Newsletter of theJapanese-German Center Berlin(Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin)
No. 130, March 2020

echo
Japan Inspires

Ina Lepel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Japan“Japan inspires” is not just a phrase

together for political solutions tooften heard, but a reality. Since I

conflicts and civil crisis management.

started as German Ambassador to

In addition, we stand for fair and freeJapan in September 2019, this coun-world trade, and work together intry has impressed and surprised me

development cooperation or in theagain and again with its many facets.

fight against international terrorism.

When I enjoy the efficiency of rail

There are also many collaborationstransport and the fantastic food ortackling the challenges of, for ex-

experience the numerous contrasts

ample, digitalization, sustainable

between tradition and modernity,

energy supply or demographic

which can be felt especially in thechange. The free trade agreement

megacity Tōkyō, I look forward to my

between Japan and the EU will give awork in Japan with anticipation andfurther positive boost to traditionallyexcitement. As Head of the Depart-close economic relations. The many

ment for Asia and the Pacific at themutual visits and bilateral meetings,

Federal Foreign Office, I was alreadyfor example within the framework ofable to experience Japan from a

the G7 and G20 or the United Na-

Berlin perspective up until Augusttions, are also a symbol of our good

2019, but I find it even more exciting

cooperation.

to gain first-hand experience now.
2019 was a very special year for© Embassy of Japan© GermanEmbassyMetzler
Tōkyō© Bankhaus

at these games. In October, the 17th
Asia-Pacific Conference of German
Business in Tōkyō will follow, where
we are expecting around 1,000
decision-makers from business andpolitics to travel from Germany andAsian countries.

In October, right at the beginning

Berlin and Tōkyō. The 25-year townof my term in office, I was able totwinning was honored on both sides

witness a rare major event. Together

with numerous events that brought

Japan Inspires

with German Federal President Stein-

the ties between the metropolises

Ina Lepel

meier and his wife, I too was able toeven closer. Important events areattend the impressive ceremony ofalso planned for 2020. I will watch

Emperor Naruhito’s accession to thethe Olympic and Paralympic Games

throne. The subsequent political andwith enthusiasm and excitementsocial discussions showed how wellthis summer and keep my fingers

Germany and Japan work together,crossed for the Japanese and German

Exchange Program

as both countries are close partners

athletes. These will be the first games

Young Employees

5working on the urgent issues ofthat I will be able to experience not

Other Events

6

today. Together we represent the

only on TV, but personally on site.

values of multilateralism and work

That’s why I am very happy to be

Preview of Events 2020

7

Culture first half of 2020

8

CONTENT

1-2

Interview
Olympic Games Tōkyō 20203

Conference Report
Security Dialog

42

C O N T I N U E D EF D
R IOTMO RP IAAGL E 1

EDITORIAL
Dear Readers!

In Germany, this year marks the 30th

Fortunately, the exchange between

anniversary of German reunification,

our two countries is progressing

which we will pay special tribute towell in many areas even without

in Japan. We are also celebrating

official intervention. In Germany,birthday of Ludwig van

for example, you can increasingly

Beethoven, who is extremely appre-

sample Japanese cuisine and in

ciated and loved throughout Japan.

Japan you can find more and more

If we look a little further ahead, we

shops inspired by Germany, whichthcan already look forward to the 160

was particularly noticeable at theanniversary of German-Japanese

Christmas markets in Tōkyō last year.

diplomatic relations next year, which

I am impressed by the great commit-

will make our long-standing ties

ment of the Japanese-German andeven more visible.

German-Japanese Societies operat-

the 250th

ing in both countries, which promote
With all the upcoming events, I am

exchange and mutual understanding

glad that we have had an important

through a variety of activities at local

partner for mutual exchange for 35

and regional levels.

years with the Japanese-German
Center Berlin (JDZB). This is not theI was amazed at the pictures submit-

only reason for another anniversary,

ted as part of the embassy’s painting

but also for a heartfelt thank you.

competition for schoolchildren fromThrough its work, the JDZB supports

all over Japan; these depicted notmutual understanding of Japanese

only beer, sausages and cars, but

and Germans and helps to create aalso everyday motifs such as wasps at

more realistic image of each otherthe bakery or taking bicycles on thethat reaches beyond clichés. I wastrain. At the annual German Festival

very impressed by a meeting within Tōkyō, there was also a wealth ofparticipants in the German-Japanesehandicraft shops and representatives

