Japan Update Mini Seminar: Japanese Society Post-COVID

September 8, 2022

Held as a spin-off event of the Japan Update 2022 conference held in Canberra, this seminar features two eminent scholars from Japan who will reflect on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on Japanese society. In their discussion, Professors Ono and Shirahase will assess the social impact of the pandemic in terms of labour market dynamics, demography and gender issues. The seminar will also include a question and answer session at the end.

Speakers

Sawako Shirahase, Professor of Sociology, the University of Tokyo
Hiroshi Ono, Professor of Human Resource Management, Hitotsubashi University

Chair

Lauren Richardson, Lecturer, Department of International Relations, ANU

Sawako Shirahase

Sawako Shirahase is Professor of Sociology at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo. She is also Senior Vice-Rector at the United Nations University. She served as Vice President of the University of Tokyo in 2018 and has been Executive Vice President for International Affairs at the University of Tokyo for two years since 2019. She is currently Director of the University of Tokyo Center for Contemporary Japanese Studies. She also launched a new talk series, Big IDEAS: SDGs Dialogue Series at the United Nations University.

Hiroshi Ono

Hiroshi Ono is Professor of Human Resources Management and Executive Master of Business Administration Program Director at the School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University Business School, as well as Affiliated Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University. He received an MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago. He was later awarded Docent (equivalent to a second doctoral degree) in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. His interests lie with the relationships between motivation, happiness, and productivity in the workplace and the interplay between demographic change and labor market dynamics in Japan.

Lauren Richardson

Lauren Richardson is Lecturer in the Department of International Relations and Director of the ANU Japan Institute. From 2018–2020 she was Director of Studies and Lecturer in the Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. Prior to that, Dr Richardson taught Northeast Asian Relations at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focusses on the role of non-state actors in shaping diplomatic interactions in Northeast Asia, particularly Japan–Korea relations. She is currently completing a book manuscript provisionally entitled Reshaping Japan-Korea Relations: Transnational Advocacy Networks and the Politics of Redress.

About The Australia-Japan Research Centre

The Australia-Japan Research Centre (AJRC) is the centre of research, teaching and outreach on the Japanese economy in Australia. AJRC also conducts research to better understand the Australia-Japan relationship and their place in the Asia Pacific economy. Established in 1980 with support from the governments and business communities in both Australian and Japan, our research encompasses trade, finance, macroeconomics, as well as international economic relations.

About The ANU Japan Institute

The ANU Japan Institute is Australia’s largest network of distinguished and emerging scholars with professional expertise on Japan. The institute researches and teaches in disciplines spanning art, economics, environment, health, history, international relations, language, law, linguistics, politics, regulation and Japanese Studies.

Their mission, as part of Australia’s national university, is to be a national resource: to contribute to public policy by strengthening knowledge of Japan among schools, universities, public institutions, government and the private sector, and to promote the centrality of Australia-Japan relations in Australia’s Asian Century.