On Friday, 27 June 2025, Jane S. Khanizadeh successfully defended her doctoral thesis titling „Japan’s National Identity in Flux: Looking at the Identity Negotiations in Japan During the Rugby World Cup 2019„.
Drawing on Michael Billig’s concept of „banal nationalism“, this thesis explores how a sports mega event like the Rugby World Cup, held in Japan in 2019, can initiate identity discourses in the hosting nation. This thesis claims that although Japan’s national team showcased a remarkable ethnic heterogeneity, the media discourse underlined the „Japanese qualities“ even of the foreign-born players, thereby reaffirming Japanese national identity rather than triggering some fundamental changes. The thesis also provides fieldwork data from Kamaishi, one of the hosting towns of world cup matches, where — quite differently from what emerges in the media discourse — a distinct multicultural spirit seems to have been put into life on a local level. 
The examination committee consisted of Professors Gabriele Vogt, Klaus Vollmer and David Chiavacci (University of Zurich). The examiners and the Japan-Center community congratulate Jane on her achievement.