Neues vom JSPS-Club 02/2023

Neues vom JSPS-Club 02/2023 (1.4 MB)

EVENTS

Laudation for Prof. Dr. Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura, Winner of the JACA Prize of the German JSPS Alumni Association in Kiel, 2023

by Wolfgang Staguhn, former board member of the JSPS Club

S. Bellingrath-Kimura, W. Staguhn and H. Menkhaus (from left, courtesy of JSPS Bonn Office)

Mrs. Bellingrath-Kimura was born in Nagoya to German-Japanese parents and grew up in Japan. She attended her school days in Japan and began her studies at Hokkaido University in 1995 in the fields of plant cultivation and plant nutrition. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2000 and a Master of Science degree in 2002. During her studies, she already spent a year at the University of Goettingen. In 2005, she finally received her PhD from Hokkaido University with a thesis in soil science.

After completing her studies, she became a tenure-track associate professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). Here she was engaged in research of soil science until 2015. In Tokyo she began to focus on International Environment and Agriculture and developed her interest in international research cooperation - apart from Antarctica, she has already researched on all continents. In 2014, she moved from Tokyo to a visiting professorship at the Technical University (TU) of Munich at the Institute for Plant Nutrition. A year later, in 2015, she became Institute Head at the Institute of Land Use Systems at the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) in Muencheberg and a W2 Professorship for “Land Use Systems” at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Since mid-2018 she holds a W3 Professorship for “Land Use Systems” at the HU Berlin and acts as Co-Head of Research Area 2, “Land Use and Governance” at the ZALF.

Scientific Career: Cooperation and interdisciplinary science

Over 25 publications have resulted from cooperation with Japanese scientists in recent years.

INNISOY (2017-2021, EIC Concert Japan, BMBF):
Here, the impact of changing environmental conditions, e.g., availability of water and sulfur on symbiotic nitrogen fixation and the associated impact on soybean yield was investigated.
Result: Contribution to food security through improved soy production under the challenges of global change and climate change. Development of a network for soy research in Japan, Germany, Turkey, and France.
https://www.zalf.de/en/forschung_lehre/projekte/Pages/details.aspx?iddp=2028

FiSBea (2021-2024, Federal Ministry of Education and Research):
A cooperation project in which information and communication technology (ICT) and the most modern techniques of remote sensing and image data analysis are used. The project uses the existing cooperation between ZALF and TUAT.
The project goals are about exploring a possible applicability of growth-promoting rhizobacteria resources. Is it possible to achieve better yields using innovative methods, e.g. Soy-Rhizobium Symbiosis and ultimately the expansion of soy production in Central Europe in order to have a greater variety of bio-resources available. (FISBea is part of the Japanese “Moonshot” field experiment at TUAT, aiming at climate-resilient agricultural systems through cyber-physical monitoring. The Moonshot program is part of the current “6^th Science, Technology and Innovation Basic Plan”.

Japanese cooperation projects

2020-2022 JSPS: Japan-Europe joint research to improve sustainable soybean cultivation technology in different environments.
https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/en/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-20KK0136/

JSPS Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research: “A novel nitrogen footprint method to link producers and consumers: development of a method to visualize agricultural production conditions to consumers.” Partners are the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Hokkaido University and the research regions Brandenburg (ZALF), Mikasa (Hokkaido University) and Shizuoka (NARO). Here different soil-climatic conditions as well as socio-ecological conditions are compared with each other.

Commitment to the exchange of young scientists between the two countries

Prof. Bellingrath-Kimura is not only committed and successful in her scientific field, but also in the cultural and social exchange between Japan and Germany. In many of her projects, opportunities are created for young scientists to do doctorates in both countries.

She has been a visiting professor at the TUAT since 2015. Through this engagement but also other functions in Japan, she is the contact person for students from Japan or Germany who want to study in the other country. They approach Prof. Bellingrath-Kimura because of the visibility of her activities and position.

She is also active in the “Wise Program - Excellent Leader Development for Super Smart Society by New Industry Creation and Diversity”.

In addition, there is the supervision of students at the Institute of Global Innovation Research - only virtual up to now due to COVID-19, real visit to Germany planned again in November 2023.

Due to this special role, she also receives invitations to conferences, like a “Talk in Japanese” at conferences in Japan about research in Germany, or vice versa the “Talk in German”. Not to be forgotten is her acceptance of guest students at her institute.

Other professional activities

Prof. Bellingrath-Kimura is a board member of various scientific societies in Japan and Germany, e.g. the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition and the Japanese Society of Organic Agriculture and has been an ambassador of Hokkaido University since 2019. She is also currently a member of the Soil Protection Commission at the Federal Environment Agency and on the board of the German Society for Agronomy. In Japan, she is proposed from “Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition” as Contributing Member (Renkei-Kaiin) of the “Science Council of Japan” - that is under discussion. She is also involved in Scientist 4 Future, a new digital specialist group to be founded, and is committed to bringing scientific knowledge to society.

Prof. Bellingrath-Kimura receives the JACA Prize 2023 because of her commitment to scientific and cultural exchange between Japan and Germany, ultimately internationally. She is involved culturally, politically and for students, and also for sustainable environmental issues and smart agriculture, and therefore deserves the utmost respect. Congratulations on this award. We wish you all the best for the future and a continued successful harvest.

German-Japanese Friendship Award to Verena Materna and Heinrich Menkhaus

Award ceremony, 3^rd from left Mr. Yanagi, K. Hoheisel, V. Materna and Y. Osaka, donor of the prize (courtesy of V. Materna)

by Club member Verena Materna and Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

On May 13^th 2023, the German-Japanese Friendship Award was presented for the second time. The awarding of the 16 friendship prizes was carried out by the Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Hidenao Yanagi, and the President of the Association of German-Japanese Societies (VDJG e. V.), Dr. Volker Stanzel, in a ceremonial setting at the residence of the Ambassador of Japan in Berlin.

The German-Japanese Friendship Award is the result of an initiative by Yasuhiko Osaka (Japanese-German Society, Kagawa, Japan), who has already made it possible on the occasion of the 150^th anniversary and again on the occasion of the 160^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan to honor commitment to the maintenance and deepening of German-Japanese relations. The award ceremony, originally planned for 2021, had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 16 friendship prizes for the Japanese side were already presented in a ceremony at the German Ambassador's residence in Tokyo in July 2022. By bestowing the German-Japanese Friendship Award in both countries, the longstanding civil society commitment of the prize winners is publicly acknowledged.

