10 years after the collapse of the investment firm Lehman Brothers, a shift in discourses on structural labour market reforms is becoming ever more visible. Whereas before the crash many experts and policymakers had argued that market-oriented reforms were necessary to improve labour market and economic performance, the social costs of liberalisation now seem to attract much more attention.

Yet the jury is still out on whether this discursive shift has prompted a similar change in policy. While policies emphasising social equality appear to have gained in popularity (e.g. minimum wages, equal treatment for non-standard workers), structural reforms echoing liberalisation are also still on the agenda (e.g. French reforms of labour contract law).

This event aims to shed light on this mixed picture of continuity and change by bringing together three renowned scholars from France, Germany, and Japan for a roundtable discussion. They will discuss whether and to what extent the Lehman crisis (a.k.a. the global financial crisis) has indeed led to a lasting reorientation of labour market policy and politics.

Speakers:
Bruno Amable, University of Geneva
Paul Marx, University of Duisburg-Essen
Mari Miura, Sophia University in Tokyo

The lingering scent of food served in small restaurants, the clattering sounds of commuter trains running along the tracks accompanied by a slight shaking of the uneven road — these and many more sensations are transmitted via the medium of public urban space. The (un-)determined shared spaces enable and channel movements and serve as a canvas on which the everyday urban life is painted. Even though this might sound idyllic, the local public sphere is not limited to harmony and sympathy but is also open to conflict, disturbance and unintended contact.

This presentation aims to shed light on the perception and construction of urban spaces and on how these social processes are enacted in Japan. The following questions stand at the center: How does public space as a medium frame perceptions and communication? And how do perceptions and communication construct public space in return?

Speaker:
Florian Purkarthofer, University of Vienna

ドイツ日本研究所は創立30周年を記念して、電通ビジネス・ディベロップメント＆アクティベーション局国際交流室とコラボレーションしたトークセッション「ジャパン・ウォッチャーが目撃した『平成ニッポン30年』」を開催する。

平成の価値観、コミュニケーション、キャリア形成、生産性、働き方、自然災害との向き合い方などについての考察を、会場の参加者と共にセッションしていく。

登壇者：

フランツ・ヴァルデンベルガー
ドイツ日本研究所 所長

上條 典夫
株式会社電通 執行役員

森下 公江
株式会社電通 電通イノベーションイニシアチブ イノベーションインテリジェンス部長

In cooperation with the Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) the DIJ hosted an one-day workshop about work style reform, gender time gap, work-life balance and gender equality regarding Japan and Germany.

Speakers:
Michiko Mae, University of Düsseldorf
Ute Klammer, University of Duisburg-Essen
Yumiko Murao, Associate Professor of Sociology at Toyo University
Elke Holst, German Institute for Economic Research
Kumiko Nemoto, Kyoto University
Fanz Waldenberger, German Institute for Japanese Studies
Machiko Osawa, Japan Women’s University
Ralf Kleindiek, The Boston Consulting Group

Beethoven’s legacy is still alive and well in present-day Japan, where his life and works continue to play a major part in Japan’s modern cultural landscape. The Western vision of the wild-haired, scowling genius is commonly recognized in Japan today, and it comes as no surprise that many agencies have tried to harness the power of his unmistakable image to attract Japanese consumers.

This presentation examines two examples of Beethoven as an anime character. The first is from the 2001 OVA Read or Die, in which Beethoven is a cyborg fated to destroy mankind with his “Suicide Symphony.” The second is “Beethes” from NHK’s 2016 comedy anime ClassicaLoid, a stylishly leather-clad android obsessed with cooking the perfect gyoza dumpling. In addition, we will hear how Beethoven’s symphonic masterpieces are transformed in the anime underscores to support the distinctly Japanese characterization of Beethoven found in these popular shows.

Speaker:
Heike Hoffer, The Ohio State University

Big data will be at the heart of the digital revolution. Social networks, factories, supply chains, digital market places, “shared economy” platforms, medical devices, wearables, smart homes, seismic instruments, weather stations and GPS satellites – in the digitalized and connected world data have become abundant. Rapidly developing tools to integrate and analyze large volumes of diverse datasets in ever faster and intelligent ways open up enormous potentials for research, private enterprises and public policy.

Our half-day workshop explores how Japan is building the infrastructures to efficiently and responsibly gather, integrate, analyze, use and trade data. The workshop is organized around three panels. Each panel will consist of four speakers. They will start with short presentations by Japanese speaker with backgrounds in research, business and policy followed by an international perspective or general comment. A moderator will introduce and guide the speakers and coordinate the discussions.

Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the greatest media spectacle of modernity, Tokyo will be at the center of the world’s attention in summer 2020. The nearly universal reach via television and internet broadcast provides the IOC with multi-billion dollar revenue streams and the host with opportunities for placing highly visible messages about the state of the nation and its future to the world.

With less than two years ahead of the Games, the DIJ roundtable features three leading experts on sport mega-events to discuss the political economy of hosting the Olympic Games, the difficulties of message control in the post-factual age, and the legacies of the Games for Japan in the 2020s.

Speakers:
Munehiko Harada, Waseda University
John D. Horne, Waseda University
Wolfram Manzenreiter, University of Vienna