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“Kissing Is A Symbol Of Democracy!” Dating, Democracy And Romance In Occupied Japan 1945-1952, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

Japan’s defeat at the end of its fifteen years’ war in 1945 saw widespread changes to the family and gender system. Women were given political rights for the first time and were recognised as independent agents at work, in the home and in their romantic relationships. Whereas war-time ideology had brought about the “death of romance” in popular culture, with the relaxation of censorship at the war’s end, there was a sudden proliferation in discussion about the qualities of the “new” or “modern” couple and the popular press saw the rise of an eclectic range of “experts” offering advice on …

Salarymen Doing Queer: Gay Men And The Heterosexual Public Sphere In Japan, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

This paper looks at the difficulties gay men in Japan experience in discussing their sexuality in the Japanese workplace.

From Sailor-Suits To Sadists: Lesbos Love As Reflected In Japan's Postwar "Perverse Press", Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

This paper looks at a range of narratives positioning women's same-sex sexuality in the popular sexological press of the early postwar period in Japan.

The Role Of The 'Tojisha' In Current Debates About Sexual Minority Rights In Japan, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

‘Speaking as a tojisha’ has become an important strategy in establishing ‘correct knowledge’ about sexual minority cultures in contemporary Japan. Originally developed in a legal context where it referred to the ‘parties’ in court proceedings, in the 1970s tojisha was taken up by citizens’ groups campaigning for the right of self determination for the ‘parties concerned’ facing discrimination and has become a central concept for all minority self-advocacy groups. In the 1990s the discourse of tojisha sei (tojisha-ness) was adopted by gay rights groups and by spokespersons for lesbian and transgender communities in a battle to change public perceptions of …

'Race' On The Japanese Internet: Discussing Korea And Koreans On '2-Channeru', Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

This paper investigates discourse about race on the Japanese Internet, particularly regarding resident Koreans and their relationship to the Japanese. One board relating to arguments about Korea on the notorious ‘Channel 2’ BBS, Japan’s most visited Internet site, is investigated, since it is one of the main public forums in which racial vilification takes place, perpetrated by both Japanese and Korean posters. Nakamura’s (Cybertypes) contention that the Internet is ‘a place where race is created as an effect of the net's distinctive uses of language’ is taken as a starting point to investigate the differences between Japanese and Anglophone notions …

Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Mobile Communication Technologies In Asia And The Pacific: A Discussion Of The Recent Literature, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

This paper reviews the recent literature published on mobile communications, cell phones and the Internet in Asian cultural contexts.

Interpretation And Orientalism: Outing Japan's Sexual Minorities To The English-Speaking World, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

The growing visibility of Japanese gay men and lesbians who articulate their identities in a manner similar to activists in the west has been heightened by two recent English books Queer Japan and Coming Out in Japan. While acknowledging the need to listen to a plurality of voices from Japan, this essay critiques the manner in which the coming-out narratives in these books have been framed by their western translators and editors. In the introductions to both books, Japan is (once again) pictured as a feudal and repressive society. In their efforts to let the homosexual subaltern speak, the translators …

Japan’S Original Gay Boom, Mark J. Mclelland

Mark McLelland

This paper looks at the rise of the category gei boi (gay boy) in postwar Japanese media.

Editors’ Introduction: Emerging Issues For Educational Research In East Asia, Emily C. Hannum, Hyunjoon Park, Yuko Goto Butler

Emily C. Hannum

In recent decades, globalization and regional integration have brought significant economic and demographic changes in East Asia, including rising economic inequality, growing population movements within and across borders, and the emergence or renewed geopolitical significance of cultural and linguistic minority populations. These trends have coincided with significant changes in family formation, dissolution, and structures. How have these changes played out in the diverse educational systems of East Asia? In what innovative ways are East Asian governments addressing the new demographic realities of their student populations? This volume offers a snapshot of key educational stratification issues in East Asian nations, and …

From Undemocratic To Democratic Civil Society: Japan's Volunteer Fire Departments, Mary Alice Haddad

Mary Alice Haddad

How do undemocratic civic organizations become compatible with democratic civil society? How do local organizations merge older patriarchal, hierarchical values and practices with newer more egalitarian, democratic ones? This article tells the story of how volunteer fire departments have done this in Japan. Their transformation from centralized war instrument of an authoritarian regime to local community safety organization of a full-fledged democracy did not happen overnight. A slow process of demographic and value changes helped the organization adjust to more democratic social values and practices. The way in which this organization made the transition offers important lessons for emerging democracies …

"L’Effondrement Du Parti Libéral-Démocrate Et Le Retour Du Politique Au Japon" Par Nishitani Osamu, Matthieu Forlodou

Matthieu Forlodou

Le texte proposé est la traduction de l'article écrit par Nishitani Osamu (philosophe, professeur à l’Université des langues étrangères de Tokyo (Japon), membre correspondant de l’IEA de Nantes), et publié dans le numéro 797 (novembre 2009) de la revue "Sekai" (Le monde). L'auteur revient sur les dernières élections législatives qui se sont tenues cet été au Japon. Il fournit au lecteur quelques clés pour comprendre "l'alternance politique" qui s'est produite à la suite de ces élections. Il replace le vote des Japonais dans une perspectives plus large de retour du Politique dans leur société, après plus de 50 ans de …

Location, Location, Location: Selecting Sites For Controversial Facilities, Daniel P. Aldrich