Our member Dr. Verena Materna, who received this year's German-Japanese Friendship Award together with her board colleague of the German-Japanese Society Berlin (DJG Berlin e. V.) Kirsten Hoheisel, holds a PhD in biology and is currently Scientific Coordinator of the platform Charité Health Services Research at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In 2001, as part of her scientific work for her doctoral thesis in cancer research, she was able to conduct part of the experiments during a short-term stay at the Research Institute for Biological Sciences (RIBS), Tokyo University of Science (RIKADAI), Noda Campus, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. She has been a member of DJG Berlin since 2000, where she has been involved in events and projects to promote bilateral exchange and foster relations between Germany and Japan for many years. In addition, she has also been active on the board of DJG Berlin for five years and is a member of the organizing committee of the biennial Manga Contest. The currently running 10^th Manga Contest 2023 is organized for the third time in cooperation with the Japanese-German Society in Tokyo, giving the winners, among other things, the opportunity to present their work in a public exhibition in both countries.

Since 2019, Dr. Materna has been an associate member of the German JSPS Alumni Association (JSPS Club) and here also a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg regional group under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Roza Kamp.

Heinrich Menkhaus, Chairman of the JSPS Club, also was awarded the 2023 German-Japanese Friendship Award.

He was the first to be offered a professorship for Japanese Law in Germany in 2001 at the University of Marburg, where he also succeeded to the directorship of the local interdisciplinary Centre for Japanese Studies. He is still holding an extraordinary professorship at the University of Marburg, which enables him to look after promising young lawyers who are familiar enough in the Japanese language to write a legal dissertation dealing with a subject of law in comparison between Japan and Germany. Since 2008, Prof. Menkhaus holds the chair for German Law at the Faculty of Law and the Graduate School of Law of Meiji University in Tokyo, where he – in the other direction – familiarizes young Japanese lawyers with the German Law to extend the very long-lasting and successful Japanese research on German Law.

Heinrich Menkhaus is not only one of the founding members of the JSPS Club and its long-standing chairman; he is also on the board of the Tokyo Japanese-German Society in Japan. Also, he was twice on the board of the German East Asiatic Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens (OAG)), headquartered in Tokyo, and for many years held the chairman positions in the German Society for Research on Japan (Gesellschaft für Japanforschung (GJF)) and the German-Japanese Association of Labour Law (Deutsch-Japanische Gesellschaft für Arbeitsrecht (DJGA)). He is also playing an important role in the collaboration with the associations of scientists created by scientists of other countries in Japan, especially France, Spain and Italy, which are working together with the German association not only in the framework of EURAXESS Japan, an institution of the EU.

With his voluntary work for the JSPS Club, his activities in German-Japanese exchange in the Japanese-German Society and his commitment in the German-Japanese professional exchange, Heinrich Menkhaus is a very strong promotor for the German-Japanese cooperation with a specific focus on the support of young researchers striving for a career in the mutual countries. For his commitment to the German-Japanese exchange, he was awarded in 2001 with the German Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande).

As Heinrich Menkhaus was not able to attend the award ceremony in Berlin due to the annual scientific symposium of the JSPS Club and the JSPS in Kiel held in parallel, his daughter accepted the prize on his behalf.

JSPS Prize Awarded to our Club Member Shigeyoshi Inoue

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

In March 2023, our Club member Prof. Shigeyoshi Inoue from the Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, was awarded the JSPS prize for his research about low-coordinate organosilicon and aluminum compounds and their applications.

In the information of JSPS on the prize, it can be read about his research: “Typical elements such as silicon and aluminum are abundant on earth, but their low-coordination compounds are generally unstable and difficult to synthesize and isolate. Shigeyoshi Inoue has made remarkable achievements in the synthesis and isolation of unique molecules based on silicon and aluminum. Specifically, a silicon divalent species, silylene, was reacted with carbon monoxide to isolate a silicon carbonyl complex. He also oxidized silylene to form silanone, and showed that the same molecular transformation reaction as that of group 14 carbon is possible. Furthermore, he isolated aluminum-aluminum double bond species and aluminum-tellurium double bond species, elucidated their reactivity, and succeeded in applying them to catalytic reactions.”

And the JSPS continues with the justification for the prize: “After completing his doctorate, Prof. Inoue moved to Germany and has been working as a principal investigator (PI) for many years. While the above research results are important basic research that approaches the bond that is the basis of chemistry, they also have a large impact on society. There is a ripple effect. He is a world-leading researcher in his field.”

Visit at the Earth Life Science Institute (ELSI) with Prof. Yasuhito Sekine, June 27^th, 2023, Tokodai Okayama Campus

by Wolfgang Staguhn, former board member of the JSPS Club

The Earth Life Science Institute (ELSI) is an international institute with a large number of foreign researchers/students/postdocs—lectures and presentations are held in English. Laboratories are used in cooperation, they do not belong to a single PI. An open space atmosphere invites to scientific discussions with other members of the ELSI.

As Director of ELSI, Prof. Sekine coordinates the funding for the short- and long-term exchange of young researchers from abroad at his institute, as well as the scientific exchange of young ELSI members with partners abroad, e.g. in Germany.

The ELSI was founded 11 years ago on the campus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokodai) as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI). In 2022, the WPI congestion ended after the first 10 years. It was transformed into a regular institute of the Tokodai. This also means that the direct funding via the Ministry of Education (MEXT) ended. It will now follow the regular administration of the Tokodai and with it several changes occurred: budget is reduced to approx. 60-70%; new tasks, such as setting up a graduate school; integration into the Tokodai educational programs.

About WPI: https://www.jsps.go.jp/file/storage/general/english/e-toplevel/data/19_pamphlet/WPIleaflet_en_forWEB.pdf

Prof. Sekine has been at ELSI since 2018 and is director since the organizational change from MEXT to Tokodai.

https://researchmap.jp/yasuhitosekine?lang=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZV9QdYZ9QY

https://jglobal.jst.go.jp/en/detail?JGLOBAL_ID=201801015383835572

Research interests (selection):
Participation and advice on space programs:

• Mission to Mars: Japan’s MMX mission is scheduled to launch to Mars in 2024 and enter orbit around the planet in 2025.
• Cooperation with the company I-Space and the landing rocket of the lunar robot recently failed, but the program continues. https://ispace-inc.com/jpn/
• JUICE: ESA’s (European Space Agency) exploration of Jupiter's icy moons.
  https://juice.stp.isas.jaxa.jp/en/interview/sekine/
  https://www.elsi.jp/en/news_events/news/2023/juice-mission-livestream/
  https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
• Cooperation with DLR (Forschungszentrum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland für Luft- und Raumfahrt)

Prof. Sekine has a cooperation/exchange with Prof. Dr. Frank Postberg, Head of Planetology and Remote Sensing, at the FU Berlin.

