Haustierfriseure, Igelcafés, Tieraltersheime: „In Japan ist die Anthropomorphisierung von Haustieren extrem“, sagt DIJ-Soziologin @barbtokyo.bsky.social im Gespräch mit Janosch Schobin @soziopolis.bsky.social Volltext ➡️ www.soziopolis.de/in-japan-ist...

Onsite only lecture in Vienna by DIJ's @barbtokyo.bsky.social "Pets in Contemporary Japan: Between Commodification, Family Membership, and Animal Welfare Challenges" 🏚️ University of Vienna @jstudiesvienna.bsky.social 📅 19 Nov 2025, 18–20h CET ▶️ www.viennaanimalstudies.com/event-detail...

You can enjoy the Osaka Kansai #Expo2025 even after it will close its doors on Monday: watch our presentation at the German Pavilion and learn about our institute and our research projects in the fields of Sustainability and Digital Transformation @barbtokyo.bsky.social 🎬 youtu.be/NVbOsSdP51s

Vielen Dank an die interdisziplinäre Studiengruppe @lmumuenchen.bsky.social, geleitet von Aki Narutomi, für den Besuch am DIJ. Wir haben uns gefreut, unser Institut vorstellen zu können & über den spannenden Austausch zum demographischem Wandel, Nachhaltigkeit, Höflichkeit uvm @barbtokyo.bsky.social

NEW on our YouTube channel 📽️ @barbtokyo.bsky.social "Stumbling upon furry friends in Aso: Transitioning to studying Japan’s urban-rural divide" youtu.be/HAq8dszJSKk 📽️ S. Polak-Rottmann "From well-being to spaces of resilience in the Aso region" youtu.be/ZQaSla0KnUQ Thanks @jstudiesvienna.bsky.social

How are sustainable consumption, health & animal welfare connected and what are recent trends in meat consumption in Japan, Germany & globally? Find out in "Meat consumption and sustainability" @barbtokyo.bsky.social on our Sustainability in Japan and Beyond blog sustainability.hypotheses.org/1037

What does #sustainability research look like in practice? The #DIJToyko 's @barbtokyo.bsky.social explains the Institute's decision to go vegetarian and explores the connections between sustainable consumption, health & animal welfare in Japan & Germany. sustainability.hypot...#sustainability#DIJToykoia @dijtokyo.org

Preview DIJ research #Japanologentag 📅 Fri, 11.30 am - 1 pm, Sociology section @celiaspoden.bsky.social 🎤 Barbara Holthus @barbtokyo.bsky.social www.dijtokyo.org/people/barba... ➡️ "Pets, Demographic Change, and Loneliness" www.dijtokyo.org/project/the-...

The Environment Ministry is looking to increase its funding to local governments to enable them to respond better to bear attacks, which are becoming increasingly common throughout the nation.

This week @goetheuni.bsky.social: triennial #Japanologentag with latest research in Japanese Studies incl. by DIJ researchers @barbtokyo.bsky.social, @daneuhaus.bsky.social, @celiaspoden.bsky.social, @torweber.bsky.social www.uni-frankfurt.de/156255174/Pr...

🔍 “I want them to live their best lives”: Owner experiences of walking with their cats. This qualitative study examined the practice of walking domestic cats on a leash as a potential compromise between indoor-only & free-roaming lifestyles. 🔗 Read the open access article here: ow.ly/pJCW50WF7S7

New on our YouTube channel 🎬 #DIJForum 'Fermenting for the future' with Aya H. Kimura & Yasuhiro Kobayashi youtu.be/0E4SioOQXxo 🎬 ICAS Seminar 'Animals in Japanese Society - The case of companion vs farm animals' with @barbtokyo.bsky.social & Maho Cavalier (Uehara) www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZRa...

In Okinawa, feral goats are causing damage to crops, and there are concerns that they could negatively impact the forest ecosystems harboring rare animals and plants.

How sustainable is the #Expo2025? Isaac Gagné takes a closer look at its #SDG promotion & implementation and the Expo's lasting impact in "Searching for Sustainability at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai", the latest contribution to our Sustainability in Japan & Beyond blog sustainability.hypotheses.org/946

Cats and dogs, meerkats and goats — the most mundane thing about Osaka’s Interpets trade fair may have been the human pet owners themselves.

Two months after the Osaka Expo opened amid tepid enthusiasm, organizers have a new problem: how to improve the guest experience despite swelling attendance figures.

DIJ deputy director @barbtokyo.bsky.social was one of five invited panelists in this important discussion about gender equality in Japan in the Residence Talk series at the German Embassy in Tokyo. Check out the video below 🎬

From Food to Friends? DIJ sociologist @barbtokyo.bsky.social will present insights into her research project on Animal-Human Relationships in Contemporary Japan next Monday in the #WeAreOne online seminar series on the changing role of animals in the Anthropocene www.uni-goettingen.de/en/687654.html

Three Chinese men were arrested in Japan after their rustling suitcases alerted hotel staff to the thousands of hermit crabs inside, police said.

