Can rapidly ageing societies achieve social and intergenerational justice? Perspectives from Germany and Japan
Population ageing is transforming advanced democracies. It raises pressing questions not only about pensions, healthcare, and public finances, but also about social cohesion and fairness between generations. At the same time, governments must address persistent social inequalities that often intersect with, but do not always mirror, generational divides.
How can societies balance the needs of younger and older generations? What policy choices are available when fiscal resources are limited and political discontent is growing? Bringing together scholars from political science, sociology, economics, and area studies from Germany and Japan, these panels explore how the two rapidly ageing societies of Germany and Japan are responding to these challenges.
Workshop Program
3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Greetings
Kenichi Bessho, Consulate General of Japan in Munich
Irene Götz, Dean, Faculty for the Study of Cultures, LMU
Karsten Fischer, Vice-Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, LMU
3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Panel I: State Finances
chair: Kenneth Mori McElwain
Laura Seelkopf, LMU Munich: The Development of the Modern Tax State – Japan and Germany in International Comparison
Steffen Heinrich, FU Berlin: Demographic Ageing and the Fiscal Politics of Generational Divides in Japan and Germany
Takeshi Fujitani, University of Tokyo: How to Tax the Gray Majority: Justification, Circumvention, and Constitutional Limits
4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Coffee Break
4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Panel II: Politically Contentious Issues
chair: Laura Seelkopf
Kenneth Mori McElwain, University of Tokyo: Do We Need to Worry About Silver Democracy? Generational Differences in Policy Priorities
Kikuko Nagayoshi, University of Tokyo: Japanese Attitudes Toward Immigrants amid Labor Shortage
Gabriele Vogt, LMU Munich: Aging Democracies, Silent Youth: How Population Aging Impacts Political Participation in Japan and the Asia-Pacific
5:45 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. A “world café” session on: Can rapidly ageing societies achieve social and intergenerational justice?
chair: Gabriele Vogt
discussant: Felix Wrobel, Georgetown University - McCourt School of Public Policy, Jugend-Enquete-Kommission e.V.
6:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Wrap-up and closing remarks
The workshop takes place within the framework of the LMU–Tōdai Cooperation in the Sciences Program. Additional funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG) is acknowledged.
Location: Internationales Begegnungszentrum (IBZ), Amalienstr. 38, 80799 München
Please register with Ms. Saki Nakajima by June 23 via: sak.nakajima@campus.lmu.de.
Attendance is free.