Digital Commons Network^™

Unraveling The Enigma Of Japan’S Lost Decades: An Econometrics Study Using Var Model, Mingche Sun

Senior Projects Spring 2023

This paper investigates the driving factors of Japan’s stagnation for over 20 years. Through reading various studies and reports, the main factors considered in this econometric study are the government policies, including fiscal and monetary policies, demographic change, and the international competition. These are represented by government spending, interest rates, age dependency ratio, and net export, respectively. The Vector Autoregression (VAR) Model is used in two separate periods. The findings show that for the first period (1991-2000), the age dependency ratio, net exports and interest rate slowed down the economy; however, for the second period, the net exports became the …

Existing But Not Living: A Discussion And Proposal For The Acute Social Withdrawal Syndrome Hikikomori In Japan, Andrea Michelle Otey

Senior Projects Spring 2020

This senior project is a comprehensive discussion of hikikomori syndrome. It intends to offer a deeper knowledge of the complicated acute social withdrawal phenomenon that is impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide, with a specific focus on its relevance within the country of Japan. This project sets out to look deeper into hikikomori’s meaning and prevalence, its receival in the world of psychiatry, and its placement within modern Japanese society. This project also offers a proposal for a potential method of treatment for hikikomori syndrome, wherein the structure of modern Japanese households is explored and the possibility of …

Beyond Their Homeland: Understanding The Experiences Of Black Women In Japan, Bernadette Tisha Benjamin

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Understanding how Black women conceptualize the role their racial and gender identities play within their experience in Japan.

Deconstructing Hikikomori: From Literature To Reality, Lydia Perry

Senior Projects Fall 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

This work explores the growing trend of socially withdrawn individuals in Japanese society known as "hikikomori." Through the lenses of philosophy, literature, anthropology, economics, and more, I deconstruct the common perceptions of hikikomori and expand upon the cultural critiques inherent in choosing a life of solitude.

Transition On The Han: The Agricultural Roots Of Development On The Korean Peninsula, Ivan Glinski

Senior Projects Spring 2018

One of the crucial preconditions for growth in the East Asian Economic Miracle were high levels of human capital, yet an explanation for their origin has not been forthcoming in the economic literature. This project investigates the origin of these high levels of human capital in South Korea through the frameworks of induced development and labor-intensive growth. By examining both long-term processes and the effect of policies during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) in the Korean countryside, it's argued that labor-intensive modes of production, particularly in the case of rice cultivation, induced changes in economic preferences and behaviors. These shifts …

Blasian And Proud: Examining Racialized Experiences Amongst Half Black And Half Japanese Youth In Japan, Helen Itsel Aracena

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Together We’Ll Make Magic: Exploring The Relationship Between Empathy And Literature Using Ruth Ozeki’S “A Tale For The Time Being”, Janet Lindsay Dinozzi-Houser

Senior Projects Spring 2017

My project is devoted to untangling the often-misunderstood and misapplied subject of empathy, particularly as it relates to the reading process. I begin with a brief background of the term’s history and the debate surrounding its use by researchers in the fields of both Psychology and Philosophy of Mind. I then apply this critical understanding of a commonly invoked term to a close reading of contemporary novel A Tale for The Time Being by Japanese-American novelist Ruth Ozeki. Dedicated primarily to the fictional story of Nao Yasutani, a teenage girl struggling with her recent move back to Japan after a …

Comparison Of China And Japan’S Economic Development In The Semiconductor Industry, Rundong Ke

Senior Projects Spring 2012

While Japan marked its success in surpassing the U.S. to dominate the semiconductor industry in 1986, the Chinese semiconductor industry transformed from a small sector into a global competitor. This thesis tracks and compares the developmental histories of this industry between China and Japan and analyzes the differences in government policy, economic systems, comparative advantage and trade policy in both countries, in order to ascertain the two countries’ industrial development strategies and governments’ impacts on the semiconductor industry. This analysis finds that Japan’s development strategy targeted a knowledge- and capitalintensive industry (semiconductor industry, in this case) by providing preferential assistances …

Amidst Macaques: A Multispecies Ethnography, Timothy Soyk

Senior Projects Spring 2011

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.