Young Leaders Forum held in Tōkyōfrom Berlin’s DJ scene to ensure thein September. This is where young

best entertainment in addition toleaders from Germany and Japan

culinary delights.

from very different fields of work
come together and discuss future

Japan will continue to be a close

issues. I could see how strong thepartner with whom we can achieve

networks formed here are from thea great deal together. We tackle somefact that a former participant evenquestions with different approaches,

traveled from New York to attend thebut that is precisely why we can learn

alumni event in Tōkyō. And, more-

a lot from each other and develop

over, the Japanese-German Forum,

joint solutions on important issues.

which took place in Tōkyō in early

I am therefore looking forward to

December 2019 – my first forum indeveloping an even deeper under-

this new capacity – provided impor-standing of Japan and its people

tant impulses for the further shaping

in the coming years and nurturingof our relations.

the German-Japanese friendship
together with the JDZB and the jdzb
echo readers.

The lead article in this issue was written by
Ambassador Ina Lepel, who took office inJapan in the summer of 2019. After servingas Ambassador to Pakistan, she was previously Head of the Asia and Pacific Divisionof the German Federal Foreign Office.
She has already been actively involved in
the Young Leaders’ Forum, the JapaneseGerman Forum and the German-Japanese
Security Policy Workshop. I am pleased
that she also supports us as a member of
the JDZB’s Foundation Council.
In the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Tōkyō, the JDZB will
also be covering these topics. “The mostimportant thing in the Olympic Games is
not to win but to take part.” These are thewords of Baron de Coubertin which conjured up the spirit of the Olympic Games.
In my childhood these words touched
me deeply, but it seems that the last few
Olympic Games are not only about athletes
giving their personal best performance.
Rather, there appears to be different problems – commercialisation, doping scandals
and enormous costs – so that nothing is
as simple as it seems. Let us reflect again
on the importance of the Olympic Games.
On 6 February, the JDZB hosted the German-Japanese symposium “New impulses
for the role of professional nursing staff incaring for the elderly”. It was impressive
how Japan’s strategies for prevention andmeasures for functional rehabilitation met
with great interest from the German side.
The JDZB will continue to hold conferenceson the topic of demographic change.
The spread of the new coronavirus is concerning. Please take care of yourself andstay healthy.
Kiyota Tokiko
JDZB Deputy Secretary Generaljdzb echo
Published quarterly in March – June – Sept. – Dec.
Publisher:
Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB)
Editor: Michael Niemann
Tel.: +49-30-839 07 186, E-Mail: niemann@jdzb.de
Opinions expressed reflect the author‘s
opinion and not necessarily the opinionof the publisher.
Address of the JDZB:
Saargemünder Str. 2, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49-30-839 07 0 Fax: +49-30-839 07 220
E-Mail: jdzb@jdzb.de
URL: http://www.jdzb.de
Opening hours of the Library:Tue + Wed 12 noon–6 pm; Thu 12 noon–6 pm

33

INTERVIEW

On 2 April 2020, the JDZB, in cooperation with the German Institute for JapaneseStudies (DIJ, Tōkyō), is organizing a panel discussion on the topic of “Olympia
2020 – The importance of major sporting events for society, politics and theeconomy”. Below is an interview on the topic with the Deputy Director of the
DIJ, Dr. Barbara Holthus.
One reason for our event is the publication

2020 and especially for the Paralympic

of the anthology “Japan through the Lens

Games.

of the Tokyo Olympics”, of which you are

Most of the Olympic sports facilities areco-editor. What are the main points and why

located in the so-called Heritage Zone andshould we read it?

the Bay Zone, and it is there, on newly

Olympic records are measured in seconds

reclaimed land, that most of the new build-

and milliseconds; the Olympic and Para-

ings can be found. The Olympic Village in

lympic Games last 34 days; preparations

Harumi district is already on the housing

in the case of Tōkyō 2020 extend over moremarket for the post-Olympic period. Rents

than 15 years. However, the impact of thein downtown Tōkyō continue to rise, andworld’s largest sporting event on the Tōkyō

although the gentrification processes incityscape and the nation’s memories willseveral Tōkyō neighborhoods were not initi-

What will remain after the end of the Games?

last for generations. Japan and Tōkyō areated by the Olympics, they have accelerated

A push for modernization of the city like after

trying to reinvent themselves with thethem. At the same time, neighborhoods likethe 1964 Olympics – or nothing of the sort?

