On July 24, 2020, more than one billion people worldwide were expected to watch the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. What was supposed to be a glorious year for Japan, 2020 instead catapulted the world into a pandemic, sees the Olympic Games postponed and their future for Tokyo uncertain. Despite its postponement and potential cancellation, the build-up to the 2020 Olympic Games has already had a major impact on Tokyo, Japan, and the many stakeholders in government, business, and society involved. The publication Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics (Routledge 2020) explains this multifaceted impact and is available open access (free download). To learn more about the book’s chapters you can watch interviews with our authors on the new DIJ YouTube channel. The playlist will be updated periodically. In the first episode, main editor and DIJ deputy director Barbara Holthus introduces the book and her own chapter on volunteering.

The latest issue of our DIJ Newsletter features reflections on the impact of COVID-19 on Japan and Japanese Studies, summarizes our first web forum on the pandemic in Germany and Japan, and introduces a new DIJ research project on Digital Transformation as well as a book publication on the Olympic Games. We also congratulate one of our colleagues on the receipt of a prestigious award, give an update on recent publications, and announce recent personnel changes  in our “Staff News” section.
Visit our DIJ Newsletter webpage to download the most recent issue or to order your free print copy.

Renewable energies have the potential to increase energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an economic basis for the sustainable development of rural areas. Facing typical peripherality issues such as socio-economic decline, poor accessibility, limited political autonomy and tightened budgets, rural communities in Japan are pressed to venture into new institutional arrangements in order to fulfill their statutory duties. Increasing self-sufficiency has therefore emerged as a key strategy for local governments, including energy self-sufficiency. The book chapter “Local renewables: Japan’s energy transformation and its potential for the remaking of rural communities”, co-authored by Daniel Kremers and Thomas Feldhoff (Bochum), analyzes some key trends in Japan’s recent energy transformation and energy policy, in particular government policies linking renewable energy to local development, and local-level conflicts related to increases in renewable energy generation. Case studies highlight the diversity of challenges and the need for locally-specific solutions that lead to healthier communities.
This chapter is part of the volume Japan’s New Ruralities. Coping With Decline in the Periphery (Routledge), co-edited by W. Manzenreiter, R. Lützeler, and S. Polak-Rottmann, and draws on Daniel’s research project on Energy Transition and Energy Democracy in Japan.

Comparison is back in fashion. In some fields it has spawned a vast literature and become the etiquette for discussions of appropriate focus and methods. The advent of big data and AI debates revolving around this have also rejuvenated comparative quantitative research. In other fields, however, comparison peaked long ago. There is a complex and uneven historical variance across disciplines. The new blog series ‘Comparing comparisons’ investigates which role comparisons play in different research fields, ultimately tackling the question of how and why we compare in the social sciences and humanities. The blog entries originate from the presentations of the international and interdisciplinary meeting by scholars affiliated with the Max Weber Research Group at the National University of Singapore and researchers from the German Institute for Japanese Studies that took place in Tokyo on 2nd and 3rd December 2019. Read the first article “Comparing Comparisons – Introduction and Overview” by James D. Sidaway and Franz Waldenberger on trafo blog for transregional research.

The present crisis is surrounded by a high degree of uncertainty. We cannot eliminate the uncertainty, but we can fathom possible scenarios. Therefore, NIRA (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement) and the DIJ decided to jointly hold a policy discussion on COVID-19 with experts from several major regions across the world. The international conference was held online on April 23 and was attended by experts from China, the US, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium, as well as participants from Japan. The main purpose of the web-meeting was not to recount the publicly available information we already shared, but to exchange opinions about the economic impacts of the pandemic and the various national countermeasures based on the participants’ assessments.  Various issues were discussed: the need for international coordination and cooperation; the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and national economic countermeasures; the impact of the crisis on global energy markets; social and regional disparities; and the role of scientific expertise. The present pandemic presents a challenge to humankind. To cope with its global dimensions and implications requires intense and continuous international dialogue, not only for coordination and cooperation, but also for mutual understanding and learning. You can read the full joint NIRA/DIJ Opinion Paper here

Japan Through the Lens of the Tokyo Olympics (Routledge 2020) situates the 2020 Tokyo Olympics within the social, economic and political challenges for Japan. Tokyo 2020 is constructed to embrace diversity and inclusiveness in society, foster sustainability, boost Japan’s economy, and create a feeling of unity and pride for the country. Irrespective of the Olympic’s postponement or potential cancellation, this book explains the multifaceted impact of the Tokyo Olympics on Tokyo, on Japan and on its society, businesses, and its self-identity. Written by leading experts on Japan, this volume assembles 34 easily accessible chapters covering all relevant aspects of society, economics, culture, and politics incl. technology, food, security, work, media, sexuality, history, film, linguistics, volunteering, architecture, advertising, and – of course – sports! Project page
Edited by Barbara Holthus, Isaac Gagné, Wolfram Manzenreiter, and Franz Waldenberger, this book contains many contributions by current and former DIJ researchers. It is now available in paperback, hardcover and as open access book.

Based on fieldwork in the prefecture of Saga in Northern Kyushu, this chapter by Sonja Ganseforth explores the struggles of small family fishing businesses and cooperatives dealing with global and national transformations since the 1980s. The emergence of buyer-driven global commodity chains in seafood, the proliferation of large supermarket chains and a re-orientation of consumer preferences constitute a profound shift in the seafood business in Japan. Growing resource problems, high input costs and stagnating fish prices contribute to the declining profitability of local coastal fisheries. Drawing on research on rural experiences of globalization as well as critical analyses of development, growth and sustainability discourses, the chapter “Reclaiming the Global Countryside? Decline and Diversification in Saga Genkai Coastal Fisheries” argues that qualitative reform of fishery cooperatives, marketing and resource management is needed to halt socio-economic decline in Japanese coastal fisheries.
This chapter is part of the volume Japan’s New Ruralities. Coping With Decline in the Periphery (Routledge), co-edited by W. Manzenreiter, R. Lützeler, and S. Polak-Rottmann, and draws on Sonja’s research projects on Japan’s Blue Economies and What Is the Local?

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine and telecare receive particular attention as ways to avoid infections and to protect vulnerable groups. In fact, several municipalities and prefectures in Japan have already introduced telehealth networks to link local healthcare institutions and medical practitioners. In her latest publication, Susanne Brucksch examines how these networks promote the establishment of “Regional Integrated Healthcare Systems” and generate synergies between medical and long-term care regarding healthcare staff, services, and infrastructure. The chapter ‘Sustaining Healthcare in Japan’s Regions: The Introduction of Telehealth Networks’ contains findings from an interview study (2017) on two cases regarding the provision of and access to healthcare services, while referring to the theoretical concept of socio-spatial-digital proximity by N. Oudshoorn (2011). Overall, the findings suggest that the telehealth infrastructure is a necessary precondition to promote and to initiate collaboration between various healthcare institutions in order to establish a regional healthcare system.

This chapter is part of the volume Japan’s New Ruralities. Coping With Decline in the Periphery (Routledge), co-edited by W. Manzenreiter, R. Lützeler, and S. Polak-Rottmann, and draws on Susanne’s research projects on Ageing in Japan and Biomedical Engineering in Japan.