Program

Friday
7.11.2025

9:00-11:30	Leisure time recommendation: “Daruma 達磨 Exhibition” at the Cultural Center of the Japanese Embassy in Vienna
11:30- 12:30	Registration, Room: C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
12:30-13:00	Opening Remarks, Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
13:00-14:30	Keynote Speech I: Prof. Dr. Uno Shigeki, Tokyo University: “The Final Dismantling of Japanese Conservatism and the Future of Democracy” Chair: Dr. Karin Narita, Sheffield University Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
14:30-15:00	Coffee Break, C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
15:00- 15:15	*“Vienna Research for Democratic Futures”* – Project Presentation I: Prefiguring Democratic Futures (PREDEF): Cultural and Theoretical Responses to the Crisis of Political Imagination (ERC-funded Project of the Department for Political Theory, University of Vienna) – Prof. Dr. Oliver Marchart Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
15:15-16:45	Panel 1: (Un-)Democratic Futures X Democratic Theory Chair: Prof. Dr. Oliver Marchart, Universität Wien Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna PD Dr. V eith Selk, TU Darmstadt, “The Crisis of Democratic Theory” Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt, LMU München: “Aging Democracies, Silent Youth: How Population Aging Impacts Political Participation in Japan and the Asia-Pacific” Prof. Dr. Yamamoto Kei, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto: “Twisting Plebiscite Democracy into Radical Democratic Politics” Viktoria Huegel, Ph.D., Universität Wien: “An Appeal to Authority in Authoritarian Times”
16:45-17:15	Coffee Break, C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
17:15-18:45	Panel 2: Futures X Gender Politics Chair: Anna-Maria Stabentheiner, MA, Universität Wien Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna Prof. Dr. Takeda Hiroko, Nagoya University: “The Politics of Life and Death in Japan: Examining the Family-State Nexus” Prof. Suzuki Ayaka, University of Tsukuba: “Honorary Men and Neoliberal Femininity in Contemporary Japan” (online) Prof. Shimizu Akiko, Tokyo University: “The Return of the Anti-Gender Movement in Japan” Dr. Karsten Schubert, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: “In Praise of Identity Politics”
19:30-22:00	Welcome Dinner (“Heuriger 10er Marie”, Ottakringer Str. 222/224, 1160 Wien)

Saturday
8.11.2025

09:00-11:00	VSJF Section Meetings, Roomks: Department of Japanese Studies
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break, Room: C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
11:30- 11:45	*“Vienna Research for Democratic Futures”* – Project Presentation II: Interversity: Movements in Uncertainty (Department Project, Japanese Studies Department, University of Vienna) – Prof. Dr. Ina Hein, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Manzenreiter & Prof. Dr. Hanno Jentzsch Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
11:45-13:15	Panel 3: Futures X Economic Disparity Chair: Prof. Dr. David Chiavacchi, Universität Zürich Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna Prof. Dr. Simon Avenell, Australian National University: “Generationalism in Japan: Leave Them Kids (and Retirees) Alone!” Dr. Shibata Saori, University of Sheffield: “Hampered Digitalisation: Institutional Failure and New Instability in Japan” Prof. Dr. Hanno Jentzsch, Universität Wien: “Civic Self-Governance and the Erosion of Local Democracy in Japan’s Aging Rural Peripheries“
13:15-14:45	Lunch, Room: C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna 13:30 – 14:30 \| Peer-Support Panel (DocSchool Section “Global Entanglements”) – Brownbag Lunch: “Career Paths between Area Studies and Disciplines: Writing for a Truly Global Audience”, Room: Department of Japanese Studies, Jap 1 – Dr. Chris Perkins, Edinburgh University (chief editor, Japan Forum): Publishing for a “Global” Audience (Powerpoint presentation: here) – Anna-Maria Stabentheiner, University of Vienna: Anthropology and Area Studies – Andreas Eder-Ramsauer, University of Vienna: Political Studies and Area Studies – Prof. Dr. Ina Hein, University of Vienna: Literary Studies and Area Studies
14:45-16:15	Keynote Speech II: Prof. Dr. H. L. T. Quan, Arizona State University: “Become Ungovernable: Democratic Living in the Time of Conversion” Chair: Prof. Dr. Fabian Schäfer, Friedrich-Alexander-UniversitätErlangen-Nürnberg Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
16:15-16:45	Coffee Break, C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
16:45-18:45	General Members’ Meeting of the VSJF, Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna Film Screening: “Queer, broke, & amazing! Exploring economic justice for Queer & Trans people” (in the presence of directors C.A. Griffith and H.L.T. Quan, 89 MINS. © QUAD PRODUCTIONS 2024). Room: JAP1, Japanese Studies Department, door 2.4, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna

Sunday
9.11.2025

9:30-11:00	Panel 4: Futures X Environmental Politics Chair: Lenard Görögh, MA, Freie Universität Berlin Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna Prof. Dr. Asuka Jusen, Tohoku University: “Unchanged Melody of the Undemocratic Energy/Climate Policy in Japan” Dr. Florentine Koppenborg, Hochschule für Politik München: “Japan’s Climate Politics 10 years after Paris” Dr. Jan Groos, University Kiel: “Envisioning Alternative Governmentality” Prof. Dr. Nakano Yoshihiro, Rikkyo University: “Politics of Suiten: Prolegomena to Cartographic Strategies for Relational Degrowth“
11:00-11:30	Coffee Break, C2 foyer, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna
11:30-13:00	Panel 5: Futures X Global Contestation Chair: Erik Isaksson, MA, Freie Universität Berlin Room: C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brand, Universität Wien: “Eco-imperial Tensions: Decarbonization Strategies in Times of Geopolitical Upheaval“ 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: “Ontologies of Region Formation: Towards a Typology of Region Building in Asia” Dr. Karin Narita, Sheffield University: “An Outline of a Theory of Civilizationisms: Japanese Conservatism and Civilizational Geopolitics”
13:00-13:30	Concluding Remarks, C2, Hörsaalzentrum, Campus University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2, 1090 Vienna