Information on research at ELSI: https://www.elsi.jp/en/science_society/publications/

JSPS Symposium “Life under Extreme Conditions” in Kiel 2023

by Katja Koelkebeck, board member of the JSPS Club

W. Duschl, K. Kato, H. Menkhaus (from left, courtesy of JSPS Bonn Office)

On the 12^th-13^th of May 2023, the annual and 26^th symposium of the JSPS Club and the JSPS Bonn Office “Life under Extreme Conditions” took place at the Christiana Albertina University of Kiel, hosted by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Duschl from the Department of Astrophysics. Welcome remarks were spoken by Chairman of the JSPS Club, Prof. Dr. Heinrich Menkhaus, the Consul General of Japan in Hamburg, Kikuko Kato, the President of Kiel University, Prof. Dr. Simone Fulda, the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of Kiel University, Prof. Dr. Frank Kempken, and the Honorary Chairman of the German-Japanese Society Schleswig-Holstein Dr. Hans-Michael Kiefmann.

Prof. Menkhaus thanked the organizer, first and foremost Prof. Duschl, and informed about upcoming events of the Club, first of all the next Members invite Members (MlMe) meeting in Heidelberg/Dossenheim, the Club meeting in Japan at Nagoya University and the next symposium in Braunschweig 2024, and finally the 2024 MlMe in Dortmund 2024. 2025 will be the 30^th birthday of the Club. Events are planned in Munich and Tokyo. Consul General Kato pointed out the importance of science exchange specifically in the younger generations of Japanese and German researchers and made the audience aware of the World Exhibition in Osaka/Kansai 2025. Prof. Fulda mentioned that delegates from the University of Kiel will visit Japan this year to expand cooperative research. The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences will celebrate its 60^th birthday this year, it is the largest one in terms of professors. Its main research pillars are, e.g., life sciences and marine sciences. Dr. Kiefmann talked about his efforts for the Japanese-German exchange as the School Dean of the Kiel Humboldt School, cooperating with Kobe, Japan. For this he received the order of the rising sun of Japan.

The first talk was held by doctoral student Jule Herbst (Kiel University, Lorenz von Stein Institute for Administrative Science) on Lorenz von Stein and his role as a legal advisor in Japan. Born in 1815, von Stein studied, graduated and finished his PhD at Kiel University. He also taught at Kiel University. Finally, we worked at and was retired from the University of Vienna from a Political Science chair. 1890 marked his death year. Japan demanded a constitution, which is why in 1882 a 2^nd delegation of scholars from Japan was sent to Prussia, where they talked to von Gneist and to Austria, where von Stein was sought out. Japan was attracted to the Prussian constitutional monarchy system. The first premier minister in Japan, Miyoji Ito, visited von Stein in Vienna, and after the discussion finally developed the Meiji constitution. Von Stein never visited Japan as he was too old, but he took a position as a permanent advisor of the Japanese embassy in Vienna. More than 50 Japanese future government officials visited him. He also supervised Ito on administrative law and how to transform universities into administrative schools.

The symposium was subdivided into four parts.

Part 1: Microbiology under Extreme Conditions

Members of the Club and guests of the symposium posing for the group picture at the University Campus Kiel (courtesy of JSPS Bonn Office)

JSPS Club board member Dr. Matthias Hofmann convened the first session of the day. Prof. Dr. Ken Takai from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) talked about “Dark Energy Ecosystem Driven by Chemical Disequilibrium in the Earth and even Extraterrestrial Bodies”. His talk was on deep-sea vents and life-forms that live totally independent of sunlight (dark energy ecosystems). In the vents, the temperature is quite high (up to 500 °C) and more than 1100 bar pressure can be measured and a pH of 14. Methanopyrus, e.g., can survive in water up to 120 °C. It seems as if one mayor aspect of survival in high temperature is the availability of energy. With help of the McCollom-Shock’s theory, the diversity of life depending on the energy potential can be predicted. This theory was applied in oceans on the Earth and confirmed. There is a project going on testing the hypothesis also in the Saturn moon ocean (Enceladus Ocean). Finally, electrotrophy was explained: the sea-water can generate electricity in hydrothermal vents by electrochemical gradients. In the lab, a deep-sea environment microbial population (T. electrophagus) is cultivated.

The second talk was delivered by Prof. Dr. Peter Schoenheit from the Kiel University, Prof. em. for microbiology. He talked about “Life under Extreme Conditions” (re-named). He continued the topic of thermophiles, called extremophiles. Those organisms can regulate osmolarity and pH value internally, which is why they can survive up to high salinity or very low or high pH value. Also they can regulate temperature, e.g. thermophiles can grow in 70 °C. Is there life in boiling water as well? Karl Stetter from Regensburg had found in the 80ies in Volcano (Italy) pyrodictium occultum that survived also heat of about 105 °C or above. It is a chemolithoautotroph, living only of water and CO². How do their cell structures remain stable? In comparison to methanocaldococcus (lives at about 90 °C), the structure is similar as compared to a common E. coli, for example. However, there are more charged amino acids in the thermophiles and a higher number of aromatic amino acid interactions (i.e. higher ionic and hydrophobic interactions). This way of life is similar to the days of the early earth with volcanic activity. Biologically, they belong to the archaea, some of the oldest living systems on the Earth. The vents also form models of live on early Earth.

Part 2: Extra-Terrestrial Life

The second part of the first day was convened by Prof. Dr. Masahiko Hayashi, Director of the JSPS Bonn Office, by major an astronomist himself. He first introduced Prof. Dr. Motohide Tamura from the University of Tokyo and Director of the inter-university Astrobiology Center (ABC) talking about “Japan Astrobiology Center Activities and Exoplanets as Extremophiles”. He started his talk with introducing a doppler methodology, the inventor given the Nobel Prize for it, with which one can measure the speed of stars and perform a direct imaging of circling stars. Then he explained about the mission of the ABC: exoplanets exploration, exo-life search and Astrobiology instrument development followed by an introduction of the equipment of the center. 2022 a protoplanet was finally discovered with the telescope. Red Edge of planets and fluorescence might be measured regarding exoplanets. To link biology to astronomy, prasiola crispa, an alga from Antarctic, has been investigated. How this alga does photosynthesis might be the key to life beyond earth.