Olympic and Paralympic Games as a place

Shinjuku, with its not insubstantial number

From the official side, great hopes are beingof diversity, inclusion, cosmopolitanism,of homeless people, are to be “cleaned up”

placed on the Olympic Games and they are“coolness”, and hospitality. They willfrom March 2020. But exactly where thesealready being considered a great success foralso try to present the nuclear disaster ofpeople are supposed to go is still unknown

Tōkyō and the entire country. With Tōkyō

Fukushima as “overcome”. All in all, Tōkyō

by those affected.

1964 Japan managed to free itself from its
status as a poor country and the war defeat,2020 serves as a prism in which the hopesof a wide range of stakeholders are paired

Have the Olympic Games in Japan and inand to show the world that it has risen towith the commercial interests of the IOC

Tōkyō been unreservedly welcomed, or werethe league of industrialized, technologicallyand the sponsors. Our anthology takes

and are there also critical voices?

advanced nations. This “success story” also

the Olympic Games in Tōkyō as an oppor-

Surveys paid for by Japan’s National Olym-

served to cement the national identity of antunity to explain Japan from a variety of

pic Committee show that, at the time of

economically successful and internationallyperspectives, based on the way the Gamesthe 2013 bid, almost three-quarters ofadmired country. Tōkyō 2020 has a muchare advertised, organized and discussed. In

respondents were in favor of the Tōkyō

harder time. Once again, it is promising toconcise, easy-to-read chapters, our 20 au-

2020 Games. That’s up 26 percent points

make the games the most technologicallythors analyze the anti-Olympics movement,

more than the previous year. These figures

advanced and the safest ever. The games

security measures, the advertising industry

are quite impressive, because when Tōkyō

are designed to make Japan a country thatand sponsorship, the regional differences

applied for the 2016 Olympics, the moodlives and celebrates diversity, inclusion andin the country, working conditions at theamong the population was much moresustainability, even though it has lagged far

new sports venues, historical backgroundskeptical. Of course there are also criticalbehind other industrialized countries in all

and much more.

voices, and in 2013, 12 percent of thethese areas. A new culture of volunteering

population were explicitly against Tōkyō’s

is also being created, following the example

The preparation and implementation of

application for the 2020 Olympics. Thereof the London 2012 Olympic Games. One

Olympic Games touches on many areas ofare also anti-Olympic groups that organize

can only hope for the country and its peo-

public and private life – what are the implica-

public lectures, information events andple that these noble goals will be achieved.

tions for the city of Tōkyō?

demonstrations on the 24 of each month

At the same time, however, the GamesThe Olympic Games have been highly(since the Games begin on 24 July 2020).

are already overshadowed by bribery andanticipated for many years. In many pub-

They criticize various grievances, including

doping scandals, the climate crisis and alic places and buildings in the city, in thethe exorbitant costs and waste of taxpay-

potentially threatening pandemic caused

airports, at sumo tournaments or in largeers’ money, the working conditions at theby the corona virus. It will be several years

stores such as the branches of a well-known

Olympic construction sites, the displace-

before we can take full stock of the Olympic

electronics retail chain, there are so-called

ment of homeless people, as well as privati-

legacy of Tōkyō 2020.

countdown signs that are counting downzation and increasing surveillance of public

the days until the opening of the Olympic

spaces. The mass media, however, scarcely

and Paralympic Games. Since 2018, various

reports these Olympic-critical activities,

other major events have also been held at

so that the opposition to the Olympics

Tōkyō to generate enthusiasm for Tōkyōremains largely invisible to the public.

th4

CONFERENCE REPORT

Japanese-German Security Policy Dialog “Track 1.5”, 10 December 2019
Prof. Hanns W. Maull, German Institute for International and Security Affairs(SWP), Berlin
The Japanese-German security policy

tensions between China and the United

dialog has become a tradition: Since

States, North Korea’s nuclear weapons

2014, representatives from the foreign

and missile threat was also discussed.

