This conference thrives to round up a decade of our joint investigation of well-being and rural society in Japan. Participants present their own research findings and discuss their work experience in and with a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Vienna. Keeping in mind the long-term perspective of the project pointing out into the future, we are also interested in unexpected turnouts and the breaching-out into new research clusters, actually and potentially. Last not least, we think that reflections on the twisted paths of coping with calamities amid natural disasters and the Covid 19-pandemic may yield valuable lessons for the conceptualization of future research proposals of similar scope. Ultimately, the gathering of core members, associate researchers, and graduate student researchers is expected to bring about a better understanding of individual and co-authored findings in the light of the larger objectives and ambitions of the Aso 2.0 research initiative.
For detailed information and individual abstracts please look HERE.
Programme
Thursday, Oct 31st
18.00-20.00: Kick-off event
- "You'll never walk alone?" The meaning of social relations and belonging for happiness in rural Japan (Wolfram Manzenreiter)
- Reception
Friday, Nov 1st
09-10.30: Social networks and well-being
- Social capital and subjective well-being in rural Japan (Stefan Hundsdorfer)
- Overcoming the concept of a closed rural society: Multiple mobilities of urban-rural migrants in Aso's neighboring communities (Cornelia Reiher)
- Rural areas on the rise of popularity?: Community and well-being in the Nangō Valley in Kumamoto (Antonia Miserka)
Coffee break
11-12.30: Women actors of happiness in rural Japan
- Happiness of female lifestyle migrants to depopulated settlements: A case study from Shiga Prefecture (Shunsuke Takeda)
- Well-being amongst multiple responsibilities: Mothers of the Aso region (Johanna Mayr)
- In the shadow of another volcano: Elderly women's well-being in Sakurajima (Lenka Miyanohara)
Lunch break
14.-15.30: Rural spaces beyond municipal boundaries
- Governing in-migration: Regional management organizations as gatekeepers and agents of integration for urban-rural migrants (Hanno Jentzsch)
- Rural well-being and diversity in contemporary Japan: Of foreign, single and nomad lifestyle migrants (Susanne Klien)
- Complementing rural field work by using secondary statistics: Potentials and limitations in the Aso context (Ralph Lützeler)
Coffee break
16.-17.30: Mobilization of social resources
- One crisis after another: Finding ways to overcome the impacts of compounded disasters and challenges in struggling rural areas (Signy Goto-Spletzer)
- From well-being to spaces of resilience in the Aso region (Sebastian Polak-Rottmann)
- Exploring the role perception of healthcare workers in rural Japan (Melanie Steinbrugger)
19-22.00: Dinner
Saturday, Nov 2nd
09-10.30: Utilization of natural and heritage resources
- Sustaining the Aso region: Challenges and strategies in the circular and ecological sphere (Tomohiro Ichinose)
- Conservation of the Aso grasslands: Assessing the feasibility of policies utilizing social capital (Shinya Ueno)
- Natural disasters and regional revival in Aso (Kyosuke Kashiwagi)
Coffee break
11-12.30: New topics emerging
- Stumbling upon furry friends in Aso: Transitioning to studying Japan's urban-rural divide through the lens of pets (Barbara Holthus)
- A sociable personality and sociocentrism in Japan: The role of extraversion in securing social support resources and emic relational well-being (Dionyssios Askitis)
- The making and remaking of heterotopias in rural Gifu: Actor-network analysis of globalized space usage (Stefan Böckl)
Lunch break
14-15.30: Looking back, looking forward: Beyond Aso 2.0
- Well-being in rural life in Kyushu: One family's perspective (Joy Hendry)
- Future shock and the Aso region (Johannes Wilhelm)
- Aso Archives Initiative and Aso 1.0, University of Vienna: The potential of Aso as a meeting point for various academic disciplines (Naoki Haruta)
- A long-term perspective beyond Aso 2.0: Wrap-up and next steps (Wolfram Manzenreiter)
