Imagined Futures in Japan and Beyond

International workshop at the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ) in Tokyo
Organizer: Nicole M. Mueller, Senior Research Fellow

The future begins with imagination. One example are the Sci-Fi prototyping initiatives of Japanese tech giants like Sony and NTT, which intentionally utilize storytelling to foster public acceptance of emerging technologies. Focusing on the connection between narratives, culture, technological innovation, and marketing, this interdisciplinary workshop delved into both fictional and non-fictional portrayals of Japan’s technological future. Our keynote speakers, Fritz Breithaupt (Indiana University Bloomington) and Hirotaka Osawa (Keio University), international scholars, as well as practitioners from Japan’s tech industry, joined us to analyze visions of emerging technologies, of their environmental and societal impact, and of Japan as a “futuristic” nation through the lens of “narrative” and “sociotechnical imaginary” theoretical frameworks.

Wednesday, Oct 09, 2024

6:00 – 7:30 PM Keynote Speeches/DIJ Forum

Future Narratives – Why They Matter
Fritz BREITHAUPT (Indiana University Bloomington, Experimental Humanities Lab)

Science Fiction Prototyping Trends in Japan
Hirotaka OSAWA (Keio University Tokyo, Keio SF Lab)

7:30 – 9:00 PM Reception

Thursday, Oct 10, 2024

10:00 – 10:30 AM Welcome & Introduction

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Panel 1: Imaginations of Futuristic Japan

Imagining Japanese Technofutures – The Role of Futurology and Science Fiction in Shaping the Information Society
Volker ELIS (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Progress as Decline: Future Imaginaries in Contemporary Japanese Literature
Kristina IWATA-WEICKGENANNT (Nagoya University)

The Future of Emotion as Zen: Meditation Apps, Android Bodhisattvas, and Mood-Regulating Tech in Japanese Wellness Spaces
Daniel WHITE (University of Cambridge, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence)

2:00 – 3:30 PM Panel 2: Imagined Futures of the Augmented Self

Hoshi Shin’ichi and Artificial Intelligence
Michaela OBERWINKLER (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)

Japan’s Dawn of a ‘New Extended Reality Era’ through the Lens of Future Imaginaries
Nicole M. MUELLER (German Institute for Japanese Studies, DIJ)

‘If it were real, I’d feel both fascinated and cautious.’ – Reflecting on Japanese citizens’ narratives about a prospective metaverse through a design-theoretical lens                                         
Michel HOHENDANNER (Technical University of Munich/DIJ Tokyo)
Chiara ULLSTEIN (Technical University of Munich)
Hirotaka OSAWA (Keio University Tokyo, Keio SF Lab)
Jens GROSSKLAGS (Technical University of Munich)
※ The Paper is presented in person by Michel HOHENDANNER and Hirotaka OSAWA

4:00 – 5:30 PM Panel 3 [Practitioners’ Perspectives]: XR Spotlights from Japan    

Japan’s Virtual Scene [preliminary title]
Shuntarō KUBOTA (CEO, MoguraVR)

XR Imaginaries in Japanese Advertising [preliminary title]
Shingo MEGURO (R&D Director, Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc.)

Reality into the virtual world — VR, AR and more —
Kenji TANAKA (Founder & CEO, Foxtrot Inc.)

Friday, Oct 11, 2024

10:00 – 11:30 AM Panel 4: Imagined Societies in the Data & Information Age

Imagining a Cashless Future for Japan: Digital Payments, Data Monetization, and Customer Experience Christian OBERLÄNDER (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg)

Imagining the future global pandemic and surveillance society
Takahiro YAMAMOTO (Singapore University of Technology and Design)

Mapping the Socio-technical Imaginaries of Dataveillance in Japan
Peter MANTELLO (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University)
Alin OLEANU (Käte Hamburger Kolleg, RWTH Germany & Shanghai International Studies University)

2:00 – 3:30 PM Panel 5: Imagined Futures of Our Lived Environment

Ecological narratives in the drawn visions of the future of the Tokyo metropolis
Corinne TIRY-ONO (Paris-Val de Seine National Graduate School of Architecture)

Fraught Narratives, Contrived Futures: Connection and the Unhoused across Tokyo
Paul CHRISTENSEN (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana)

Fukushima Futures: The Politics of Nuclear Energy in Japan after 3/11
Kyle CLEVELAND (Temple University Tokyo)

4:00 – 5:30 PM Panel 6: Futures in the Making – Practices, Methods, Mechanisms 

Techno-nationalism and the Land of the Rising Robots. The Japanese government’s co-construction of policy and technoscience
Amanda BRØDSGAARD (University of Copenhagen)

“Let’s think together”: Scattered narratives in NHK’s #BeyondGender project
Anya DOI-BENSON (Doshisha University Kyoto)

Posting the Future in the Present: Imagination as Manifest Destiny
Jonathan E. ABEL  (Penn State University)

5:30 – 5:45 PM Closing Remarks