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DIJ Newsletter 63

Spring 2021

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Welcome to our Spring 2021 issue!
As the global pandemic continues, our institute remains closed to the public and we continue to conduct our research and events online. In this newsletter you will find a selection of our recent events, publications, and outreach activities. These include a conference in cooperation with the VSJF and JDZB on the 10th anniversary of 3.11, conference presentations and publications by our researchers, media interviews as well as a new addition to our DIJ YouTube channel: DIJ alumnus Axel Klein's documentary on election campaigns in Japan, by now a popular teaching tool.
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. We also welcome your feedback via email to newsletter@dijtokyo.org

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

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Conference poster © AAS

DIJ Researchers at AAS Conference
Sonja Ganseforth and Nora Kottmann presented papers on their current research projects at this year’s virtual AAS annual conference. Sonja’s paper “The Political Ecology of Japanese Coastal Fisheries Reform” draws on her research project Fishing Communities between Growth and Demise. Nora gave her paper “Negotiating Belonging: German Expatriates in Southern Tokyo” in the panel ‘Managing Migration in Japan: Short-term Labour, Tourists, and International Students’. Most presentations are available as on-demand videos via the AAS website.
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Screenshot_2021-04-08 10 Years After 3 11 - A Collection of DIJ Research on the 'Triple Disaster' - Deutsches Institut für [...]

Screenshot © DIJ

Special Website 'DIJ Research on 3.11'
Contributing to the understanding of the social, economic, and political effects of the ‘triple disaster’, the DIJ has been undertaking research related to the consequences of 3.11 for almost ten years. On the occasion of this year's anniversary, we have put together a collection of recent publications and activities by the institute and its researchers on the lasting impact of 3.11 on different aspects of Japanese society.
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Upcoming Event – Kommende Veranstaltung – 今後のイベント

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Conference poster © DHI Moskau

'Knowledge Unbound' Online Conference
The DIJ will host the online conference 'Climate Change, Energy, and Sustainability in the Pacific Region. Knowledge, Policies, and Transfers (1970s–Present)' from April 19 to 22. It seeks to explore the historical development of attitudes towards climate change and environmental degradation. The conference is part of the Max Weber Foundation’s collaborative research project 'Knowledge Unbound', funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
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Past Event – Vergangene Veranstaltung – 最近のイベント

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Presentation slide © Isaac Gagné

VSJF Annual Conference on 3.11
The conference 'Continuity and Change 10 years after 3.11', organized by the German Association for Social Science Research on Japan (VSJF), discussed the lasting impact of the triple disaster on Japan. It was co-hosted by the Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) and the DIJ. Our Principal Researcher Isaac Gagné presented his research on “Haunting Memories of 3.11 and the Heaviness of Trauma in Post-Disaster Miyagi”.
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New Publications – Gerade erschienen – 新刊

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Cover © Taylor&Francis

New Issue of Contemporary Japan
The latest issue of Contemporary Japan is now available online and in print. Articles in CJ 33(1) cover Nikkei Brazilian migrants in Japan and their use of online platforms to stay connected, war memories and Japanese citizens’ views toward the self-defense forces, English language education and national identity, and the nuclear power debate in Japanese newspapers, 1973–2014. Also in this issue: a review article of Kanamori Osamu and three book reviews.
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Cover © Iudicium Verlag

New DIJ Miscellanea: Double Debt Disaster
Double Debt Disaster: Law, Policy, and Social Justice in the wake of Japan's 2011 Tsunami by Julius Weitzdörfer and S.J. Beard is the latest volume published in our DIJ Miscellanea series. It offers a detailed examination of obstacles to recovery from catastrophes caused by the concurrence of pre-disaster obligations with post-disaster capital needs and the destruction of collateral assets. It proposes that policymakers take sustainable steps to avoid socioeconomic disasters. As all volumes in this series, it is open access.
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Chart from Working Paper © Markus Heckel

Working Paper on BOJ's Monetary Policy
A new working paper, co-authored by Senior Research Fellow Markus Heckel and Kiyohiko G. Nishimura (GRIPS/CARF, University of Tokyo) examines the unconventional monetary policies of the Bank of Japan from 2002 to 2019. Unconventional Monetary Policy through Open Market Operations: A Principal Component Analysis is a result of Markus’ research project Economic Discourses of Monetary Policy – The Case of the Bank of Japan. The CARF working paper is available open access.
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2021 1 Holthus DIJ WP Gendered soc mov_Page_01

Cover © DIJ

Survey Report Gender & Social Movements
In her latest DIJ Working Paper, Deputy Director Barbara Holthus introduces the findings of a large-scale survey on social movements in post-3.11 Japan. It was conducted in 2017 with close to 80,000 participants in the larger Tokyo metropolitan area. Questions focus on understanding who was sympathetic to the 3.11 movement, who was mobilized, and who participated in the protests. Gendered social movements in post-3.11 Japan: A survey report draws on Barbara’s ongoing research project Social movements and gender in post-3.11 Japan and is available open access.
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Recent publications by DIJ researchers include the following journal articles, book chapters, contributions to research blogs, and book reviews:

