You are cordially invited to our Joint DIJ Social Science and Business & Economics Study Group at the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo.

New approaches to elderly care and senior citizens engagement Findings from fieldwork in Japans metropolitan area

It will take place on

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014, 6.30 PM

at the German Institute for Japanese Studies.

This study group is based on the following two separate talks which will be held consecutively:

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Workers Collectives as Care providers - The case of Kanagawa

Sebastian Hofstetter (MLU Halle-Wittenberg)

Sociologist Ueno Chizuko has pointed out an ongoing development of a “socia lization of care” (kea no shakaika). According to this theory “careservice”
in all its varieties is increasingly offered by “workers collectives” on a community level (chiiki).
“Workers Collectives” seem to draw on differen t resources in the area of elderly care. Unlike regular forms of care servic es Workers Collectives are located somewhere between the market and third se ctor, as well as between public and private sphere. According to Evers
(2013
) this mix of usually clearly disconnected spheres is called “hybridization”, which enables Workers Collectives to establish a new way of caring for and about elderly Japanese. By highlighting the specifics of this so called welf are-mix, I show how Workers Collectives shape new ideas and concepts of elde rly care. Drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted in Kanagawa Prefecture, t hese talk shows which role Workers Collectives take on in offering an innova tive care concept.

Sebastian Hofstetter is a doctoral candidate of Japanese studies at the MLU of Halle-Wittenberg. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Japanese studies at Goethe University of Frankfurt/Main.

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Promoting senior citizens engagement: Tokyo’s urban model for an aging soci ety

Inger Maleen Bachmann (Hamburg University)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Governments “Tokyo 2020 Vision”
declares to “build and show the world an urban model for a society with a low birthrate and ag ing population”, with the ambition to create “an environment where senior citizens can participate in the community in many ways […]” (TMG, 2012). T he 23 special wards (ku) that represent central Tokyo differ significantly i n size, population and demographic structure and thus provide different envi ronments for senior citizens participation. Drawing on material of the local ward offices and interviews with ward officials regarding selected flagship projects, this talk will discuss different approaches implementing the Toky o 2020 Vision in selected Tokyo special wards.

Inger Maleen Bachmann is a PhD candidate of Japanese Studies at Hamburg University, where she received her M.A in Japanese Studies and Political Science. She is currently conducting field research as a scholarship fellow at the DIJ Tokyo.

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The presentations will be given in English.

The DIJ Social Science Study Group is organized by P.
Holdgruen and C. Hommerich.
The DIJ Business and Economics Study Group is organized by K. Haga, F.
Kohlbacher and
T. Tiefenbach.

All are welcome to attend, but registration
(holdgruen@dijtokyo.org) is appreciated.

German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo (DIJ) Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F, 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0094, Phone:
03-3222-5077

For a map please refer to
http://www.dijtokyo.org/access.

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Dr. des. Phoebe Stella Holdgrün

Senior Research Fellow

Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien
Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F
7-1 Kioicho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
102-0094 Japan

Tel: +81-(0)3-3222-5077
+81-(0)3-3222-5943 (direct)
Fax: +81-(0)3-3222-5420
holdgruen@dijtokyo.org
http://www.dijtokyo.org