DAAD Regional Office Tokyo

Director of the DAAD Tokyo / DWIH Tokyo
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…  is the director of the Tokyo office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Centre for Research and Innovation Tokyo (DWIH Tokyo). Previously, he worked at the DAAD Head Office in Bonn in the Strategy Department, where he led the development of the online data portal HSI-Monitor – Profile Data on University Internationality and conducted studies and analyses on student mobility and innovation performance of countries in the Asia Pacific, among other things. Axel Karpenstein is a political scientist and economist (MA, MPhil Columbia University) and has spent more than 20 years in Japan, including as an exchange student at Minami-Tama High School in Hachioji, as a MEXT/DAAD-funded exchange student at Kumamoto University, and as Associate Professor of Politics and Economics at Saitama University. There, his responsibilities also included managing the overseas internship program of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences and co-managing the university’s internationalization project.

Head of Programs of the DWIH Tokyo / Deputy Director of the DAAD Tokyo
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… is Deputy Director of the DAAD Office Tokyo and Head of Programs at the DWIH Tokyo (German Centre for Research and Innovation in Tokyo). She manages the centre’s day-to-day operations, closely stays in touch with the Advisory Board members and Japanese partners at place and develops the DWIHs event concepts.

She received her PhD at Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and her thesis on the Japanese concept of “self-responsibility” was published in 2021 by the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ). She completed a double degree program and holds an M.A. in Japanese Studies from Keio University Tokyo and Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. She has extensive journalistic experience and worked at several broadcasting stations before joining the DAAD Tokyo in 2015 as Marketing Officer.

Advisor (Study in Germany)
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… advises Japanese students about studying in Germany by phone and in person during office hours. She is also in charge of compiling information material including flyers and brochures, that are distributed at the DAAD Regional Office Tokyo. If you have questions about studying or researching in Germany, please refer to the page Contact.

Programme Officer (Events & Logistics), DWIH Tokyo
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……is a Programme Officer at the German Centre for Research and Innovation Tokyo (DWIH Tokyo) since August 2026. She is responsible for event operations and logistics, as well as supporting budget management and accounting. Previously, she worked as a Junior Assistant at the Embassy of Austria in Tokyo and as an Event Coordinator at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan. She holds a Master in European Ethnology and Cultural Analysis (M.A.) from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München(LMU Munich).

Administration & Finances
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…is responsible for managing the funds of the DAAD and DWIH offices in Tokyo as well as for the general administration of both institutions starting in July 2025.
Previously, she worked as a Programme Officer (Events & Logistics) at DWIH Tokyo, where she mainly supported event management, logistics, and budget administration.

Secretariat Officer, DAAD Tomonokai / Humboldt Association of Japan
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… supervises the associations of former scholarship holders in Japan: DAAD Tomonokai and the Association of Humboldtians in East Japan.

Communications Officer
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… is responsible for online communications and public relations of DAAD Tokyo and DWIH Tokyo. She looks after the website, newsletter and social media.

Office Assistant / Office Support
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… is the assistant at DAAD Japan, mainly in charge of scholarships for the Japanese university graduates as well as programs for VIP and researchers. She is pursuing her PhD in German literature at the University of Tokyo.

Programme Manager (SP Japan & Alumni Relations)
External Relations Manager
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… administers the scholarship programme “Language and Practical Experience in Japan” for German graduate students and takes care of the Japanese DAAD alumni. He works closely with the alumni associations and organizes networking events.

Programme Manager (German Students)
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…supports the scholarship programmes for undergraduates, graduates and young researchers from Germany. In addition, she assists in reporting and creating knowledge products on the Japanese higher education and research landscape, as well as with networking activities with Japanese partner organisations. She studied music education, ethnomusicology, and German studies at the University of Würzburg. Focusing her research on intercultural music education, she studied as an exchange student at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto and Chuo University in Tokyo.

Programme Officer (Japanese Students and Researchers)
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… informs about the scholarships of DAAD Japan as well as programmes for VIP and researchers.