The final speaker of the day was Prof. Dr. Robert F. Wimmer-Schweingruber from the Mars Science Laboratory of Kiel University on “In-situ Research in the Solar System”. The closest exoplanet is Proxima centauri. It is only a quarter light years away but it is too far to reach. There are several planets where life would be habitable, e.g. Titan and Ganymede, but the habitable parts are deep in the core of the planets. Mars is reachable and can be assessed from the surface. There is a lot of dust, as planetary dust storms move all over the planet. The exploration rover “Curiosity” was introduced that investigated Gale crater, which reflects the hydrological evolution of Mars. Mars has a thin atmosphere, which is why radiation can penetrate. Radiation is strongest at the surface—and this is not safe for humans. In a research project, radiation on Mars was to be measured, but the investigation equipment posed problems which had to be solved (e.g. gravitation at launching, cold/hot, etc.). This radiation assessment device was developed by German scientists. Finally, the rocket was launched and Prof. Wimmer-Schweingruber made two experiments in the audience to show how a rocket was launched by pumping an airpump. He also depicted the landing of the new device on Mars. There, ripples have been identified that seemingly hint on the (earlier) existence of water on Mars. Moreover, the radiation was measured. Due to the strength of the radiation, organic material on the surface would not survive, so you would have to drill, about 4-5 cm would be enough. E.g. Kerogen was discovered which consists of sediments. The Mars was habitable billion years ago but it is still not solved whether it was inhabited by life.

Finally, Eriko Suto from JSPS Bonn Office presented the JSPS programs and news from JSPS, e.g. on the new Instagram account.

The day was ended with a common dinner in the restaurant “Ratskeller”, where also the JSPS Alumni Club Award (JACA) Ceremony was held. The JACA Prize 2023 was awarded to Prof. Dr. Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura from Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and Humboldt University of Berlin (see above).

On the second day, the opening message was spoken from Prof. Dr. Keiichi Kodaira, former Director of the JSPS Bonn Office together with his wife Uta Kodaira, online from Japan. Prof. Kodaira is also an astrophysicist. Both graduated from Kiel University and on the symposium day celebrated their 60^th anniversary of marriage.

Part 3: Life in Deep Sea

The first session of the second day was convened by JSPS Club (former) board member Dr. Wolfgang Staguhn. He introduced the speaker Dr. Sven Peterson from GEOMAR Center (Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research) Kiel, who talked about “Life at the Edge: Black Smokers and Hydrothermal Systems in the Deep Sea”. Hydrothermal activity/systems (black smokers) were discovered in  1979. The deep sea floor is 2500 m deep and has about 17 °C. The surfaces of these chimneys are rich in copper, gold and other metals and might thus be exploited. They can be found along the mid-ocean tectonic plates. The largest black smoker in the US is 40 m tall. In the Okinawa Trough, extensive fields have recently been discovered, populated mainly by crabs. Some of the vents can release SO², CO², Mercury or Thallium. Mining of active vents is not allowed, however, the inactive vents have much more potential. Germany has mining rights since 2015.

The next speaker was Prof. Yasuhito Sekine from Tokyo Institute of Technology, ELSI (Earth-Life Science Institute), who spoke about “Ocean World Habitability and the Origin of Life”. He started to relate about problems on how to identify life or to prove life, as it is likely that one would find very small materials that might have also been produced by non-organic processes. One way to identify life is to see it moving and to feed. One problem is that one has to understand the system in which the life exists and functions. Enceladus moon samples of the ocean have been investigated, and organic materials, chemicals and water have been identified, but how about nutrients? The availability of phosphate has been largely discussed. In cooperation with Prof. Frank Postberg from Free Univesity (FU) of Berlin, Cassini Cosmic Dust analyzer has been developed, measuring mass spectra. Phosphate has been proven to exist in the dust. It might be explained by water-rock reactions. In principle, there could be life on all planets. Hopefully, in the next 10 years, there will be evidence about the environments of the planets due to different missions (e.g. Hayabusa 2). Jupiter mission JUICE (Jupiter’s icy moon explorer) has started in April as a German mission. Japan was involved in the development of the instruments.

Part 4: Extreme Conditions in Society?

The last session of the symposium was chaired by JSPS Club board member Prof. Dr. Katja Koelkebeck. The first speaker of the last part of the symposium was Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schlickeiser from Ruhr-University Bochum on “Modelling Pandemics, Mathematics of Pandemics in a Nutshell”. He is Prof. em. in Theoretical Physics. He began with this kind of calculations just after retirement. He started with predictions about doubling rates and maximum death rates in the COVID-19 pandemic. This fit to other countries as well and it received a high interest from the press. The models were optimized by including vaccinated people, infection rates and recovery rates. It was known that 1/200 infected people died of serious infections. The peak of mortality is usually seven days after infection. Regarding the breathing apparati, the number of available beds was calculated: in total 333 beds were available for >2.300 seriously infected people. Still, a lock-down at incidence rate of 50 was way too low, as the beds were underutilized. The numbers of infections are most probably underestimated; a better estimator would have been the death rate. In the second wave, still the hospitals could have coped with treatment, as here the severely infected lay around 1.600 (probably due to vaccinations). The model did work quite well for most of the countries. Effects of vaccination rates: 6.000 people might have not died if the vaccination rate was doubled.

Dr. Christine Merk from Kiel Institute for the World Economy was the last speaker of the day on “Removing CO² from the air and reflecting sunlight into space – Extreme ways to deal with climate change?”. The speaker started out with a thought experiment on climate change and then presented information about climate extremes at the present time, where 1.5 °C of warming have already taken place. Ways to deal with greenhouse effects are to reflect sun radiation or catching CO² from the air (e.g. by mangrove woods, seagrass, carbon-removing sand or plants). People like natural solutions better, but it is uncertain how long these options last. When planting trees, etc., only 15% of the necessary CO² emission reduction would happen and it would need to cut e.g. agricultural areas. In the end, cutting emissions is more effective and raises less questions. Also, a solution could be to produce clouds or balloons that reflect sunlight, but that would affect all of Europe, for example. That would be cheaper, and the temperature would be cut down fast, as volcano eruptions have shown. The question is, whether we want to go down that path of research.

The closing remarks were spoken by Prof. Dr. Masahiko Hayashi (JSPS Bonn Office) who extended his gratitude to all individuals that made the symposium happen and summarized the topics related to. After that, the general assembly took place for JSPS-Club members.

Finally, the members were able to go on a guided tour at Zoologisches Museum Kiel.

14^th Meeting of the Rhine-Main-Neckar Regional Chapter of the JSPS Club

by Matthias Hofmann, board member / Head of the Rhine-Main-Neckar regional chapter

Participants of the regional chapter meeting (courtesy of M. Hofmann, 2^nd from left)

Beside my current professional obligation in Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States, I was very happy to organize the 14^th meeting of the JSPS Club Rhine-Main-Neckar regional chapter and be able to attend it during our summer home stay.

