Our research fellows Sonja Ganseforth and Isaac Gagné presented their latest research on different aspects of rural Japan at the ‚Asia’s New Ruralities‘ online conference (August 12-13) at the University of Vienna. Sonja’s paper („Remaking rurality in Japanese fishing villages“) on global dynamics and structural change in rural Japanese fishing villages emphasized the need to pay close attention to the maritime side of fishing communities. Isaac’s paper „Local Economies of Care: The Impact of Demographic Changes on Social Welfare in Rural Japan“ argued that it is in the rural areas, which are often seen as the most backward, most vulnerable, and least adaptive, where some of the most innovative transformations in welfare have been taking place. Among others they were joined by former DIJ research fellow Hanno Jentzsch who gave a presentation on „Wine Tourism and Rural Revitalization in Yamanashi“, based on fieldwork he conducted during his time at the DIJ. The full conference programme and abstracts are available here.