Antonia Vesting, M.A.
Research Associate at DFG-Project "Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan"
Japan-Center
+49 (0) 89 / 2180 9801
Postal address:
Oettingenstraße 67
D-80538 Munich
Research interests
- Sustainable urban development and participation in planning
- Demographic change
- Youth political participation
- Renewable Energy and Local Energy Initiatives (LEI)
Curriculum Vitae
- Year
- Academic appointments and education
- 04/2024 – 09/2024
- Special Research Student (特別研究学生) at Kyoto University, Graduate School of Law (supervision Prof. Ken Hijino)
- since 10/2023
- Doctoral student in Japanese Studies (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt)
- since 10/2023
- Research fellow (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at Japan Zentrum, LMU, in the project „Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan“
- 09/2021 – 09/2023
- Student assistant at the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS)
- 04/2021 – 03/2023
- Teacher of German as a Foreign Language at the Japanese International School of Berlin e.V.
- 10/2020 - 09/2023
- M.A. Japanese Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
- 09/2019 - 03/2020
- Exchange student Waseda University, Tokyo
- 10/2017 - 09/2020
- B.A. International Bachelor Program in East Asian Studies, Japanese Studies (Major) and Systematic Musicology (Minor); Universität Hamburg
- 10/2016 – 09/2017
- B.A. Systematic Musicology (Major) and Sociology (Minor); Universität Hamburg
Participation in Research Projects
- Demography and Democracy: How Population Aging Alters Democracy – The Case of Japan
- funded by the DFG (2023-2026)
Publications
Vesting, Antonia (2024): Energiewende, politische Partizipation und Nachhaltigkeit: Möglichkeiten und Hindernisse der festen Etablierung Lokaler Energieinitiativen in Japans Energieversorgungsstruktur [Energy Transition, Political Participation and Sustainability: Opportunities and Obstacles to the Firm Establishment of Local Energy Initiatives in Japan’s Energy Supply Structure], in: Chiavacci, David and Iris Wieczorek (eds.): Japan 2024: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, pp. 301-331.
Vesting, Antonia, Stefanie Schwarte, Anne-Sophie L. König and Gabriele Vogt (2025): Focus Group Interviews with Japanese University Students: Reflections on the Joys and Challenges of Fieldwork, in: ASIEN 170/171 (January/April 2024), pp. 120-141, https://asien.asienforschung.de/asien-170-171-januar-april-2024/ Open Access
König, Anne-Sophie L., Antonia Vesting and Shoko Tanaka (estimated publication Feb. 2026): Youth (Under-)Representation in Japan’s Lower House: Youth Issues and Political Interest vs. Political Behaviour and Party Influence, in: Kurz, Kira Renée and Brit Anlar (eds.), Youth Political Representation. Palgrave Macmillan.
Schwarte, Stefanie, Antonia Vesting, Anne-Sophie L. König and Gabriele Vogt (estimated publication 2025): Japans junge Wähler*innen: Empirische Erkenntnisse zu Themenpräferenzen und Wahlverhalten während der Unterhauswahl von 2024 [Japan’s Young Voters: Empirical Insights into Issue Preferences and Voting Behavior during the 2024 House of Representatives Election], in: Chiavacci, David and Iris Wieczorek (eds.): Japan 2025: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft.
Further information
(2025)
Participation and Representation in Times of Demographic Change: Young citizens negotiate for space in their city. At: 21st EAJS Workshop for Doctoral Students, 2025/08/28, SAPIENZA University of Rome, Rome/Italy.
Mina no ba o tsukuru – Junge Bürgerinnen und Bürger verhandeln um Platz in ihrer Stadt. At: 19. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag, 2025/8/22, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main/Germany. https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/177077617/Generic_177077617.pdf
[Anne-Sophie L. König, Stefanie Schwarte, Antonia Vesting, Gabriele Vogt] Unterrepräsentiert und ungehört? Die politische Teilhabe junger Menschen in Japans alternder Gesellschaft. At: 19. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag, 2025/8/22, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main/Germany. https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/177077617/Generic_177077617.pdf
(2024)
Local Government and Citizen Participation in Planning: Impressions from the Field. At: QuaMaFA and Free University of Berlin Workshop, 2024/12/17, Free University of Berlin, Berlin/Germany.
Participatory city planning in times of demographic change: Creating sustainable cities from the bottom up. At: VSJF Annual Conference 2024 – Sustainability in Japan, 2024/11/14, Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB), Berlin/Germany.
(2023)
Presentation at: Joint FU/LMU Doctoral Workshop on Japanese Politics, 2024/12/18, Stiftung Lyrik Kabinett, München/Germany.
European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS)