Kick-off to DFG-funded project “Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan”

We are happy to announce the start of our research project on “Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan”. This multi-year project (2023-2026) receives funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG, project number 510553228).

Our research analyzes the political implications of population aging in Japan and examines potential responses to this demographic shift from within the political system. It focuses on the two dimensions, political participation/representation and policymaking, while adopting a system- and an agent-level perspective. By applying a multi-perspective approach, the project will generate knowledge on the fundamental workings of democracy itself.

Our research team convened for a first work meeting on October 5th with principal researcher Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt and associate researcher Yosuke Buchmeier. Included in the team are the two research fellows Antonia Vesting and Anne-Sophie L. König as well as research assistant Alexander Dekant. Stefanie Schwarte who is currently a JSPS fellow at Nagoya University participated online, and will physically join our group next spring.

We plan for various interdisciplinary collaborations with renowned colleagues from Japan, Europe and the US. For further information, please refer to the project outline on the Japan-Center homepage.

For anyone ready to dive into the topic: Yosuke Buchmeier and Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt deliver an introduction to the discussion on demographic effects, political legitimacy, and the quest for generational pluralism in a recently published journal in “Perspectives on Politics” (open access).

We look forward to providing you with updates on the project’s progress!