Forthcoming Publication – Erscheint in Kürze – 近刊

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Cover © PalgraveMacmillan

Edited Volume on Health and Technology
Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Case Studies from Japan is forthcoming in Palgrave Macmillan's Health, Technology and Society series. Through its case studies the edited volume shows how the making and application of medical technologies must be considered as a co-constitutive process of social and technical factors in the field of human-machine relations in the medical context. The book is edited by DIJ Principal Researcher Susanne Brucksch and Kaori Sasaki (Sapporo Medical University). It is expected to be published in mid-June 2021.
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DIJ in the Media – In den Medien – メディアで知るDIJ

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DIJ Expertise in International Media
In the past months, international media have quoted DIJ researchers in news reports on Japanese society, economy, and history. Among others, Barbara Holthus was quoted in the New York Times, CNN, and dpa about the Tokyo Olympics and 3.11. She was also interviewed by Austrian TV ORF and the Frankfurter Rundschau. Sonja Ganseforth commented on critics of the Olympics in De Standaard; Franz Waldenberger on 'zombie companies' in Die Zeit; and Torsten Weber on history textbooks in Süddeutsche Zeitung.

DIJ News – Aus dem DIJ – 研究所ニュース

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Virtual advisory board meeting © DIJ

Virtual Advisory Board Meeting
For the second year in a row, the meeting of the DIJ's advisory board was held virtually in March. Chaired by DIJ alumna Verena Blechinger-Talcott (FU Berlin), the board members and guests discussed the Director's report on the institute's activities during the past year. Preceding this meeting, the board members were able to exchange ideas with current DIJ researchers in virtual breakout sessions. The board includes three new members: David Chiavacci (University of Zurich), Sabine Frühstück (UC Santa Barbara), and Dominic Sachsenmaier (Göttingen University).
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Vienna cooperation meeting © DIJ

Vienna Cooperation Meeting
In February, researchers from the DIJ and its cooperation partner at the University of Vienna met online to discuss options of doing research on Japan during the pandemic. Barbara Holthus, Sonja Ganseforth, and Nora Kottmann gave advice on research companies, costs, sampling strategies, questionnaires, and incentives. Wolfram Manzenreiter and doctoral students Florian Purkarthofer, Dennis Askitis, and Stefan Hundsdorfer attended the meeting. It was part of the cooperation between the DIJ and Japanese Studies at the University of Vienna.

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

共同展示2021:3.11から10年DIJ

3.11 book display at DIJ Library © DIJ

Joint 3.11 Book Exhibition
To mark the anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the libraries at the International House of Japan, the Maison franco-japonaise, and the DIJ presented publications related to the earthquake and its aftermath in English, German, and French. The joint book exhibition was open to the public through March 31, but the exhibition at the DIJ remains open until April 30. A list of available books and articles at the DIJ library is available for download.
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Alumni News – Unsere Ehemaligen – アルムナイニュース

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First DIJ Alumni Shinnenkai
At the end of January, more than 50 former and current DIJ employees met for the first Alumni Shinnenkai - the traditional first social gathering of the new year. Moved to virtual space, the event had the advantage that alumni from all over the world could attend. Deputy Director Barbara Holthus moderated the meeting, guided the alumni through the institute via video, and presented DIJ highlights from 2020. The unanimous opinion of those present: even after the pandemic, there should be virtual alumni meetings again.
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Screenshot © DIJ

New on YouTube: Election Documentary
Pictures at an Election is a 68-minute documentary by DIJ alumnus Axel Klein (Duisburg-Essen University). It shows Japan’s electoral machinery in full steam and focuses on the question of how Japanese candidates try to appeal to voters. Filmed in 2007, it has not lost any of its currency and relevance as it depicts different strategies and techniques, and presents a lively picture of political culture in Japan. It is now available for free on the DIJ’s YouTube channel and features Japan's Olympic minister Marukawa Tamayo in her first election campaign.
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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

2021.01 blog Max Weber in der Welt

Screenshot © Max Weber Stiftung

Special Issue on Max Weber in Japan
Max Weber’s popularity in Japan remains unbroken. To mark the 100th anniversary of his death, the prestigious intellectual journal Gendai Shisō (現代思想) published a special issue (12/2020) dedicated to his works and intellectual influence. Our Senior Research Fellow and historian Yufei Zhou wrote a detailed review introducing the individual contributions.
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Social Media – Soziale Medien ソーシャルメディア

Screenshot_2021-03-23 Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics ( dij_Tokyo2020) Twitter

Screenshot © DIJ

Tokyo Olympics Research on Twitter
Will they be cancelled or not? Who will be admitted to the event sites? And what is the latest Olympic scandal? For up-to-date information on all aspects of the Tokyo Olympics, including updates on the DIJ’s special research project on Tokyo 2020, follow @dij_tokyo2020 on Twitter. The account is run by Deputy Director Barbara Holthus who is also the main editor of the open access publication Japan through the lens of the Tokyo Olympics (Routledge 2020).
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