ministries as well as from security policy
think tanks and academics have met once

The second part of the dialog was held ina year to discuss current and fundamen-

public: During a well-attended event at

tal security policy issues in East Asia andthe International House of Japan – mod-Europe, and explore the possibilities oferated by Professor Tsuruoka Michito

closer cooperation between Germany

from Keiō University in Tōkyō – theand Japan. This format is known as “Track

Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the Japanese

1.5” – the representatives of the min-Government and Member of the National

istries do not participate in an official

Security Council, Hayashi Hajime, andmission, but contribute their expertise to

the German Ambassador in Tōkyō, Ina

the discussions with the external experts

Lepel, discussed the topic “Present andon an equal footing and independently.

Future: Rule-Based International Order,
Regional Security and Cooperation

It is becoming increasingly clear thatbetween Germany and Japan”, withthis dialogue between security policy

the academics Hans Kundnani (Royalexperts from government and academia

Institute for International Affairs Cha-

is focusing on the topic of how to deal

tham House), Professor Hosoya Yuichi

with the rise of China. This was again(Keiō University) and Professor Hanns

the case at talks in December 2019 in

W. Maull (German Institute for Interna-

Tōkyō, which was hosted this time bytional and Security Affairs).

the Japan Institute of International Affairs

Everyone agreed that the rule-based(JIIA) in cooperation with the foreigninternational order is currently underministries, the JDZB and the Konrad

enormous pressure. It is not only being

Adenauer Foundation. The thirty or sochallenged externally by the emergence

German and Japanese experts (as wellof China and a revitalized Russia, but

as one participant from Great Britain)

also internally by the current American

initially remained among themselves inadministration and especially by theconfidential discussions during the first

American President, whose first official

part of the day. In addition to Chinese

act included the termination of his par-military and security policy activities inticipation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership,

East and Southeast Asia and the growing

the project of a new, ambitious free tradearea for the Asia-Pacific region. In doing
so, the new administration undermined
one of the most important projects to
support and develop the existing international order: America, which had built
and dominated this order, now seemed
more inclined to tear it down than topreserve it.
According to the panel’s conclusion, thechallenge of the current international
order by external and internal forces
endangers the validity of internationallaw and makes effective world governance more difficult. It gives way to athreatening development in which thelaw no longer dominates world politics,
but rather the power of the strongest,
and where international cooperation is
no longer able to cope with the manifold
global challenges facing humanity. Germany and Japan, the panel unanimously
agreed, are particularly dependent on afunctioning, robust international orderand should therefore vigorously oppose
these problematic developments. And
there is still room for closer cooperation
between the two governments: On theJapanese side, for example, there is aclear desire for greater support from
Germany in its efforts to counter China’s
attempts to change the status quo in
East and Southeast Asia. Several panelists stressed that reform was necessary
to preserve the international order;
Germany and Japan were called upon towork to reshape the international orderin order to preserve it.
The panel discussion was followed by alively debate with the audience. Amongthe issues addressed were the difficulties
of breaking free from economic dependence on China and dealing with theeffects of the decoupling of the two largest economies in the world, America andChina. The fact that this trend towards
decoupling of deeply interdependent
economies (and with others) is taking
place within a context of increasing tensions between the two largest economies
in the world, America and China, is amajor challenge.

55

EXCHANGE PROGRAM

German-Japanese Exchange Program for Young Employees 2019a special program to give its guest a better

Kerstin Paulick, Head of Delegation

understanding of their lives. This consistedof excursions, cooking evenings or sports“Konnichiwa”, there it was again, theflexible working hours or other social benefits.

unbelievable Japanese friendliness which

An important aspect that distinguishes both

welcomed us as the German delegation of thecountries is the use of holidays. Whereas inexchange program for young professionals

Germany there is considerably more annual

already at the airport in Tōkyō on 20 November

vacation days available, which are usually2019. We were welcomed by Junko, ourtaken in full, in Japan there are fewer days

translator, as well as Ken from the National

which are often even allowed to lapse. Here,

Institution for Youth Education (NIYE), thehowever, a rethinking of the Japanese working

co-organsiers on the Japanese side.

culture is evident, which is also supported by
the government with a law enforcing people

and cultural activities. On the final evening,when all participants met up again with their
host families at the center, you could clearly
see the excitement on everyone’s faces. And
it is amazing to see how such warm andintensive friendships can develop between
the families and the guests in such a shorttime. Often these friendships continue formany years later.

to take their annual holiday leave.

