イベント＆アクティビティ
DIJ Study Group with Giulia De Togni on ‘Caring Machines’
Robotics is a growing field in the delivery of care. “Socially Assistive Robots” (SARs) have the potential to ‘care’ for humans through social interaction, physical assistance, and therapy delivery. However, the emergence of ‘caring machines’ raises ethical, social, and technological questions. Giulia De Togni’s research aims to understand in what ways our identities and care relationships may be affected by the use of SARs and how this may vary in different cultural contexts. Her study is based on interviews with those who are developing robots, health and social care practitioners, and those receiving care; observations in robotics laboratories and care facilities in the UK and Japan – two rapidly ageing, highly industrialized countries which are leading in AI and robotics innovation. Details and registration here
Giulia De Togni, The University of Edinburgh Medical School
Hybrid lecture by Barbara Holthus on pets in contemporary Japan
The accelerated interest in pets in Japan has not started with the pandemic but certainly has been intensified by it. In response to more than two years of physical distancing and “self-restraint”, many Japanese have turned to pets as “substitute” family members that helped to fill the void in human-human interaction. The growing popularity of pets in Japan, together with the accompanying normative, social, and legal changes regarding pet ownership within Japanese society are the focus of the presentation Furry Companions: Pets in Contemporary Japan by DIJ sociologist Barbara Holthus. Drawing on data from interviews, participant observation, publications by the Ministry of the Environment, the National Police Agency, and media, Barbara’s presentation will highlight the embeddedness and changing role of pets in Japanese society. Registration for this hybrid event on November 24 at the University of Vienna and online here
Barbara Holthus to deliver keynote lecture at AJJ 2022 conference
DIJ deputy director Barbara Holthus and Wolfram Manzenreiter (University of Vienna) will deliver the keynote lecture at the Anthropology of Japan in Japan (AJJ) Annual Meeting at Kyoto University on December 3, 2022. Their presentation “The Social DNA of Happiness: Looking back, looking ahead” will outline the main research foci and results in a field that has become increasingly informed by findings from genetics, sociology, and anthropology. It will also introduce findings from their own studies in the field of happiness and well-being in Japan, including the relationality of well-being and happiness in rural Japan; life satisfaction among parents with young children and in social-movements; a new research tool to illustrate the multidimensionality of well-being in interviews. Looking ahead, their presentation will address the need for more anthropological engagement in this world of permanent flux, instability, threatened democracies, climate crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Carsten Herbes discusses Generation Z and sustainable consumption at DIJ talk
Private consumption accounts for a significant share of the environmental and social impact of human activities. Therefore, understanding consumer perceptions and behaviours is important for policy makers and companies but also for NGOs. In this presentation, Carsten Herbes will shed light on the similarities and differences in consumption behaviour between Japanese and German youth, focusing on the areas of food and clothing. Herbes will discuss influencing factors such as attitudes, norms, perceived opportunities, knowledge and trust as well as engagement in the Fridays for Future movement. His analysis draws on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and is based on consumer interviews with Generation Z members (age 16-24) in both countries and expert interviews. In addition, a representative online survey of around 500 GenZ consumers in both Japan and Germany was performed. Details and registration here
Carsten Herbes, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Germany/DIJ Tokyo
DIJ researchers and alumni at VSJF annual conference
Several DIJ researchers and alumni will participate in this year’s annual conference of the German Association for Social Science Research on Japan (VSJF) from November 18-20, 2022. On the 19th, Nora Kottmann will present her paper (Not) Alone: Being Single in a Marriage Centric ‘Hyper-Solo-Society’ in the panel on “Changing private Life”. In the Sociology section, Barbara Holthus will give a presentation on Furry Friends in Covid Japan. DIJ alumnus Felix Spremberg (Tübingen) will present a paper on Recent Changes in Japan’s Digitalization Policy in the same section. DIJ alumni Axel Klein (Populism and Japan) and Steffen Heinrich (Privatisation without growth: A unique challenge for Japanese welfare state reform?) will give presentations in the Politics section. The section meetings on Economics, History, Politics, Sociology, and Technology are (co-)convened by DIJ researchers and alumni. The theme of the 2022 annual conference is “Deviance and Norms in Times of Change in Japan”. It is organised by DIJ advisory board member David Chiavacci (University Zurich) and DIJ alumna Gabriele Vogt (LMU Munich). The complete programme is available online (conference and sections’ meetings).
