Archive - Youth Culture Symposiums

On March 8, the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation hosted the “7th Youth Culture Symposium: Acceptance and Transformation of Different Cultures in Japan and Germany.” This year, the symposium was held in a hybrid format (on-site and online), with solid measures taken to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus. A total of 83 people, including the presenters, attended.

The symposium was held to provide an opportunity for young researchers funded by the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation to report on their research regarding how contemporary youth culture and lifestyles in Japan and Germany have changed in recent years due to the rapid progress of globalization and information technology, and what developments can be expected in youth cultural exchange between the two countries in the future.

During this year's event, four researchers presented their research about their respective topics: three were young researchers who had received the research grant for “Youth Culture and Lifestyles in Japan and Germany” for fiscal year 2022, and one had received the grant for fiscal year 2020, but the presentation had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The plenary discussion was based on the topic of “Difficulties and joys of looking at different cultures as a researcher,” and the four presenters joined as panelists for a lively discussion with an international flavor.
Opinions and questions from audience members on-site and online were actively incorporated into the exchange of opinions, which made for a meaningful discussion.

At the end of the symposium, a ceremony was held to award the research grants for fiscal year 2023. This year, Executive Director Yukino of the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation presented the attending recipients with research grant certificates and gave them words of encouragement.

In the audience questionnaire responses, many audience members commented that the symposium had enabled them to “relativize culture” and that they “enjoyed the international atmosphere.” Many also stated that they would “definitely participate again next year” and hoped that the symposium would be held again in the years to come.

- Theresa Christina Sieland
(Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Modern Japan, PhD student)
Research theme: “Influence of volunteer activities on the perception of rural regions among young people in Japan”

- Matsumoto Toshiki
(Part-time lecturer at Osaka College of Music, Lecturer in charge of classes at Ritsumeikan University)
Research theme: "Changes in the Reception of Takarazuka in Germany: From "Kabuki" to Subculture and Queer Culture"

- Vera Paola Shoda
(Kobe University, Center for Computational Social Science & Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Assistant Professor)
Research theme: "Study on young Japanese and German women's self-representations on social media (Instagram) "

- Dinh Thi Thuc Vien
(Kyoto University, Graduate School of Agriculture, Division of Natural Resource Economics, PhD Candidate)
Research theme: "The openness of Japanese and German young people to ethnic foods: The case of Vietnamese cuisine"

- Utagawa Koichi
(Associate Professor, Graduate School of Nursing Science, St. Luke's International University)
Research theme: Japanese-German comparison of young people's perceptions of “Hobby”

- Ouyang Shanshan
(PhD student in the Integrated Doctoral Course (5th year) at the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences of Ritsumeikan University/Research Fellow for young Scientists (DC) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
Research theme: How young “disabled queer/LGBT people with disabilities” participate in social movements: A comparison of LGBT movements in Japan and Germany

- Malte Schönefeld
(University of Wuppertal, Germany, Institute for Public Safety and Emergency Management, Research Associate & PhD student)
Research theme: Voluntary engagement of teenagers and young adults in disaster management - a comparative analysis between Japan and Germany

- Yamaguchi Yoko
(Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (PD, Tokyo University of the Arts), Part-time lecturer at Waseda University)
Research theme: Risograph culture in Japan and Germany today