Mittwoch, 19. November 2025, 18:30–20:00 Prof. Dr. Tienshi Lara Chen: „Stateless People in Japan“

Stateless people are individuals who are not recognized as nationals by any country. According to UNHCR statistics for 2024, there are 4.2 million such individuals worldwide. However, it is estimated that the actual number of people in a stateless condition is likely at least 10 million.

I was born and raised in Japan, where I lived stateless for 30 years. What kinds of stateless people are there in Japan? What does it mean to be stateless? What does it feel like?

This lecture will introduce the global situation of statelessness and explore the concept of nationality. Furthermore, based on encounters with stateless individuals over 25 years of fieldwork research and cases supported by the NPO Stateless Network, I examine the current reality of statelessness and the challenges facing society.

Stateless JPEG

Statelessflyer

Tienshi Lara CHEN was born and raised in Yokohama Chinatown, Japan. She lived as a stateless person for over 30 years. After completing her PhD in International Political Economy at Tsukuba University, and conducting research at the Fairbank Center of Harvard University and the East Asian Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, she began researching the lives of stateless people from an anthropological perspective in order to deepen her understanding of the issue, and to highlight the disconnect between the laws regarding statelessness, and people’s lived experience.

She is the author of Stateless (NUS Press 2024), Mukokuseki [Stateless] (Shinchobunko, 2012) and Kajin Diaspora [Chinese Diaspora] (Akashishoten, 2001). She has also edited Passportgaku [Passportology] (Hokkaido University Press, 2017) among others. She is currently a professor at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University and the founder of the non-profit organization Stateless Network.

Der Vortrag ist in englischer Sprache.

When? Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 6.30pm until 8pm
Where? OAG Library on the 4th floor of the OAG Building and online via Zoom
How much? Free admission

WINTERZEIT!!

Zeit: 18.30-20.00 Uhr (Japan), 10.30-12.00 Uhr (MESZ)
Zoom-Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82945776673?pwd=R1NsamcqFvdj98NE9F8yEqFZtyAGH3.1
Meeting ID: 829 4577 6673
Passcode: 594170

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