New article by David M. Malitz studies influence of Meiji Constitution on Siamese/Thai political thought
A new research article by DIJ historian David M. Malitz studies how the Meiji Constitution of 1889 and the Japanese Imperial Diet became crucial reference points in the development of Siamese/Thai political ideas from the 1880s to the 1940s. Published in the International History Review (October 2022), “‘What Is Good about the Japanese System of Governance?’ — The Reception of Imperial Japanese Parliamentarism in Siamese/Thai Political Thought (1880s–1940s)” is based on David’s contribution to the Symposium on the Occasion of the 130th Anniversary of the Opening of the Japanese Parliament, which he organized in November 2020 with the DIJ.
Starke DIJ-Präsenz beim Japan-Besuch von Bundespräsident Steinmeier
Mehrere Forscher und Forscherinnen des DIJ nahmen in der vergangenen Woche an Veranstaltungen im Rahmen des Japan-Besuchs von Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier und seiner Frau Elke Büdenbender teil. Zu den zentralen Anliegen ihres Aufenthaltes zählten gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt und Inklusion. DIJ-Direktor Franz Waldenberger (im Foto 2. von rechts) moderierte eine Diskussionsrunde zum Thema Freiwilligenarbeit in Deutschland und Japan, zu der der Bundespräsident und seine Frau junge engagierte Volunteers eingeladen hatten. Im DAWN Avatar Robot Café berichtete Sozialwissenschaftlerin Celia Spoden zusammen mit Kentarō Yoshifuji, CEO des OryLabs und Entwickler der OriHime, einer Delegation um Frau Büdenbender, wie der OriHime-Avatar die Selbstständigkeit, Freiheit und gesellschaftliche Partizipation von körperlich eingeschränkten Menschen unterstützt. Am Empfang des Bundespräsidenten in der Residenz des Deutschen Botschafters nahmen die stellvertretende Direktorin Barbara Holthus und Sozialwissenschaftlerin Nora Kottmann teil. Am Thementisch zu “Gender equality” diskutierte Nora mit Frau Büdenbender sowie dem ehemaligen DIJ-Beiratsmitglied Kaori Hayashi (Universität Tokyo), Yuko Hayashi (Universität Yamaguchi) und Karen Makishima (Mitglied des Unterhauses, ehemalige Digitalministerin) über “Starke Frauen in Japan”.
DIJ founding director receives prestigious Japanese Studies award
DIJ founding director Josef Kreiner has been announced winner of the International Prize in Japanese Studies 2022 awarded by the Japanese National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU). “As founding director, Professor Josef Kreiner made a significant contribution to the positive reception and reputation of the DIJ in Japan. The award shows that his research is still held in extremely high esteem today. We are very happy for him and congratulate him very warmly”, said DIJ director Franz Waldenberger. Josef Kreiner is Professor Emeritus of the University of Bonn and Visiting Researcher of Hosei University Research Center for International Japanese Studies. He was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the founding of the DIJ in 1988 and served as its director from 1988 to 1996. The NIHU International Prize in Japanese Studies was established in 2019 with the aim to promote the development of Japanese Studies and deepen the understanding of Japanese culture internationally. The awards ceremony and commemorative lecture will take place on 20 January 2023 at The Japan Academy.
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DIJ researcher Carolin Fleischer-Heininger will give a presentation on 'Transgression as Emancipation: Redefining Disability in Hanchibakku (2023) by Ichikawa Saō' at the 12th Alter Conference 'Disability Research for the Real World' on July 5 @KU_Leuven https://alterconf2024.sciencesconf.org/
Check out the summer edition of our #DIJNewsletter for recent & forthcoming publications @DolfNeuhaus @SpodenCelia, new team & board members @gabriele_vogt, upcoming & past events @DWIH_Tokyo, our new knowledge lab @HaraldKuemmerle, alumni news & more https://www.dijtokyo.org/publication/dij-newsletter-76-summer-2024/
Join our next #DIJStudyGroup on July 17 with Fumiya Uchikoshi @ufsoc who will present on 'Imagined Futures in Gendered Educational Trajectories: Adolescents’ Expectations and Uncertainty in Japanese Selective High Schools'. Online & in-person at the DIJ https://www.dijtokyo.org/event/the-role-of-imagined-futures-in-gendered-educational-trajectories-adolescents-expectations-and-uncertainty-in-japanese-selective-high-schools/
Awards, books, articles, events, job opening: Don't miss the next issue of our #DIJNewsletter incl. latest updates on our institute and its research activities. Subscribe now to receive the summer issue hot off the press in your inbox later this week http://dij.tokyo/newsletter
Call for Submissions
Contemporary Japan
current issue Vol. 36, No. 1
Contemporary Japan is open year-round for rolling submissions, with accepted publications published immediately online. Please see the instructions for submission here.
DIJ Monograph Series
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Open Access after a one-year embargo period. Downloads are available on our
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