Annual Conference of the Association of Social Scientific Japan Studies 2025: 7.11.2025-9.11.2025, University of Vienna
Host Institution: University of Vienna

The aim of the conference is to foster a discussion on the future of democracy and equality among outstanding scholars from Japan and the German-speaking world. In the face of numerous crises, the future has seemingly become predetermined for many. Building on the roots of democracy as a hopeful and emancipatory project, the three-day conference seeks to encourage both hopeful perspectives and critical reflections on the present. Special attention will be given to bringing together experts from Japanese studies, political science and political theory to leverage the potential of area studies organizations as transnational bridges for intellectual exchange and community building.
The following guiding questions frame the organization and conceptualization of the conference:
– What (in)equalities are characteristic of our current political moment, and what democratic futures are emerging, feasible, or necessary?
– What new boundaries or urgencies for democratic practices arise due to the escalating planetary crisis?
For the latest information about the annual conference, please visit: https://vsjf2025.univie.ac.at.
For questions, please contact Andreas Eder-Ramsauer (andreas.eder-ramsauer@univie.ac.at).
As usual, the VSJF Gender Workshop will begin the afternoon before the conference, on November 6, 2025.
Program*
Friday
7.11.2025
12:00 | Registration |
13:00-13:30 | Welcome |
13:30-14:30 | Keynote Speech I: Prof. Dr. Uno Shigeki, Tokyo University: tba |
14:30-15:00 | Coffee Break |
15:00-16:30 | Panel 1: (Un-)Democratic Futures X Democratic Theory Dr. Veith Selk, TU Darmstadt, “The Crisis of Democratic Theory” Prof. Dr. Yamamoto Kei, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto: tba Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt, LMU München: “Aging Democracies, Silent Youth: How Population Aging Impacts Political Participation in Japan and the Asia-Pacific” (with Yosuke Buchmeier) Viktoria Huegel, Ph.D., Universität Wien: “An Appeal to Authority in Authoritarian Times” |
16:30-17:00 | Coffee Break |
17:00-18:30 | Panel 2: Futures X Gender Politics |
19:00-21:00 | Welcome Dinner (“Heuriger 10er Marie”) |
Saturday
8.11.2025
09:00-11:00 | VSJF Section Meetings |
11:00-11:30 | Coffee Break |
11:30-13:00 | Panel 3: Futures X Economic Disparity Prof. Dr. Simon Avenell, Australian National University: “Generationalism in Japan: Leave Them Kids (and Retirees) Alone!” |
13:00-14:30 | Lunch | Peer-Support Panel (DocSchool Section “Global Entanglements”) – Brownbag Lunch: “Career Paths between Area Studies and Disciplines” – Dr. Chris Perkins, Edinburgh University (chief editor, Japan Forum) – Andreas Eder-Ramsauer, University of Vienna – tba. |
14:30-16:00 | Keynote Speech II: Prof. Dr. H. L. T. Quan, Arizona State University: “Become Ungovernable: Democratic Living in the Time of Conversion” |
16:00-16:30 | Coffee Break |
16:30-18:00 | General Members’ Meeting of the VSJF |
Sunday
9.11.2025
9:30-11:00 | Panel 4: Futures X Environmental Politics Prof. Dr. Asuka Jusen, Tohoku University: “Unchanged Melody of the Undemocratic Energy/Climate Policy in Japan” Dr. Florentine Koppenborg, Hochschule für Politik München: tba Dr. Jan Groos, University Kiel: tba Prof. Dr. Nakano Yoshihiro, Rikkyo University: “Politics of Suiten: Prolegomena to Cartographic Strategies for Relational Degrowth“ |
11:00-11:30 | Coffee Break |
11:30-13:00 | Panel 5: Futures X Global Contestation Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brand, Universität Wien: tba Dr. Misato Matsuoka, Teikyo University: “Conservative Knowledge Production and the U.S.-Japan Alliance in the Era of Trump” Prof. Dr. Michal Kolmaš, Metropolitan University Prague: tba Dr. Karin Narita, Sheffield University: “An Outline of a Theory of Civilizationisms: Japanese Conservatism and Civilizational Geopolitics” |
13:00-13:30 | Concluding Remarks |
* The program might undergo minor changes as the conference date nears; please be aware.