The organizers of the NIYE and the National

we experienced an eventful program with

These topics were also discussed with theCenter did a great job organizing our whole

company visits, discussions, exchange

participants of the Japanese delegation at theevenings and a host family weekend.

weekend seminar. This was a continuation ofBoth accompanied us in the following two
weeks throughout Japan, during which

the weekend seminar held in Fürstenberg inYamaguchi Tokuji Youth Outdoor Learning
stay in Japan, and we always felt ver y
welcome.
From my perspective as the head of theThis exchange program, which is aimed atAugust and was a warm reunion of the two

young professionals aged between 18 anddelegations. Some of them also spent their

30 years, is primarily intended to provide an

day off together in Tōkyō with the Japanese

insight into the working world and daily life

participants, with whom they had becomeof Japan, which in our case was absolutely

friends in the meantime.

are gained, views are discussed and the valueinternational corporations as well as small

After the exciting days in Tōkyō we flew to the

do foreign guests have the opportunity tolocal traditional companies ranging from glass

prefecture of Yamaguchi, where we spent the

manufacturing to food production.

second part of the trip. There we stayed at thesuccessful. We had the chance to visit large

National Yamaguchi Tokuji Youth Outdoor

delegation, time and again I saw how thisprogram is an enrichment to the lives of allparticipants. You can see how new insightsof this exchange is appreciated. Only rarely
immerse themselves so intensely in the workand private life of Japan.
I would therefore like to thank the German

We were warmly welcomed everywhere weLearning Center, which is located in thewent. The company presentations gave us a

middle of a beautiful mountain landscape.

comprehensive overview of the culture andHere we could enjoy pure nature. At the centerworking methods of each company. We could

we were fully integrated as a delegation andclearly see the similarities and differences ofwere allowed to participate in the morning

both countries.

roll call with other groups.

all those involved in making this exchange

In both countries, the recruitment of new,

The following host family weekend was one ofcultures, mentalities and ways of thinking ofyoung skilled workers and succession

the highlights of the exchange program. Here,planning play a major role, especially in small,all participants had the rare opportunity tolocal trade and handicraft businesses. Manyexperience everyday life up close in a Japanesecompanies recognize that the attractiveness offamily. We were all warmly welcomed by

employers must be increased and implement

our families and experienced a fascinating

this by, for example, shaping the workplace,weekend. Each host family came up with

Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior
Citizens, Women and Youth and the Japanese
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology as well as NIYE, JDZB andprogram possible. To better understand theboth countries and to strengthen tolerance
and understanding for each other, I think it’svery important to continue this program formany more years to come.
Arigatou gozaimasu Japan!

6

OTHER EVENTSEVENTS 2020

Conferences by
Focal Areas
Global Responsibility
Symposium: The Roles and Responsibilities
of Japan and Germany in a Sustainable
International Order
C: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Bonn; German
Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin
Date: 7-8 April 2020, in Tōkyō
Conference: EU-Japan Relations: Beyond
the Strategic Partnership Agreement
Premiere of the documentary film “The Hokkaidō Universe” followed by a round table discussion
at the JDZB on 13 February 2020, in cooperation with the German Archaeological Institute (Berlin)
and the Jōmon World Heritage Promotion Office, Hokkaidō Government (Sapporo).

C: European Advanced Research Network(EJARN), Stockholm School of Economics; Freie
Universität Berlin
Date: 5-6 June 2020
German-Japanese Security Dialog, Track 1.5
C: German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tōkyō; The Japan
Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Tōkyō
Date: Autumn 2020, in Tōkyō
Conference: Disarmament and the Role of
the United Nations: German and Japanese
Perspectives
C: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Berlin
Date: to be confirmed in 2020
Conference: Trilateral Cooperation Germa-

Symposium “New Impulses for the Role of Professional Nursing Staff in Caring for the Elderly”
on 6 February 2020 at the JDZB, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Health (Berlin) andthe Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Tōkyō).