Six club members plus children were welcomed (unfortunately, three other members had to cancel their attendance at short notice) on a nice summer evening on 8^th July 2023 at the well-known Japanese Izakaya Mangetsu close to the Frankfurt fair, Senckenberg Museum and the “old” university campus. For the participating members, the regional group meeting not only offered the first opportunity in 2023 to get to know other Club members personally (who may not have been able to attend our Kiel symposium earlier this year), but also gave them the opportunity to talk to representatives of the Japanese Consulate General in Frankfurt while enjoying Japanese delicacies.

As guests of honor, the new Japanese Vice Consul Ms. Otsuka and Carolin Weidmann, both from the Japanese Consulate General in Frankfurt, were welcomed. As representatives of the Club board and the regional group, Shiori Mochimaru and Dr. Hofmann used the meeting to introduce the activities of the JSPS Club in general and in the region to Ms. Otsuka. As the upcoming event “JSPS Club Members Invite Members” is going to take place in Dossenheim, this event was in the focus of the common exchange and discussion. A report on the regional group meeting can also be found on the Facebook page of the Japanese Consulate General in Frankfurt: https://www.facebook.com/JGK.Frankfurt

Furthermore, the meeting offered a good opportunity to discuss possible joint activities with the DJG (German-Japanese Society) Frankfurt in an open atmosphere. I look forward to welcoming our regional members again at the next meeting.

Nippon Connection Film Festival 2023

by Shiori Mochimaru, board member of the JSPS Club

JSPS Club stand at the Nippon Connection (from left to right: J. Krohmer, T. Berberich, R. Pflanzer, S. Mochimaru and J. Wennmann, (courtesy of S. Mochimaru)

The 23^rd Nippon Connection Film Festival took place from June 6^th to 11^th in Frankfurt am Main. Nippon Connection has become the largest platform for Japanese cinema worldwide with over than 18,000 participants in 2023. More than 100 short and long feature films were presented throughout the festival. There were also various Japan-related programs, which included workshops, lectures, panel discussions, performances, exhibitions, and stands with delicious Japanese food.

On June 8^th, the JSPS Club had a stand at the festival at the Mousonturm location to present the JSPS fellowship programs and the activities of the Club. The Club was represented by Ralph Pflanzer, Thomas Berberich, Julia Krohmer, Shiori Mochimaru and Jörg Wennmann. During the day, a large number of people visited our stand and showed great interest in the various scholarship opportunities. Ralph Pflanzer was able to report on his experiences with the Summer Program, while member Jörg Wennmann reported about his experiences as a postdoc in Japan with the fellowship program.

JSPS Alumni Activities in the United States – Spring/Summer 2023

by Matthias Hofmann, board member / Head of the Rhine-Main-Neckar regional chapter of the JSPS Club

Due to work-related assignment to the United States, I am currently located at the United States (US) east coast. Therefore, I facilitated the contact with the JSPS Washington Office and members of the US-Canada JSPS Alumni organization, attending two scientific meetings in spring and summer 2023.

26^th “Science-in-Japan” Forum

Group picture of all speakers of the 26^th “Science in Japan” Forum (courtesy JSPS Washington Office)

One of the presenters at the 26^th “Science in Japan” Forum, Prof. Reina Maruyama, Department of Physics, Yale University, presenting on “Dark Matter, Axions, and Quantum Sensors” (courtesy M. Hofmann)

After being able to attend last year’s first in-person 25^th “Science-in-Japan” Forum after the COVID-19 pandemic, I highly appreciated receiving a personal invitation from the JSPS Washington Office to join the 26^th edition of the renowned “Science-in-Japan” Forum with this year’s topic “Quantum Taste of the Universe”. The forum is held annually since 1996 in Washington D.C. and consistently highlighted the strong level of cooperation between scientists and engineers between Japan and the US.

The 26^th “Science-in-Japan” Forum was successfully held on June 9^th, 2023 as a hybrid symposium. Invited participants gathered at the historic Cosmos Club in Washington D.C., founded in 1878. The Club is a private social club for men and women distinguished in science, literature and the arts, a learned profession or public service. About 80 participants gathered in-person and more than 60 participants attended online from Washington D.C., other areas of the US, and other countries, including Japan. They were welcomed and introduced by Dr. Junji Urakawa, the newly appointed Director of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Washington Office. Following Minister Koichi Ai, Embassy of Japan in the USA, congratulated the forum as an occasion of science diplomacy between the US and Japan.

In the keynote lecture with the topic of “Quantum Taste of the Universe,” Prof. Masashi Hazumi, Director of the International Center for Quantum-field Measurement Systems for Studies of the Universe and Particles (QUP), presented his speech titled “Tasting the quantum universe with the quantum devices,” in which he discussed curiosity-driven research activities surrounding the mysteries of the universe and the efforts of the QUP were introduced with humor.

The following sessions on “Observations of the quantum fields in the early universe through Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)”, “Dark Matter searching for relic quantum fields in the current universe” and “Quantum field and future society” presented by scientists from the US and Japan completed the afternoon with an outlook and overview of the current scientific knowledge in this cross-functional field of astronomy and (quantum) physics.

The forum closed with an open panel discussion on the topic “Future of quantum-field measurements”. After brief self-introductions by each speaker, the discussion evolved in various directions, inspired by on-the-spot questions from the participants on the cutting-edge topic of “Quantum Taste of the Universe.”

The Forum was closed by remarks from Mr. Okamura, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the USA, closing remarks encouraging people to conduct interdisciplinary, intergenerational and international collaborations.

After the forum, lecturers, co-sponsors and in-person participants joined a reception where all attendees were proactively networking with each other beyond their backgrounds. On this occasion, I was also able to introduce the JSPS Club to Dr.-Ing. Georg Bechtold, Director, and Bettina Schuffert, Program Officer of the DFG (German Research Foundation) Washington Office.

8^th JSPS-NIH Kaitoku

J. Murai, Department of Cell Growth and Tumor Regulation Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, presenting online on “Schlafen 11” at the 8^th JSPS-NIH Kaitoku (courtesy M. Hofmann)

The 8^th JSPS-NIH (National Institute of Health) Forum was held in a hybrid meeting environment on March 17^th 2023. This forum was inaugurated in 2016, aiming to introduce new JSPS KAITOKU-NIH Fellows to the research community and strengthen their friendly and collegial ties in the biomedical field.

