Digital Commons Network^™

The Yakuza: Organized Crime In Japan, Darlene N. Moorman

The Downtown Review

Examining organized crime groups should not be purely economic; in other words, the culture, social structure, political contexts, and so on, are also critical in an insightful analysis of any organized crime group. For this paper, the Japanese yakuza are considered both in an economic viewpoint, such as how they make money, but also in other areas, such as its syndicates' notable cultural contributions and specific social characteristics. Moreover, this paper explores the dynamic changing of the organization overtime, especially in regards to its shifting relationship with the Japanese government.

From International Borders To The Honeycombing Of Internal Borders: Response To Covid-19 Pandemic, David E. Toohey

International Journal of Peace Studies

This article looks at borders during the Covid-19 crisis. In particular, it looks at how internal borders have arisen following xenophobic and national responses to Covid-19. This rise of internal borders is referred to as the honeycombing of borders. This article takes a genealogical approach to understand how borders have arisen—despite not always favorable opinions about them. Therefore, this looks at Rancière’s (1999; 2004) concept of the “police order” in the imposition of the sensible through Foucault’s genealogical approach, both to show the temporary, haphazard nature of these borders and how they revert to less desirable things. This is situated …

The Long-Term Effects Of Japan’S Traumatic Experience In The Second World War And Its Implications For Peace In Northeast Asia, Eugen Koh, Tadashi Takeshima

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article is an introductory report on the work of a Japanese study group whose primary aim is peacemaking, which it seeks by promoting a greater understanding of the long-term effects of their country’s traumatic experience of the Second World War. The group does not adopt a position of victimhood but seeks to understand the full picture of Japan’s role in the war, including its role as perpetrator. We came together with the shared assumption that the country’s inability to take responsibility for its role of the war is inextricably tied to its own traumatization. If this assumption is true, …

A Hard Look At Hard Power: Assessing The Defense Capabilities Of Key Us Allies And Security Partners—Second Edition, Gary J. Schmitt Mr.

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

With the United States facing two major revisionist powers, Russia and China, as well as additional security threats from North Korea, Iran, and jihadist terrorism, a critical advantage for the United States is its global network of alliances and strategic partners. As the 2018 National Defense Strategy states, “Alliances and partnerships are crucial to our strategy, providing a durable asymmetric strategic advantage that no competitor or rival can match.”

The advantage of having military allies and partners is enhanced by the core capacity of the American military having remained largely the same over the past decade, though the global security …

Japan's Special Funds-Supplying Operations (Japan Gfc), Alec Buchholtz

Journal of Financial Crises

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the global commercial paper (CP) market began to tighten as interest rates rose and investors sought more-liquid money market securities. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced several measures in late 2008 to make liquidity available to nonfinancial corporations that were strapped for cash. In December 2008, the BOJ implemented special funds-supplying operations in order to provide unlimited liquidity to banks and other financial institutions so they could continue to fund nonfinancial corporations. The BOJ would provide one- to three-month loans against an equal value of eligible corporate debt at a rate …

Japan's Outright Purchases Of Commercial Paper (Japan Gfc), Alec Buchholtz

Journal of Financial Crises

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the global commercial paper (CP) market began to tighten as interest rates rose and investors sought more-liquid money market securities. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced several operations in late 2008 to promote liquidity in the CP market. In January 2009, the BOJ began to purchase CP and asset-backed CP outright from banks and other financial institutions. The BOJ could purchase up to ¥3 trillion of CP with a residual maturity of up to three months, among other short-term securities, via 10 purchases of up to ¥300 billion each. The BOJ …

Sealds: A Quantitative Content Analysis Of #Donttrashyourvote On Twitter, Viviek Patel

Honors Theses

Public relations research has slowly integrated with the study of advocacy organizations, but little research has integrated this and social movements. Using the pyramid model of mobilization-driven relationship-building social media based advocacy, this study employed a quantitative content analysis to examine the prevalence of previously identified communicative functions in social media messages by SEALDs. Unlike previous research on advocacy and health organizations, action messages were the most common. This study also investigated the influence of message type on audience engagement through retweets. The results indicate that information tweets had the most retweets. This study also analyzed how social movements recruit …

A Comparison Of The Economic And Cultural Development Of Japan And Thailand Through The Human Development And World Happiness Indices, Tanner Money

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to make human development and happiness comparisons between two countries that are found in the same region of the world and share similar cultural and historical backgrounds. For this study, the human development measures for Japan and Thailand are compared based on Life Expectancy, Literacy Rates, and Gross Domestic Product (per capita) measures. First, the historical development of Japan and Thailand is presented, highlighting the key historical economic and political moments in each country that has led them to their present state of development. Second, the two countries were compared using quantitative and qualitative …

