Japan’s regions have been challenged by demographic decline and an aging population for some decades. Despite or even because of these challenges, a small number of people from urban centres of the country decide to move to rural areas. This DIJ Forum (onsite only) combines two different perspectives on migration patterns from urban to rural Japan. Filmmaker Sonja Blaschke introduces her film “Reisfeld statt Tokio” (in German, with English subtitles; 30min), highlighting the story of a young urban woman and her new lifestyle in a small village in the mountains of rural Japan. Tomoo Matsuda then introduces cases of urban professionals who decide to live temporarily or permanently in Japan’s countryside. Challenging the traditional pattern of migration to the nation’s capital, he illustrates the concept of “gyaku-sankin kōtai”, exploring the merits of moving to rural areas. Details and registration here

Please note that this event has changed to an online only format.  Given China’s indisputable economic and geopolitical importance, China cannot be ignored, passed or de-coupled. It is at the same time a partner, a competitor as well as an ideological and potential military opponent in the evolving multipolar world order. When dealing with China, how should we balance these different relational aspects? How can we maintain a constructive exchange without jeopardizing our own interests? Through a dialogue between European and Japanese China experts, the conference How to deal with China will address these questions from different perspectives. Speakers include Hans van Ess (LMU Munich),  Mats Lennart Harborn (Traton China Group), Shigeto Sonoda (University of Tokyo), Osamu Mogi (Kikkoman Corporation), and Junichiro Ikeda (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines). The conference is co-organised by the University of Tokyo’s Global Asian Studies, the Keizai Doyukai, and the DIJ. Details and registration here

After the physical and moral devastation brought by the defeat in the Asia-Pacific War, Japanese administrations in the Cold War era charted a course of gradual rearmament against the backdrop of substantial anti-militarist sentiments among the wider society. This tension placed members of the newly rebranded Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in an uneasy position. This research project examines the institutional socialisation of the SDF’s leadership through a one-year ethnography of Japan’s National Defense Academy (NDA), where the bulk of the future senior officers of the SDF’s three branches are educated. Through this anthropological inquiry, this presentation seeks to answer how history, tradition, and identity of the Japanese SDF are negotiated at the NDA. Details and registration here