German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ) Podcast

Research and innovation are of vital importance to the competitiveness and welfare of leading industrial economies such as Japan and Germany. How do the two countries perform in this respect? The two speakers, both outstanding scholars and experts in the field, will assess the strengths and weaknesses of their respective national systems of research and innovation. After the two presentations, the similarities and differences between the two countries will be further elaborated in a discussion among the two speakers.

Research and innovation are of vital importance to the competitiveness and welfare of leading industrial economies such as Japan and Germany. How do the two countries perform in this respect? The two speakers, both outstanding scholars and experts in the field, will assess the strengths and weaknesses of their respective national systems of research and innovation. After the two presentations, the similarities and differences between the two countries will be further elaborated in a discussion among the two speakers followed by an open Q&A with the floor.

On the occasion of completing his tenure as director of the DIJ after ten years, Florian Coulmas gave a lecture entitled, ‘About Time. Globalization, Chronoethnology, and Japanese Culture.’ He argues that conceptions of time, time regimes and temporal patterns of events and activities constitute a rich base for cultural analysis. Drawing a wide canvas from the adaptation of the European mechanical clock in the sixteenth century to scheduling public transport in one-minute intervals nowadays, he shows how technological and social progresses interact, sometimes modulated by culture.

On the occasion of completing his tenure as director of the DIJ after ten years, Florian Coulmas gave a lecture entitled, ‘About Time. Globalization, Chronoethnology, and Japanese Culture.’ He argues that conceptions of time, time regimes and temporal patterns of events and activities constitute a rich base for cultural analysis. Drawing a wide canvas from the adaptation of the European mechanical clock in the sixteenth century to scheduling public transport in one-minute intervals nowadays, he shows how technological and social progresses interact, sometimes modulated by culture.

Public understandings about the Japanese Red Army (Nihon Sekigun) are based largely on information promulgated by the Japanese government and circulated widely by mass media during the nearly three decades that its members were beyond reach in the Middle East. The participants have contributed to the myth-making, both by their public writings and by what they did not reveal. Some pieces of contradictory information have been available for a long time, but many blanks were filled in with widely circulated myths. Even scholars who studied the group have perpetuated mistaken views based on the limited information available.

The formal dissolution of Nihon Sekigun and a set of new trials of returnees from 2000 to 2010 have now made it possible to construct a rather different picture of the group. The dissolution freed members and former members to talk about internal aspects of the organization that they had kept secret for decades. In a new book in progress, Dr. Steinhoff is examining the recent material in light of her four decades of research on the various branches of the original Sekigunha. Her research includes prison interviews, participant observation of trial sessions and the activities of trial support groups, and extensive reading of the group’s writings in Japanese. Her talk will debunk several widely believed myths about the Japanese Red Army and analyze the origins and implications of these myths.

Public understandings about the Japanese Red Army (Nihon Sekigun) are based largely on information promulgated by the Japanese government and circulated widely by mass media during the nearly three decades that its members were beyond reach in the Middle East. The participants have contributed to the myth-making, both by their public writings and by what they did not reveal. Some pieces of contradictory information have been available for a long time, but many blanks were filled in with widely circulated myths. Even scholars who studied the group have perpetuated mistaken views based on the limited information available.

This study on Japanese women’s current career opportunities finds traditional Japanese gender roles to be mostly still in place, rendering it highly difficult for Japanese women to pursue a career in domestic organizations. It is suggested that Japanese women do not perceive male oppression as the (main) problem and obtaining the same rights and duties not as the solution. Instead, what women mainly require is a substantial redefinition of the work life balance in Japanese organizations. In this sense, the fault lines are not so much between men and women but between organizations and employees.

Furthermore, Japanese women choosing to work for foreign employers in Japan did not so because of professional concerns alone, but also because of emotional factors. As they often reject the constraints of traditional Japanese gender roles, working for foreign employers signifies for them the pursuit of a liberating Western lifestyle. Moreover, Japanese women working for foreign companies often perceive themselves as outsiders in Japanese society, but also as a kind of avant-garde, possibly setting new trends in Japanese working life and perhaps in Japanese society at large.

This study on Japanese women’s current career opportunities finds traditional Japanese gender roles to be mostly still in place, rendering it highly difficult for Japanese women to pursue a career in domestic organizations. It is suggested that Japanese women do not perceive male oppression as the (main) problem and obtaining the same rights and duties not as the solution. Instead, what women mainly require is a substantial redefinition of the work life balance in Japanese organizations. In this sense, the fault lines are not so much between men and women but between organizations and employees.

Furthermore, Japanese women choosing to work for foreign employers in Japan did not so because of professional concerns alone, but also because of emotional factors. As they often reject the constraints of traditional Japanese gender roles, working for foreign employers signifies for them the pursuit of a liberating Western lifestyle. Moreover, Japanese women working for foreign companies often perceive themselves as outsiders in Japanese society, but also as a kind of avant-garde, possibly setting new trends in Japanese working life and perhaps in Japanese society at large.

The primary pathways through which environmentally persistent radioactive substances enter people’s bodies is food. After 3.11 Japanese authorities and scientists were unable to provide clear guidelines on possible effects of internal radiation. They took weeks to set up a monitoring system. In response to this, many citizens took matters into their own hands to monitor food and measure the level of contamination. This talk analyzes citizen radiation measuring stations and their role in filling the critical knowledge gaps on food safety issues after the nuclear accident.

Theoretically, this paper analyzes the citizen radiation measuring stations as an instance of citizen science, and explores its relation to science governance and democracy. It asks who the “citizens” were in citizen science in post 3.11 Japan. The question of representation in scientific matters is central here. Who was deemed the right kind of person to talk about the issue of food contamination? The notion of “citizen” emerged as a counterpart to experts, but who could actually fulfill the idealized role of a citizen was heavily contested. In this limited space, women found the symbolic power of “mother” as an ideal-type citizen. The talk also explores the complicated terrain of the maternal representation in the history of anti-nuclear movements in Japan.

The primary pathways through which environmentally persistent radioactive substances enter people’s bodies is food. After 3.11 Japanese authorities and scientists were unable to provide clear guidelines on possible effects of internal radiation. They took weeks to set up a monitoring system. In response to this, many citizens took matters into their own hands to monitor food and measure the level of contamination. This talk analyzes citizen radiation measuring stations and their role in filling the critical knowledge gaps on food safety issues after the nuclear accident.

Theoretically, this paper analyzes the citizen radiation measuring stations as an instance of citizen science, and explores its relation to science governance and democracy. It asks who the “citizens” were in citizen science in post 3.11 Japan. The question of representation in scientific matters is central here. Who was deemed the right kind of person to talk about the issue of food contamination? The notion of “citizen” emerged as a counterpart to experts, but who could actually fulfill the idealized role of a citizen was heavily contested. In this limited space, women found the symbolic power of “mother” as an ideal-type citizen. The talk also explores the complicated terrain of the maternal representation in the history of anti-nuclear movements in Japan.