Daniel P Aldrich

While a large literature exists on the siting of controversial facilities, few theories about spatial location have been tested on large samples. Using a new dataset from Japan, this paper demonstrates that state agencies choose localities judged weakest in local civil society as host communities for controversial projects. In some cases, powerful politicians deliberately seek to have facilities such as nuclear power plants, dams, and airports placed in their home constituency. This paper then explores new territory: how demographic, political, and civil society factors impact the outcomes of siting attempts. It finds that the strength of local civil society impacts …

The Crucial Role Of Civil Society In Disaster Recovery And Japan’S Preparedness For Emergencies, Daniel P. Aldrich

Daniel P Aldrich

This article is concerned with the empirical puzzle of why certain neighborhoods and localities recover more quickly than others following disasters. It illuminates four mainstream theories of rehabilitation and resilience, and then investigates a neglected factor, namely the role of social networks and civil society. Initial analyses underscore the important role of trust and connectivity among local residents in the process of rebuilding. After examining the role of civil society in Japan’s preparedness for emergencies, the article concludes with some policy recommendations for governments and nongovernmental actors involved in disaster relief.

Envisioning A New East Asia: Some Concrete Steps Japan Can Take For Peace And Reconciliation, Tatsushi Arai

Tatsushi Arai

This is a policy proposal submitted to Japanese policymakers and opinion leaders concerned with the sustained controversy over the Yasukuni shrine and other issues related to the future of Japanese international relations with its neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific. Based on the insights into psychoanalysis and trauma healing, the paper explores how to use and transform historical symbols and discourses to facilitate long-term reconciliation.

2015 And The Rise Of China: Power Cycle Analysis And The Implications For Australia, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

Research undertaken at the University of South Australia has produced a reformulated power cycle theory which balances both military and economic capabilities of actors, producing a graphical representation of the relative distribution of power. For the period between 2000 and 2030, this model suggests that China will continue to rise in power at the expense of the United States, achieving power parity in 2014 and overtaking the sole remaining superpower in 2015. This article introduces the power cycle method, extrapolates forecasts from collected sampling and suggests implications for Australia of an international environment where its principal ally is no longer …

Twentieth Century Economics Of Child-Rearing In Japan, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

In order to explain the falling Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Japan, it is necessary to look at the social factors affecting women and raising children in Japan. By examining historical factors surrounding women in Japan—their education, their presence in the workforce, and the cultural stigmas attached to their stereotypical representation—I will attempt to describe the deteriorating TFR in Japan as an economic problem with political and social repercussions. In conclusion I will also try to provide a prognosis and a recommendation for a solution.

Japan’S War With China: Context And Stakes, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

The context in which Japan was drawn into war with China, and what they had at stake going in, are flip sides of the same coin. The contexts and stakes are: democratic government, will of the people, international status, foreign trade, the Emperor, and racial superiority. In the 1920’s and 30’s, Japan was losing the ideal of democracy, the desire to have democracy, and the will of the people. They were drawn into the war with China in order to reunite the citizenry and because of a failed democratic leadership being supplanted by right wing militarists. International status and foreign …

Enjo Kosai: Brand Name Marketing, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

Media is a contributing factor in creating a market for the prostitution of minors in Japan today. Media creates an image to which the girls aspire by placing the trendiest items in the hands of music and movie idols who the girls look up to . The drive to then own these trendy, and expensive, products forces the girls into marketing their bodies to strangers. Though in many ways media can be seen as the root of all evil through print and film advertisements, there are some forms of media which work as a caution instead of an encouragement to …

Japan And Transformation Of National Identities In The Imperial Era, Li Narangoa, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Japan's view of the nationality of its Asian neightbours took many forms during the imperial era. In some respects Japan asserted its superiority to those neighbours, in other respects saw them as nations with a standing equal to that of Japan. The working out of these two views reflected Japanese strategic interests.

Environmentalism In Indonesian Politics, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Environmential politics emerged in Indonesia during the autheoritarian Suharto era. Rather than being a reaction to Suharto's predatory approach to the environment, many environmental policies were closely tied to the managerial, technocratic and campaign-oriented approach of the New Order.

Mars And Venus At Twilight: A Critical Investigation Of Moralism, Age Effects, And Sex Differences, Daniel P. Aldrich, Rieko Kage

Daniel P Aldrich

Analysts have long sought to understand whether women and men have different ethical orientations. Some researchers have argued that women and men consistently make fundamentally different ethical judgments, especially of corruption; others have found no such disparities. This study considered whether an individual’s age may also play a role in determining his or her moral judgment. A statistical investigation of interactive effects between gender and age in a nationally representative data set from Japan shows that this interaction functions better as a predictor of moralism than does education or gender alone. Older individuals of both sexes were found to have …

Ritualizing In The Nō Performance: A Six Centuries-Old New Theory About Ritual, George T. Sipos

George T. Sipos

No abstract provided.

Remembering, Forgetting And Historical Injustice, Robert Cribb, Kenneth Christie

Robert Cribb

No abstract provided.

Why Do Students Take It Easy At Japanese Universities?, Shigeyuki Abe, Shyam Sunder, Shoji Nishijima, Karen Lupardus

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Modernizing Small Manufacturers In Japan: The Role Of Local Public Technology Centers, Philip Shapira

Philip Shapira

Book Review. United States Japan Foreign Trade, Jo Bell Whitlatch

Jo Bell Whitlatch

No abstract provided.