The Japanese countryside has for decades seen its population shrinking and aging. But in recent years some regions have experienced an influx of new residents, urban-to-rural migrants, looking for a new life in the Japanese countryside.

This so-called I-turn trend has been increasingly covered by the popular media. Magazines and websites providing information and support for people interested in moving to rural areas suggest that life in the countryside promises a meaningful job, a good work-life-balance, a life close to nature and a small, supportive community. They evoke an image of a nostalgic picturesque ‘homeland’ (furusato), where an ‘old Japanese way of life’ has been preserved. But what story does the individual I-turner tell?

　わが国のコーポレート・ガバナンスは現在大きな変革期にある。これまでのコーポレート・ガバナンス研究のほとんどは、米英を比較対象として行われてきたが、成功した資本主義のもう一つのモデルであり、とくに、シュレーダー改革以降大きな変革を遂げたドイツのコーポレート・ガバナンスを比較対象として加えることは、現在進行中のコーポレート・ガバナンス改革の議論に新たな視点を付与することになろう。

　本シンポジウムは、１．株主（Shareholders）、２．従業員（Employees）、３．取締役会（Boards）、の三つのセッションに分かれ、各セッションは、日独各1名の専門家による報告の後、短い質疑応答が行われる。それに続くパネル・ディスカッションにおいて、全体としての比較が行われる予定である。

日時：
2016年11月26日（土） | １０：００ ～ １８：３０ （受付開始　９：３０）

締め切り：
2016年11月11日（金）

Social sciences, and even more so natural sciences and engineering, tend to neglect local conditions, i.e. how ecological, social, political or economic issues are perceived and addressed in the specific context of a country or region and how solutions are sought for and implemented.

Our conference aims at highlighting possible contributions of area studies to the sciences, innovation and public policy by discussing concrete examples in highly relevant thematic fields. We would like to invite you to the public part of our conference which will refer to the outcomes of our preceding “closed” sessions.

Scheduled:
November 15, 2016 | 1:30 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

Registration deadline:
November 11, 2016

‘Victimhood nationalism’ is a working hypothesis to explicate competing national memories over the historical position of victims in coming to terms with the past. The hereditary memory of victimhood consolidates the national solidarity beyond generations and justifies nationalism by endowing the victimized nation with the moral sympathy and historical authenticity. Without a reflection on victimhood nationalism, the postwar Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung (‘coming to terms with the past’) cannot be properly grasped.

The talk by Professor Lim will be followed by comments by Professor Horvat before the floor will be opened to the audience for a Q&A session.

Scheduled:
November 10, 2016 | 6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Speakers:
Jie-Hyun Lim, Sogang University Seoul
Andrew Horvat, Josai International University

日本とドイツは、温暖化対策において緊密な協力関係にあります。この関係の強化に向けた両国の決意は、Ｇ７富山環境大臣会合や、本年５月に日本環境省とドイツ連邦環境・自然保護・建設・原子炉安全省の間で署名された「脱炭素社会に向けた低炭素技術普及を推進するための二国間協力に関する共同声明」において、明確に示されました。

気候保護政策には、国際的な調整が欠かせない一方で、具体的な対策の実現には、多くの場合自治体と市民の積極的な活動が鍵となります。

Our speaker, Ilse Lenz, will compare the two conservative gender welfare regimes of Germany and Japan by examining convergences and differences and discuss the main characteristics and the scale of these transformations.

“In most postindustrial societies, we presently experience a transformation from a gender order based on difference to a more flexible one. In the sphere of production, we witness a highly increased women’s labor market participation, based on the support of equal opportunity and diversity schemes. However, a large part of female employees are working in irregular or precarious jobs, and this trend is extending to male wage earners.”

The presentation will be followed by a comment from Glenda S. Roberts, Professor at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies of Waseda University.

Scheduled:
October 13, 2016 | 6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Speakers:
Ilse Lenz, Professor emeritus at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB)
Glenda Roberts, Professor at Waseda University

Social activism is not a nation state-bound phenomenon, but globally embedded. The Japanese labour movement represents a particularly interesting case to study the relationship between global frameworks of activism and their transformative impact on domestic activism, as it displays a much broader diversity than institutionalist approaches can explain. While parts of the Japanese labour movement strongly resemble their international counterparts, others remain remarkably distinct.

To explain this diversity, I elucidate the interaction between isomorphic influences of global frameworks of labour activism and the strategic selection and adoption by different actors in the Japanese labour movement.