mittelschichtgesellschaft: Auflösung des Familienhaushalts oder Pluralisierung der Lebensformen?
In: Backhaus, Peter : Japanstudien 19 iudicium Verlag. pp. 105-128.
Vogt, Gabriele
Closed Doors, Open Doors, Doors Wide Shut? Migration Politics in Japan
In: Japan Aktuell. Journal of Current Japanese Affairs pp. 3-30.
Vogt, Gabriele
<a target="_top" href="http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2520">"Guest Workers" for Japan?</a>
In: Japan Focus. An Asia Pacific e-journal
Vogt, Gabriele
Japans neue Migrationspolitik (Japan's New Migration Policy)
In: ZAR (Zeitschrift für Ausländerrecht und Ausländerpolitik) pp. 238-243.
Coulmas, Florian
Japan im demografischen Wandel: Kinderlos und ratlos
In: politische ökologie 104: Demografischer Wandel. Neue Spielräume für die Umweltpolitik oekom verlag. pp.27-28.
Vogt, Gabriele; Behaghel, Jeannette
Arbeitsmigration nach Japan: Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen, politischer Diskurs (Labor migration to Japan: Legal framework, political discourse)
In: Haak, René : Japanstudien 18 iudicium Verlag. pp. 111-148.
Conrad, Harald; Gerling, Vera
Der japanische „Silbermarkt“ - Marktchancen und Best Practices für deutsche Unternehmen
In: Haak, René; Bellmann, Klaus : Management in Japan – Herausforderungen und Erfolgsfaktoren für deutsche Unternehmen in einer dynamischen Umwelt (Management in Japan – Challenges and Success Factors for German Companies in a dynamic Environment) Deutscher Universitätsverlag. p. 267-278.
Events
DIJ Business & Economics Study Group
Does the Expectation of Having to Look after Parents in the Future Affect Current Fertility?
DIJ Social Science Study Group
Japan’s Single Women and the Disembedding Economic System
Workshops
Well-being in Ageing Societies: Perspectives from China, Germany and Japan
DIJ Forum
Japanese Companies Respond to the Unforeseen: The 3/11 Disaster, Population Ageing, and Environmentalism
DIJ Forum
Shrinking Rural Communities in Japan: Community ownership of assets as a development potential?
DIJ Forum
Who Will Care for Me When I'm Dead?
Ancestors, Homeless Spirits, and New Afterlives in Low Fertility Japan
Workshops
Care Robotics in the Aging Society: Integrating Users, Developers and Technology
DIJ Forum
Sustainability Issues in the Super-Aged Society - Prospecting the “Platinum Society”
DIJ Forum
The Secrets of "Sūpā Rōjin": Fundamentals of a Successful Aging Society in Japan
Workshops
Architectures and Models for a Sustainable Care - Adaptive Technologies for the Ageing Society
Workshops
Architectures and Models for a Sustainable Care - Alternatives for Dealing with Population Ageing
Symposia and Conferences
Communication in Institutional Elderly Care: Cross-cultural Perspectives
Symposia and Conferences
Imploding Populations – Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change
Workshops
Rural Areas without Hope? Structural Change and Policy Options in Japan and Germany
Symposia and Conferences
Fertility and Social Stratification - Germany and Japan in Comparison -
Symposia and Conferences
The Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities and Responsibilities in the Ageing Society
Workshops
Socio-political and Business Aspects of Care in an Era of Demographic Change
DIJ Social Science Study Group
“I did not know how to tell my parents, so I thought I would have to have an abortion” – A study of unwed mothers in Japan -
DIJ Business & Economics Study Group
Foreigners Sell: The Case of Japanese TV Commercials
Symposia and Conferences
Migration and Integration – Japan in a Comparative Perspective
DIJ Social Science Study Group
The national rate of (re)production: gendered discourse in Japanese policy-making
DIJ Forum
The Agony of Eldercare: Two Japanese Women Directors Study an Age-Old Problem
DIJ Social Science Study Group
“Natural Principles of Law?” Reformist Governors Redefine the Local Sphere
DIJ Social Science Study Group
Multicultural Coexistence: Japanese Roadmaps to a more inclusive and pluralistic society?
DIJ Forum
Marital Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance: A Viewpoint Indispensable to Mitigating Fertility Decline
DIJ History & Humanities Study Group
Communication with Foreigners in Japan: A Sociolinguistic Discussion
DIJ Social Science Study Group
What role for women in shaping Japanese social policies?
DIJ Forum
The Tokugawa Mating Game: Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in Historical Perspective
DIJ Social Science Study Group
Japanese Americans living in Japan: national and ethnic identity formation in the ancestral homeland
DIJ Forum
Images of Japanese society presented in the ‘New Civic Textbook’ by Tsukuru-kai. Solutions for demographic challenges and social change?
Symposia and Conferences
Family Policy in the Aging Society - A German-Japanese Comparison
DIJ Forum
Ageing tourists, ageing destinations: tourism and demographic change in Japan
Symposia and Conferences
Demographic Challenges for Human Resource Management and Labor Market Policies - A German-Japanese Comparison
DIJ Forum
Lowest-low Fertility in Japan: Causes, Policy Responses and Related Value Change
DIJ Social Science Study Group
Building Parents of the Future: Japanese Policies to Boost the Birthrate
Team













