What is the ‘local’?
Rethinking the politics of subnational spaces in Japan
18. Oktober - 20. Oktober 2018
This symposium aimed to enhance the discussion of the “local” as unit of analysis – a discussion that is vital to avoid under-complex approaches to multilayered socio-economic and political phenomena. The focus was on contemporary Japan, which provides a particularly interesting case in this respect, not least due to the massive reorganization of the local administrative landscape in the mid-2000s. The symposium has brought together researchers who link different conceptions of the “local” to concrete social, economic, and political problems. More than twenty talks and presentations illuminated how analyzing the (re)configuration and interaction of formal and informal, spatial and social sub-national boundaries from various disciplinary vantage points advances the understanding of socio-economic and political organization in and beyond Japan.
Vorträge
Tag 1 18. Oktober (Donnerstag)
18:30 Uhr
DIJ Forum: “The Politics of subnational spaces in Japan and China”
Franz Waldenberger
German Institute for Japanese Studies
Carolyn Cartier
University of Technology, Sydney
20:00 Uhr
Reception
Tag 2 19. Oktober (Freitag)
10 Uhr
Panel I: Introduction
Sonja Ganseforth
German Institute for Japanese Studies
Hanno Jentzsch
German Institute for Japanese Studies
William Kelly
Yale University
11:15 Uhr
Coffee Break
11:30 Uhr
Panel II: (Re)Negotiating local communities
Susanne Klien
Hokkaido University
Paul Hansen
Hokkaido University
Florian Purkarthofer
German Institute for Japanese Studies
13:00 Uhr
Lunch Break
14:30 Uhr
Panel III: Commodifying the Local
Aaron Kingsbury
Maine Maritime Academy
Carolin Funck
Hiroshima University
Hart Feuer
Kyoto University
Sekine Kae
Aichi Gakuin University
16:00 Uhr
Coffee Break
16:30 Uhr
Panel IV: The cooperative dimension
Sonja Ganseforth
German Institute for Japanese Studies
Hanno Jentzsch
German Institute for Japanese Studies
18:30 Uhr
Speakers’ dinner (location tba)
Tag 3 20. Oktober (Samstag)
10:00 Uhr
Panel V: Local economic development
Endo Akira
Yokohama National University
Susanne Brucksch
German Institute for Japanese Studies
Benjamin Rabe
University of Duisburg-Essen
11:00 Uhr
Coffee Break
11:30 Uhr
Panel VI: Layers of local governance
Timo Thelen
Duesseldorf University
Oguma Hitoshi
Takasaki City University Of Economics
Johannes Wilhelm
Keio University
Daniel Kremers
German Institute for Japanese Studies
12:30 Uhr
Lunch Break
14:00 Uhr
Panel VII: The Local in politics
Anthony Rausch
Hirosaki University
Ken Hijino
Kyoto University
15:00 Uhr
Coffee Break
15:30 Uhr
Panel VIII: Local identities and place-making
Isaac Gagné
German Institute for Japanese Studies
Sanada Kie
Tübingen University
Barbara Holthus
Wolfram Manzenreiter
University of Vienna
17:00 Uhr
Coffee Break
17:15 - 18:00 Uhr
Final discussion
Discussant: Peter Matanle, Sheffield University