The 28th session of the Japanese-German Forum – the annual meetingof the advisory body for both governments with German and Japanese
representatives from the fields of business, politics, science and media– took place on 5 and 6 December 2019 in Tōkyō.

ny – Japan – Indonesia
C: Federal Foreign Office, Berlin
Date: to be confirmed in 2020, in Jakarta

Lecture “Reexamining National Security Policies in the New Era of Competing Great Powers” by Admiral Takei Tomohisa, former Chief of Maritime Staff, JMSDF Chief of Naval Operations Distinguished International
Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College on 29 November 2019 at the JDZB.

77

PREVIEW OF EVENTS 2020

Symposium: Global Health IV

Symposium: Research and Innovation Co-

C: Global Health Center (GHC), Graduate

operation with China

Institute of International and Development

C: Mercator Institute for China Studies, Berlin

Studies, Geneva; National Center for Global

Date: October 2020

Health and Medicine (NCGM), Tōkyō
Date: to be confirmed in 2020, in Tōkyō

Exhibition“Lost in Transformation” Matsubara Katsuhikoand Kyle Egret. Paintings and Installations.
Opening: 13 March 2020, 7 pm
Duration: 16 March until 19 June 2020

State, Economy, Governance
Sustainability and theEnvironment

Panel Discussion: The Current Transna-

Concerttional Environmental Movement among
Young People

German-Japanese Energy Transition Council

C: Aoyama Gakuin University, Tōkyō(GJETC)

Date: 5 March 2020

Contemporary Compositions with Maurizion
Barbetti (viola) and Inoue Satoko (piano)
Date: 27 November 2020, 7 pm

C: Wuppertal Institute for Climate, the Environment, Energy Ltd.; Hennicke Consult,

Panel Discussion: Olympia 2020. The Im-

Wuppertal; ECOS Consult, Osnabrück; Insti-

pact of Major Sporting Events on Society,tute for Energy Economics Japan, Tōkyō

Politics and Business

Date: 18-20 March 2020

C: German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tōkyō
Date: 2 April 2020

Symposium: Bioeconomics
C: JSPS-Club, Bonn

Symposium: Sports Law

Date: 15-16 May 2020

C: German-Japanese Lawyers Association,
Hamburg

Conference: Climate-friendly Mobility

Date: 19 June 2020, in Munich

C: Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW),Cologne; Fujitsu Research Institute, Tōkyō

Conference: Shaping Institutional Profiles

Date: 28 May 2020

in Research, Teaching and Community
Engagement

Reading/Lecture
Reading and author’s talk with Murata
Sayaka “Konbini-Ningen” (“Convenience
Store Woman”)
Z: Japan Cultural Institute Cologne/JapanFoundation; Aufbau Publishing Co., Berlin;
German-Japanese Society Berlin
Date: 25 March 2020, 7 pm
“Kabuki and its Influence in Europe” by Prof.
Hasebe Hiroshi (Tokyo University of Arts)
Date: 30 April 2020, 7 pm

C: German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), Bonn;

Demographic Change

Japan Committee of Universities for International Exchange (JACUIE), Tōkyō

Symposium: Aging and Care in German and

Date: 22-23 June 2020

Japanese Communities
C: German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ),

Conference: Attractive for Immigrants?

Tōkyō; University of Dortmund; Mitsubishi

Japan, Germany and France – A Compa-

Research Institute, Tōkyō

rative Study

Date: 17-19 March 2020, in Tōkyō

C: Duisburg-Essen University
Date: December 2020

Symposium: Demographic Change in Germany and Japan
C: Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citi-

Culture and Change

zens, Women and Youth, Berlin; Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare, Tōkyō

German-Japanese Architects’ Dialog

Date: 3 June 2020, in Tōkyō

C: Association of German Architects, Berlin;

OthersJDZB Open House
Date: 13 June 2020, from 2 pm

Exchange Programs- Junior Experts Exchange Program- German-Japanese Young Leaders Forum- Youth Group Leaders Exchange Program- Study Program for Youth Work Specialists- Exchange Program for Young Em­ployees- JDZB ScienceYouth Program
For details of the programs, please refer to:
http://www.jdzb.de --> Exchange Programs

