Blog

Author: Felix Riede
Already long before the emergence of our own species Homo sapiens did humans modify their environment. As significant as they were for those early humans, such modifications were initially of strictly local and ephemeral character. With the advent of fire control and ever-more sophisticated technologies, however, such modifications were beginning to impact other species.

“Sustainability is not about continuing the same thing.” For Episode 1 of the new series, “Ethnographies of Life and Work: Researchers,” we invited Dr MINO Takashi, Project Professor at the Tokyo College.

In Japan, COVID-19 shifted the meaning of ‘home’ overnight with devastating effects on the transnational lives of migrants.
2019 was a special year in the history of migration in Japan recording the highest number of both foreign residents in Japan and Japanese residents overseas since 1968. Yet, COVID-19 disrupted this flow…

Authors: Dr. KASUGA Fumiko, TANI Junya
The crisis of the global environment is not just limited to warming, and warming cannot be prevented by energy conversion alone. For the sustainable development of human society, it is essential to maintain the stability and resilience of the entire global system…

When you smell coffee, what picture appears in your mind? What do you feel? What time of the day do you imagine? Distinctive smells like the smell of coffee tend to trigger strong associations. In the…

Graphic Recording ©Innovation Team dot Moe Ikeda We often hear the phrase “work-life balance,” but are “work” and “life” really separate things? The coronavirus pandemic is making work-from-home the new normal. University researchers are no exception….

We are already aware we cannot use everything on this planet limitless and the scale of our present activities threatens the well-being of future generations as well as our own. For that reason…

Part III: The Classroom as a Site of Renewal. In the previous parts I stressed a desire for more conversation: between area studies and the disciplines, between Japanese and non-Japanese scholars of Japan, between academics and the wider public. Crucially, we also need to listen to our students. In…

PART II: Japan as Method. What I found exciting as a German studying Japanese history was the change of perspective it entailed. For good reason, schooling in German history and public debates centered on National Socialism, the Second World War and the Holocaust. The purpose of national history after 1945…