Introduction: research on Japan in (post-) COVID times

Abstract

From today’s perspective, the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic appears as one of several recent events that have profoundly impacted our personal and professional lives. This impact was especially severe in areas related to ethnographic research. Given the personal involvement required for this methodological approach, how did the pandemic affect researchers’ ability to conduct fieldwork? How did they change their understanding of the notion of “field” in their ethnographic activity? And what were the implications and consequences of remote or digital ethnography for their work? In short, how has the pandemic affected and been reflected in their research projects? Drawing on their fieldwork experiences, the contributing authors to this special issue—resulting from an international conference on the Anthropology of Japan in post-COVID-19 times—discuss the challenges and opportunities of conducting anthropological research (both in-person and/or online) in/on Japan during the pandemic. They explore the difficulties encountered, as well as the new opportunities that emerged at both methodological and analytical levels, in a scenario where restrictions on international mobility forced them to rethink the core element of ethnographic research: “being there.”