Techncal University Berlin
Date: To be confirmed in 2020

Digital Transformation
Symposium: Autonomous Driving

Special Project

C: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris29th Japanese-German Forum

Date: September/October 2020

C: Japan Center for International Exchange, Tōkyō
Date: Autumn 2020

Symposium: The Future of Work and Di-

Institute for Applied Information Technology(FIT), Sankt Augustin
Date: 29 October 2020

C: = in cooperation with
Venue: JDZB, if not stated other­wise
For more information please refer to:
http://www.jdzb.de --> Activities

gitalization
C: Shinshū University, Nagano; Fraunhofer

Opening hours of exhibitions
Monday to Thursday 10 am to 5 pm, Friday
10 am to 3.30 pm
Registration for the cultural events
opens close to the date

Cultural Events

For information on JDZB lan­guage
courses please refer to:
http://www.jdzb.de--> Japanese Courses

22

8

C U L T U R A L E V E N T S I N T H E F I R ST H A L F O F 2 0 2 0

Dialog exhibition “Lost in(1)(3)
Transformation” by Matsubara Katsuhiko and Kyle Egret
In this dialogue exhibition,
the JDZB displays works by
two artists from Hamburg,
Matsubara Katsuhiko andKyle Egret, who approach
the theme of “transformati© Jensin
Liebchenon”
different ways. While
Egret, who is also a musician,graphically deals with phenomena such as chaotic systems,
security and congruence and(2)transfers the results in the formof musical compositions at theLandscape © Matsubara Katsuhiko
Square #4 © Kyle Egret
same time, Matsubara seeks
to deal with creatures based on mythology and animism in his works. The juxtaposition of these ambivalent structures with organic and geometricforms generates a cosmos of its own consisting of chaos, control and coincidence.
Opening with performance: Friday, 13 March 2020, 7 pm at the JDZB
© Akihiko Iwasa
Admission free, no registration required (admission as long as seats are available)
Exhibition period: 16 March to 19 June 2020
© Nakamoto Hiroyo
Reading and author’s talk with Murata Sayaka“Convenience Store Woman” (Konbini Ningen)Wednesday, 25 March 2020, 7 pm at the JDZBThe author will read from her novel “Konbini
Ningen”, which was awarded the renowned
Akutagawa Prize in 2016 and whose German

Murata Sayaka © Sugiyama Takuya
Gleanings: New Year’s Concert at the JDZBOn 16 January 2020, violinist Kanagawa Mayumi, cellist Satō Haruma and Hisasue Wataru
on the piano presented works by Ludwig van
Beethoven, Takemitsu Tōru, Suzuki Teruaki
and Johannes Brahms. All three musicians© W. Skowron
were winners of renowned international competitions, and the great expectations of theaudience was evident in the hall, with every
seat filled to the last.
With virtuosic playing, exact timing and asensitively coordinated dynamic, the young
musicians showed their joy in making music,
which was transferred to the audience. Theinterpretations of the Japanese works, seldom
played in Germany, were particularly well received by the audience as they offered an extraordinary listening experience. The musicians wererewarded with enthusiastic applause at the end.

translation was published under the title “Die
Ladenhüterin” (Ursula Gräfe, Aufbau Verlag)(and published as “Convenience Store Woman”
in English). The novel is about a 36-year-old
woman who, although she masters her role as
an employee in a so-called “Konbini store” (24hour supermarket) perfectly and “according tostandards”, she is completely lost and insecure
as soon as she leaves the store. She never knows
how to behave “normally” in Japanese society.
Junior Professor Ronald Saladin (Japan Studies,
University of Trier) will moderate the discussion
with the author, who will then answer questions from the audience.
Admission free, registration from 16 March, 9 pm
Co-organizer: Japan Cultural Institute Cologne/
Japan Foundation; cooperation with Aufbau Publishing Co. and German-Japanese Society Berlin.

KANEKO Sumie © KUNIYOSHI Tokio© Kojima Yasutaka / JDZBDie Ladenhüterin © aufbau verlag© 2015 Jorge Vismara