A Section through Tokyo’s Labourscape

Work, Space, and Community in Sumida’s Machikoba Neighbourhoods 

• Wednesday 8 April 2026, 18:00-19:30 /  

• Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Building 10, Room 301 

• In English without translation / In person only 

Speakers: Christian Dimmer (Waseda University), David H. Slater (Sophia University) 

Moderator: Sven Saaler (Sophia University) 

Although urban labour is a central policy domain shaping contemporary economies—and has historically constituted the very substrate of urbanisation and the glue binding cities together—the intersections of labour, community, and urban and architectural space remain surprisingly underexplored. As climate change and intensifying geopolitical instability further unsettle established socio-economic arrangements and challenge prevailing modes of production and consumption, it becomes increasingly urgent to disentangle the complex assemblages that constitute Tokyo’s “labourscapes” and to translate this understanding into actionable pathways toward alternative economic models in the Anthropocene. 

This presentation examines an ongoing interdisciplinary, trans-institutional experiment in research and education jointly developed by urban anthropologist Vincent Mirza of University of Ottawa, cultural anthropologist David H. Slater of Sophia University, architect Keigo Kobayashi, and urban studies scholar Christian Dimmer, both of Waseda University. Focusing on machikoba—small-scale, family-run town factories—in Sumida Ward, the initiative was conceived not only as a response to this analytical and political challenge, but also as a model for an engaged pedagogy. 

Christian Dimmer is Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Transition Design at Waseda University. He holds a degree in Spatial and Environmental Planning from Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and a PhD in Urban Engineering from The University of Tokyo. As a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo’s Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, he examined the politics and representations of contested public spaces and urban commons. His research and writing focus on socio-ecological transformation from below, transformative practices, and systemic change in the Anthropocene. 

David H. Slater is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Sophia University. His research has explored youth and labour, capitalism, and urban space. Since 2011, he has focused on oral narratives—beginning with accounts of disaster and survival in Voices from Tohoku and continuing with projects documenting the experiences of mothers displaced from Fukushima, youth activists, and homeless men in Tokyo. He is currently developing a related initiative, Voices from Japan, which centres on foreign asylum seekers in Tokyo through the collection of oral histories and advocacy work with the Sophia Refugee Support Group.

Organization: The Japanese French Institute (MFJ), Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture 

Collaboration: German Institute of Japanese Studies (DIJ), Waseda University, Rikkyo University, Temple University (Japan Campus)