The world's wealthiest 10% of individuals are responsible for two thirds of global warming since 1990, a new study finds.

A man was admitted to the 2025 Osaka Expo in Japan with a ticket to a 1940 event that was called off as war escalated, organizers said.

Parliament has enacted a bill that allows municipalities to give the go-ahead to shoot wild bears found in urban areas.

New on YouTube: all presentations of the joint DIJ / @hhu.de /In-East @unidue.bsky.social annual #VSJF conference with economic, societal & political perspectives on Sustainability in Japan are now online @barbtokyo.bsky.social @apklein.bsky.social @hajent.bsky.social www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Am 17.3. hat @dijtokyo.org Direktor Franz Waldenberger mit Bestsellerautor Yuval Noah Harari, Kaori Hayashi und Arisa Ema über "The Role of Education & Science in the Digital Age" diskutiert. Zur Aufzeichnung 🎬 youtu.be/a8nyhR5XhZA

AI, sustainability, game design: we have just published the spring issue of our #DIJNewsletter www.dijtokyo.org/publication/... which covers these and many other topics, incl. updates on our research, publications @cj-jrnl.bsky.social, events & outreach @barbtokyo.bsky.social @daneuhaus.bsky.social

Check out CJ's new issue, incl research on labor market dualization; Murakami’s Popular Hits of the Showa Era; media discourses of nuclear power; Japanese identity & railway technology; Nikkei narratives of multiculturalism; populism in Japanese politics www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcoj20/3...

Armut greift in Japan um sich, betroffen sind besonders Ältere, Kinder & alleinerziehende Mütter. Franz Waldenberger & @barbtokyo.bsky.social erklären in diesem Weltzeit-Feature von DLF Kultur, warum das Thema in der Öffentlichkeit fast keine Rolle spielt www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/armut-in-jap...

The results of the decoding of a domestic cat's genome by a group of Japanese researchers have been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's most accurate reference genome for cats, according to a pet insurer.

At least Springer Nature is doing well while higher education is collapsing all over the place. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

One former Fukushima plant worker has taken it upon himself to look after the numerous pets left behind in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster.

A woman working construction on site at Expo 2025's Pavilion complained to the Osaka gov that there are "no women's toilets" there & she has to go 11 hours between bathroom breaks. Contacted by press, the Expo Committee insisted there are - but couldn't say where or how many.

For Cat Day (Neko no Hi), which was on 2/22, the Japan Automobile Federation tweeted a warning to drivers to make sure their engine hoods are shut & they don't hear any cat sounds from their cars. It says it received 28 requests in Oct 2024 for help rescuing cats who'd crawled into engines.

"A pet is cheaper and provides emotional support": listen to DIJ sociologist @barbtokyo.bsky.social in this NPR The World radio segment on why an increasing number of Japanese is choosing pets over children theworld.org/segments/202...

Right-wing Japanese celebrity Dewi Sukarno wants to protect dogs and cats with her new political party, 12 (Wan-Nyan) Heiwa-To. However, she's come under fire from critics for only protecting some animals while making a fashion accessory out of others.

Part fluff, part filth, Mayumi Inaba's book is about a cat, but not in the cozy way that Japanese feline-centric healing fiction books have come to be known for.

TV celebrity Dewi Sukarno, once the third wife of former Indonesian President Sukarno, has announced the launch of a political group for animal protection in Japan.

A nonprofit animal care center is continuing to provide shelter for the pets of evacuees from the massive Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck over a year ago.

It was an honor to have the German ambassador to Japan @germanambjapan.bsky.social come to visit us. We look forward to future exchanges and sharing our research.

Together with Maho Cavalier (Uehara), DIJ sociologist @barbtokyo.bsky.social will give a presentation on "Animals in Japanese Society - The case of companion versus farm animals" at Temple University's Japan Campus. Thu, Feb 20, 6:30-8.00pm, online & onsite. Registration tuj.libcal.com/event/5745076

Over 70 rabbits have died mysteriously on a Japanese island where more than 1,000 of the animals frolic freely. One man has been arrested as a government probe continues.

Ein Blick in unsere mögliche Zukunft? In der sehenswerten ZDF-Doku "Die Wahrheit über unsere Rente mit Jochen Breyer" zeigt DIJ-Vizedirektorin @barbtokyo.bsky.social, wie sich Japan in ein Land der Älteren verwandelt hat und was Deutschland vielleicht daraus lernen kann www.zdf.de/dokumentatio...