I attended the meeting virtually among approximately 70 other persons who joined virtually from various locations, including the NIH, other parts of the US and Japan. About 30 to 40 participants attended the meeting live at the NIH.

After Dr. Kohji Hirata (Director of the JSPS Washington Office) made the opening remarks, congratulatory remarks were delivered at the venue by Mr. Koji Aribayashi, Science Counselor, Embassy of Japan in the USA. Therefore, the forum format does not only consist of lectures but also includes a common poster session presenting ongoing research work by young Japanese post-doctoral JSPS fellows in the US and Canada.

During the lecture session on the subject of “Cancer Cell Biology and Microenvironment,” Dr. Junko Murai, Associate Professor at the Department of Cell Growth and Tumor Regulation Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, presented a talk titled “Revamping the mechanism of the anti-cancer impact of DNA-damaging agents via the functions of Schlafen 11 (SLFN11).” The family of Schlafen (Slfn) genes (from the German word “schlafen”) includes several mouse and human member genes that have been implicated in the regulation of important biological functions in mammals.

The keynote lecture was followed by two talks of Dr. Takanobu Tagawa from the HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch, NCI (NATO Communication and Information Agency), NIH and Dr. Ryo Sato, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)), NIH.

A common Q & A session focused on the topics of “Cancer Cell Biology and Microenvironment,” and closed the hybrid meeting.

Retrospektive auf den wissenschaftlichen Austausch mit Japan

by Thomas Bock, member of the JSPS Club

Foto 1: Teleexistenz Experiment für Telerobotikbaustelle, Tsukuba 1985/88 (T. Bock)

Foto 2: Building Research Institute (BRI), Ministry of Construction (MOC), Tsukuba 1985/88. SMAS: Solid Material Assembly System (T. Bock)

Foto 3: Shimizu Institute Technology (SIT), Etchujima, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 1988/92. Robot Oriented Design (ROD) angewandt bei der weltweit ersten automatisierten Hochbaustelle SMART Shimizu Method Automated Robotic Technology (T. Bock)

1981 belegte ich ein Seminar zur japanischen Architektur bei Professor Masami Takayama während meines Fulbright Stipendiums am Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, wo ich zu Multi Use High Rise Buildings meine Masterthesis verfasste. Professor Takayama erzählte von Sekisui Chemical und Toyota Motors, die erschwinglichen Wohnraum in automatisierten Fabriken produzierten. Diese mir bis dahin unbekannten Fakten veranlassten mich, im Rahmen eines Monbusho Stipendiums zwischen 1984 und 1989 an der Universität von Tokyo bei Professor Yoshitika Uchida zu robotergestützten Bauen zu promovieren.

Zunächst analysierte ich das Toyota-Produktionssystem und seine Übertragung auf das Bauwesen. Ich sammelte Erfahrungen bei Toyota Homes, Sekisui Heim, Misawa Homes, Sekisui House. u.v.m. Die Vorfertigungs-Technologien waren bereits seit dem Ende der 1960er Jahre in Japan hoch entwickelt und somit gab es keine Termin- und Kostenüberschreitungen in Japan und die Bauqualität war so hochwertig, dass die Gebäude nicht nur Erdbeben standhielten, sondern auch jahrzehntelange Garantien der Hersteller für die Baukunden gewährt wurden. Ende der 1970er und Anfang der 1980er Jahre begannen die fünf großen japanischen General Contractors sogar Bauroboter für den Baustelleneinsatz zu entwickeln und später, ab 1992, bis zu automatisierten Baustellen und ab 2000 zu automatisierten Rückbaustellen einzusetzen.

Ich wurde Mitglied aller nationaler Arbeitskreise sowohl bei Verbänden als auch Ministerien und Bau-, Baumaschinen- und Roboterunternehmen, wo die ersten 50 Bauroboter weltweit in Japan einzigartig entwickelt wurden. Diese Analysen dieser pionierartigen Robotersysteme veranlassten mich, das Konzept des „Robot Oriented Design“ (ROD) im Rahmen meiner Dissertation zu erstellen. Ich konnte im Rahmen eines nationalen Arbeitskreises mit Fanuc und Hitachi Kenki am Building Research Institute des japanischen Bauministeriums meine selbstentwickelten Endeffektor-, Logistik-, Bauelement- und Verbindungssysteme in Tsukuba Science City zwischen 1985 und 1988 testen (s.a. Foto 1: Telerobotik Experiment, Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (MEL), Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Tsukuba 1985).

Diese Ergebnisse des „Robot Oriented Design“ wurden erstmalig im Mai 1988 in der Sonderausgabe „SEKO“ bei Shokokusha Insatsu in Tokyo auf Japanisch veröffentlicht (Foto 2).

Das Konzept wurde danach ab 1988 für den weltweit ersten automatisierten Prototyp einer Hochbaustelle im Forschungsinstitut der Firma Shimizu in Etchujima, Koto-ku in Tokyo getestet und ab 1992 mehrmals im Rahmen von Büro- und Wohnhochhäusern von verschieden General Contractors angewandt (Foto 3).

Weitere Anwendungen fand es bei Sekisui Heim und Sekisui House, wodurch in einem halben Tag ein Wohnhaus von 150 qm Wohnfläche auf zwei Etagen bezugsfertig errichtet werden konnte, sodass die Doppelbelastung durch Vorfinanzierung des Hausbaus und der laufenden Miete verschwand. Des Weiteren konnten alle damit errichteten Gebäude wieder mithilfe von Robotern demontiert werden, wodurch eine umweltfreundliche Wiederverwertungsquote von 93 % ab 2005 erreicht werden konnte.

Ein weiterer Forschungsschwerpunkt war das altersgerechte Bauen, das ich ebenso ab 1985 im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes der Japan Science Society untersuchte. Ich bekam dafür Inspirationen aus der Edo Periode mit ihren Karakuri-Mechanismen (z.B. von Hisashige Tanaka aus Kurume, dem Gründer des späteren Unternehmens Toshiba) für Karakuri- bzw. Ninja-Häuser, Bühnentechnik (Mawari und Janome butai etc.) und Wadokei (insbesondere Mannen Dokei) mit ihrem weltweit einzigartigen unsymmetrischen Zahnrad zum mechanischen weltweit ersten Ausgleich von Sommer- zu Winterzeit. Weitere Inspirationen erhielt ich von „Gattai“, einem Transformer-Spielzeug für Kinder, Kamo no Chomei’s Einraumhaus und Weltraumstationen der Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), an deren Space Entwicklung ich bei Communications Services Project (CSP) des Unternehmens Shimizu mitarbeiten durfte. Das Ergebnis war das Konzept des „Life Support Systems (LSS)“, transformierbaren Innenräumen zum Wohnen, Schlafen, Arbeiten, Kochen, Hobby, Entertainment und Hygiene mit „Karakuri“ bzw. Transformer-Möbeln zum selbstbestimmten Wohnen und Arbeiten und gesellschaftlicher mobiler Teilhabe für ältere Menschen.

