DIJ Newsletter 78, Winter 2024/25

In November, Sébastien Lechevalier joined the DIJ as a Visiting Research Fellow. An economist and professor at EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris), he specializes in the study of Asian economies with a focus on Japan and on the relations between technologies and societies. His appointment is part of a new cooperation between the DIJ, the Max Weber Foundation, and the EHESS. During his busy start at our institute we had the chance to ask him a few questions.

Welcome to the DIJ! How were your first six weeks at the DIJ?

Thank you for welcoming me! These first six weeks have been busy but very much enjoyable. I really felt warmly welcome! It is like becoming member of a community.

You are the first French member of staff. Was it difficult to adapt to a mostly German workplace?

Not at all! I really appreciate the pluri-lingual environment of the DIJ. I should also mention that I have been collaborating for many years with German colleagues, including Professor Franz Waldenberger, and, despite some differences, I consider that our approaches to the understanding of Japanese society and economy are very close.

Your position is part of a brand-new cooperation between your home university (EHESS), the DIJ, and the Max Weber Foundation. What are your expectations for this cooperation?

First of all, I should say I feel a responsibility: this is a quite new scheme that goes much beyond my own research and I hope that my position will contribute to further strengthening the relation between our institutions. Second, in terms of more personal expectations, I hope that I will be able to contribute to the DIJ research agenda and to the development of a trilateral research collaboration between Japan, Germany, and France.

Your first project at the DIJ explores care-led innovation in France, Germany, and Japan. Which insights do you expect from comparing these three countries?

If technologies (especially robotics, AI, digital technologies) can help the autonomy of older adults, they also have limitations (difficulties of use, disconnection between design and real needs, ethical issues that may not be taken into consideration) identified by field actors and in the scientific literature. The objective of this project is to try to overcome these limitations by working on a better synthesis of social and individual needs and the contributions of technologies, through a comparison between Japan, Germany, and France.

Which other research plans do you have for your time at the DIJ?

I am also planning to develop a research project to better integrate demographic variables into the economic analysis. We had a good start on December 2nd, with the conference co-organized by the FFJ-EHESS, Banque de France, CIGS, and the DIJ, including especially remarkable contributions by researchers such as Dietmar Harhoff, Axel Börsch-Supan, Charles Horioka, Takeo Hoshi, Hippolyte d’Albis, or Jean-Marie Robine.

You have recently moved from Paris to Tokyo. Can you share with our readers what you are looking forward to doing in Japan during the weekends and holidays?

In general, I love to explore mountains and sea shores, which are particularly beautiful in Japan!

Thank you, Sébastien, and all the best wishes for your time at the DIJ!

Interview by Torsten Weber

External links

Interview with Sébastien Lechevalier (Toshiba International Foundation, 2024)

Interview with Sébastien Lechevalier (Japan Science and Technology Agency, 2023)

Call for Papers “Economics of ageing: Japan in comparative perspective” (The Journal of the Economics of Ageing)