Biography
Dr Takuma Melber is lecturer and coordinator of the Master Transcultural Studies Programme at The University of Heidelberg. A son of a German father and a Japanese mother, he is a historian by training. He studied Medieval and Modern History, Ancient History and Sociology at the Universities of Mainz and Zurich (2003 to 2009) and received his PhD in 2016.
His doctoral dissertation titled ”Between Collaboration and Resistance: The Japanese occupation policy in Malaya and Singapore, 1942-1945” (submitted to the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz) was awarded with the “Förderpreis für Militärgeschichte und Militärtechnikgeschichte 2017 (2. Platz)” (award for Military history and military technology history 2017 (2nd place)), one of the most famous awards for younger historians in Germany. He was also awarded with the “Wilhelm-Deist-Award for Military History 2009”. His book on the Pearl Harbor attack based on Japanese sources was also published in German.
He has been visiting scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE; 2013), the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of Waseda University (Tokyo, 2010/11) and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of Kyoto University (2018). He has also worked as an expert adviser for various documentaries on Japan and World War II / Pacific War and comments on the subject for German newspapers, TV and radio stations.
Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Fearful Futures: Rescuing Asian Democracy