Ab April 1989 konnte ich meine Erfahrungen in Japan dann im Rahmen eines poste rouge postdoc Stipendiums am Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in Paris umsetzen. Hier koordinierte ich den ersten Arbeitskreis „Robotique en BTP“ nicht nur in Frankreich, sondern europaweit. Wir bauten EU-weit die ersten Bauroboter zum Innenanstrich von Räumen am Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB) in Sophia Antipolis, Reinigungsroboter für die Glaspyramide des Louvre Museums und einen Baulogistikroboter für die Bouygues-Tochter Norpac.

Ab dem Wintersemester 1989/90 trat ich die Professur für Automatisierung im Baubetrieb an der Universität Karlsruhe an. Hier wurden nach japanischem Vorbild zahlreiche Vorfertigungsroboter für den kostengünstigen Wohnungsbau in Mauerwerks-, Beton-, Holztafel- und Stahlbauweise entwickelt und in Zusammenarbeit mit Baufirmen das x8-Haus, welches 100 qm Wohnfläche auf zwei Etagen für 80.000 DM bot und in acht Tagen vorgefertigt, in acht Stunden schlüsselfertig montiert werden konnte, entwickelt und bis 1995 bereits 5.000 Mal in Baden-Württemberg verkauft wurde.

Ab 1997 entwickelte ich als Ordinarius für Baurealisierung und Baurobotik an der Technischen Universität (TU) München weitere Bauroboter für die Vor- und Baustellenfertigung und eine dreidimensional verstellbare altersgerechte „Karakuri“-Wohnung als Prototyp für private Wohnungen, Wohnungen in Altersheimen, Patientenzimmer in Krankenhäusern und Rehabilitations- und kommunalen Aktivitätszentren in Europa (Bozen, Nova Ponente, Genf, Eindhoven, Kopenhagen, Malmö und Bad Aibling) nach japanischem Vorbild. Am Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT) Umeda Hochhaus Campus in Osaka wurde im Rahmen meiner Gastprofessur auf zwei Etagen ein interfakultatives Zentrum für Design und Robotik eingerichtet. Als Berater der Workroid Users Association (WUA) in Tokyo werden Roboter der nächsten Generation entwickelt und sollen auf der EXPO 2024 in Osaka gezeigt werden.

Weiterführende Literatur und Links zu Prof. em. Dr.-Ing./Univ. Tokio Bock: Cambridge University Press, „Construction Robotics“, 5 Bände, der 6. Band über neuartige japanische Roboter ist in Bearbeitung. Weitere Informationen über die Arbeit von Thomas Bock unter: Web-Seite: https:/rod.de, E-Mail: bockrobotics@web.de.

PRESENTATION OF NEW MEMBERS

New member: Tokyo Institute of Technology

by Tokyo Tech ANNEX Aachen

Robotics and AI Innovation Seminar of Tokyo Tech and RWTH 2023 (courtesy of Tokyo Tech)

Tokyo Tech and RWTH joint workshop on Robotics 2022 (courtesy of Tokyo Tech)

Tokyo Institute of Technology has set up Tokyo Tech ANNEXes in three locations: Aachen, Bangkok and Berkeley. Unlike regular overseas offices, an ANNEX has the three functions of “education”, “information”, and “research”, each with a University research administrator (URA) as the director. Tokyo Tech ANNEX Aachen was established in March 2019 at Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen University. In addition to RWTH, we are actively promoting exchange with Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), with which RWTH has close ties as the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA).

The relationship between Tokyo Tech and RWTH has a long history, and we have had strong connections in research fields such as polymer science and robotics and student exchange programs have also been actively carried out. After the ANNEX was set up, there was a period of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but exchange has already resumed, and we expect that it will become even more active in the future.

Since the establishment of ANNEX, Tokyo Tech and RWTH have been holding regular joint workshops every year, and many people from industries and academia have participated. We take up a different theme each time, this year it will be “Aerospace”, and we plan to hold it on November 27^th and 28^th. We have also held mini-workshops sporadically. In addition, the Innovation Seminar, co-sponsored by Tokyo Tech, RWTH and JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) Düsseldorf have all started this year. This is aimed at international industry-academia collaboration and collaboration with start-ups from both universities by selecting themes that are of high interest in the industrial world. By holding this seminar regularly, the major goal is to promote collaboration for innovation between Japan and Europe, and to promote collaboration between industry and academia. The first event was held on June 26^th under the theme of “Robotics & AI (Artificial Intelligence)”. We will contact JSPS Club about these events, and we look forward to your participation.

Tokyo Tech ANNEX Aachen does not have permanent staff and is currently open to those on business trips. In the future, we will expand the scope of our activities to include surrounding areas, like all of Germany and Europe in general. In addition to the above, as Tokyo Tech is proceeding with its integration with Tokyo Medical and Dental University, its axis of technology is expected to grow, and exchange in the fields of medicine and dentistry is expected to increase. I would like to exchange information on various topics with everyone at JSPS Club.

Our new Club Member Masao Watanabe

Masao Watanabe obtained his PhD in 2020 in the field of nuclear medicine at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Since then, he worked as a radiologist and nuclear medicine physician at Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe, Japan, for two years. In April 2022, he came to the Nuclear Medicine Department of Essen University Hospital hosted by its Head, Prof. Ken Herrmann, as a postdoctoral research fellow supported by the Humboldt Foundation for two years.

His research interests cover nuclear medicine, especially cancer imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) and cancer-specific therapy using α- and β-ray emitting particles binding to the surface receptor of the cancer cells, which is named “theranostics”. Theranostics can offer another opportunity for cancer treatment to patients with minimal adverse effects compared with conventional chemotherapy. Regarding theranostics, Germany is the first leading country in the world.

Since he came to Essen, he already published an article concerning the voxel-based dosimetry of radioembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma using ⁹⁰Y (Yttrium) glass microsphere in the “Journal of Nuclear Medicine” in June this year. He is now engaged in theranostics regarding fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI). Fibroblast activation protein induces tumor proliferation and metastases and is overexpressed in 90 % of epithelial cancers. So, FAPI theranostics can be a game changer in the therapy for various cancers. His research work of FAPI consists of two projects, and he aims to submit two research articles on his projects this year. This September, he will make an oral presentation at the Congress of European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) in Vienna.

JSPS and the Humboldt Foundation have been maintaining a long partnership, and Dr. Watanabe attended the JSPS/JSPS Club common symposium in Kiel last May. Soon after, he became a member of JSPS Club. Since the research stay in Essen is quite fruitful, he is spending long hours in the lab and is trying his best to publish and make friends with as many researchers in Germany as possible. In the future, he would like to come to Germany again as an expert researcher supported by the Humboldt-Foundation and promote the good relationship between Essen University and Kyoto University. Of course, in the future, he also wants to apply for grants offered by JSPS which supports the collaboration between Germany and Japan.

Laura Montag studied for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Bochum at the Ruhr University (RUB). She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Management and Economics in 2017 and her master’s degree in Management in 2019. Between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she was a scholarship holder of the University Alliance Ruhr and completed an internship in the USA. During her master’s studies, she studied one semester at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway as part of the Erasmus exchange program. In 2019, she started her doctoral studies at RUB at the Chair of Production Management and will work there as a research assistant and lecturer until September 2023. Her doctoral thesis focuses on the circular economy, in particular on the transformation of supply chains and business models towards more circularity and sustainability.

Laura Montag also wanted to gain international experience during her PhD, so she decided to apply for the 2021 JSPS Summer Program. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the program was postponed to 2022. From August to September 2022, she was a visiting researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Her research during this stay focused on the different visions that Germany and Japan have regarding the transition to a circular economy, particularly in relation to circular business models. Laura Montag used both current academic literature and policy papers to conduct a systematic and comparative analysis of circular economy efforts in Germany and Japan.

As a new member of the JSPS Club, she hopes to stay in touch with like-minded people and keep the memories of Japan (and hopefully future connections) alive. From September on, she will live and work in Berlin. Please feel free to reach out and contact her.

D. E. Winkler (right) and her host, M.O. Kubo, on Kashiwa Campus (courtesy of D. E. Winkler)

Dr. Daniela E. Winkler is a biologist with a strong interest in paleontology and functional morphology. She obtained her PhD in 2016 from the University of Hamburg. After a first postdoc at the University of Mainz from 2016-2020, Daniela was ready for a new challenge and eager to work and live abroad. When she met Dr. Mugino O. Kubo from Tokyo University, Japan, at an international conference in Prague (Czech Republic) in 2019, they immediately realized their shared research interests and made a plan for her to apply directly with JSPS for a postdoctoral fellowship.

The application was successful, and even though travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic made obtaining the visa a challenge, Daniela Winkler and her husband were able to enter Japan in November 2020, just one month later than originally planned. From November 2020 to November 2022, she worked at the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Department of Natural Environmental Studies of the University of Tokyo (Kashiwa, Chiba). Her topic was dietary reconstruction through mechanical wear analysis in theropod dinosaurs, using a microscale roughness analysis of dental enamel called “dental microwear texture analysis” (DMTA). She also conducted comparative analyses of the same original specimens between labs in Europe and Dr. Kubo’s lab in Japan, because different microscopes are used for this analysis, and data was found to not be directly comparable between machines. Together with Dr. Kubo, she is developing a method to enhance inter-microscope comparability and thus facilitate data exchange between researchers using DMTA worldwide.

Currently, Daniela Winkler is working as a postdoctoral assistant at the University of Kiel in the Department of Zoology, and working on her habilitation. She keeps in close contact with her Japanese colleagues and will return to the University of Tokyo for collaborative work in July 2023.

Prof. Masaaki Yamamoto obtained his PhD. in 2000 in Jurisprudence at Tohoku University (Sendai) and currently is a professor of Criminal Law in the Faculty of Law at Kindai University (Osaka). Currently, his research focuses on economic crime such as competition law violations, bankruptcy crimes, etc., including white-collar crimes.

As he is granted study leave by Kindai University, from April 2023 he stays at the Faculty of Law at Münster University as guest researcher and is working on a comparative study of corruption crimes and profiteering crimes between Japan and Germany. The Criminal Code of Japan inherited the German Criminal Code and hence exchanges between practitioners and researchers are continuing. Based on the close connection of both countries, he hopes that his research will contribute to the mutual development of criminal jurisprudence.

He has joined JSPS Club after attending the 26^th Japanese-German Symposium, jointly organized by JSPS and JSPS Club, held in May 2023 at Kiel University.

Japan is an aging society facing a demographic problem because of its low birth rate. Therefore, the workforce in Japanese companies is getting older. As a high-tech country with rapidly changing technical and organizational requirements, the demand for lifelong learning is getting more and more important. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in the Japanese labour market and economic system; however, in contrast to large companies, very little is known about recruitment, training, and lifelong learning in Japanese SMEs.

In a recent study, Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz (University of Cologne) and Prof. Dr. Shinji Sakano (Tamagawa University, Tokyo) examined recruitment, training, and lifelong learning in Japanese SMEs. In a first step, the transition from school to work in Japan is presented. This is important because Japan has a very high proportion of academically educated young people compared to other countries, and especially Germany. At the same time, the recruitment processes in Japan are very special, which is discussed in the existing literature in the field.

In a second step, the paper focusses on the Japanese SMEs. Existing research results about recruitment, training and lifelong learning in these companies are collected and presented.

In a third step, the authors introduce their research methods. Interviews were conducted with those responsible for recruitment and training in 10 SMEs in the manufacturing sector in the Tokyo area, using an interview structure developed on the basis of the outcomes of the previous literature review in the field. The innovative approach of our study is the use of a mixed-method, including expert-interviews combined with observations during a company visit. The analysis of the interviews by using the method of Qualitative Content Analysis indicated that recruitment is more problematic for small than medium-sized enterprises.

In the fourth step, the authors show that small enterprises often have to resort to employing people in mid-career who have little or no further employment opportunities in large enterprises. This finding largely aligns with existing studies.

With regard to training and lifelong learning, however, significant deviations from literature can be found. In contrast to large companies, hardly any formally structured training takes place in SMEs; rather, training takes place in an informal way. In this author’s opinion, the term “On the Job Training” (OJT), which is often used in Japan, cannot be used here. Against this background, we advocate the introduction of the construct of “informal learning” into the scientific discourse for Japan. Informal learning describes these unplanned and unconscious learning processes, and can be found in various professional contexts, including research on lifelong learning, worldwide.

The full paper is published by Springer Publishers in the International Handbook on Education Development in the Asia-Pacific, edited by Wing On Lee, Phillip Brown, A. Lin Goodwin and Andy Green. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-16-2327-1_40-1