Skbi Big 5 Survey 2020 August, Singapore Management University

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

The COVID-19 pandemic led to whopping downward revisions to 2020 real GDP growth among the Big5 economies, on average greater than 7%-points (ranging from roughly 3.5%-points for China to more than 10%-points for India). The forecast revisions to headline inflation were less sizable and more uneven, perhaps because of the confluence of supply and demand influences. The 2021 median GDP forecast is expected to turn positive overall, with a balanced risk assessment for most of the Big5 (but a coin toss in IN and US), but the growth reversal is likely to be highly uneven. While China regains its prior …

The Transnational Frontiers Of Japanese Education: Multiculturalism, Cosmopolitanism, And Global Isomorphism, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Japanese education system today faces three transnationally created challenges. The first is multiculturalism. Given an increasing number of students whose parents are either migrants or naturalized citizens, the government needs to rethink the nature of public schools, which have traditionally catered to ethnic majority students, and explore how to make them culturally more inclusive. The second is cosmopolitanism. Although cosmopolitanism is regarded as a desirable disposition and competency in a globalizing world, the government has difficulty incorporating it into the education system that continues to function as a central vehicle of nation-building. The third is global isomorphism. While world …

The Flattening Of Japan’S Phillips Curve: An Unemployment Rate Analysis, Hannah Kojima

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the causes behind the flattening of the Japanese Phillips curve by analyzing the unemployment rate measure, and its role in the flattening of the curve. This paper will utilize the actual Japanese unemployment rates from 2002 through 2019, as well as estimate an alternative unemployment rates that takes into consideration discouraged workers. In my study, I recreate the Phillips curve using these two measures of unemployment, as well as implement a simple OLS regression to understand the slopes of each Phillips curves. I will also utilize the Weintraub equation in order to theorize factors that may be …

Covid-19 And Japanese Shareholder Activism: Brief Respite For Japan's Self-Healing Concrete, Toru Yoshikawa, Gavin Chua

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Extrapolating from modern international understanding of corporate Japan’s distinct form of managerial capitalism, we elaborate on the growing momentum of shareholder activism in Japan leading up to the COVID-19 health crisis, so as to inform the subsequent discussion on the relevant primary considerations that belie the future direction of shareholder activism in Japan post-COVID-19. On an initial logical extrapolation, it appears probable that COVID-19 could mark the peak of Japanese activism. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the success of Japan’s managerial capitalism have also declined, which poses a question on to which direction Japanese corporate governance may be …

The Emergence Of Anti-Hate Speech Activism In Japan: The Relevance Of Critical Race Theory’S Sociological Implications, Bachtiar Alam

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

As concern over hate speech grows into a global issue (Haraszti 2012), a recurring question confronting every democratic society is how it should restrict discriminatory speech without infringing upon the universally accepted principle of free speech. Japan’s recent experience in coping with growing hate speech presents a valuable case study. The country had staunchly protected the free speech principle enshrined in the post-World War II constitution and consistently been disinclined to pass any law that regulates hate speech. This, however, has changed dramatically in the last few years. The incidence of hate speech targeting ethnic Koreans exploded around 2012, which …

Restructuring And Forgiveness In Financial Crises D: The Japanese Financial Crisis Of The 1990s, Christian M. Mcnamara, Andrew Metrick

Journal of Financial Crises

In November 1997 the Japanese government confronted a problem of enormous proportions when the turmoil that had been roiling the financial markets since the collapse of a real estate and stock market asset bubble in 1990 reached a crescendo with the failure of four major financial institutions in quick succession in the space of a month. Prior to these failures, the damage done by the collapsing bubble had seemed to be limited to certain segments of the financial landscape, and the government’s response consisted largely of targeted intervention when necessary for clearly insolvent financial institutions, with a more comprehensive approach …

The Russo-Japanese War: Origins And Implications, Benjamin E. Mainardi

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War was the first major conflict of the twentieth century and a turning point in the balance of power in East Asia. In the short term, Russia’s defeat helped precipitate the 1905 Russian Revolution and the 1917 October Revolution. More broadly, the aftermath of the war informed Japan’s imperial ambitions in Manchuria—the early stages of World War II in Asia during the 1930s—and continuing Russo-Japanese enmity over Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Island chain. Studying this historical conflict in terms of international relations provides valuable insights into the nature of the conflict and how the past continues …

Understanding The Impact Of Cross-Cultural Communication Between American And Japanese Businesses, Scott Jenkins

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to investigate the cultural differences between American and Japanese society most relevant to successful business collaboration in relation to SIOS Technology Group. First, by providing an examination of the issues SIOS Technology Group has experienced as a company with businesses in both Japan and the United States, this case will provide context for the use of relevant frameworks for researching cultural differences. Second, this thesis analyzes relevant theories of cross-cultural research such as the CAGE Distance Framework, Hall’s Cultural Elements, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, and Schwartz’s Cultural Values in order to apply their concepts to SIOS Technology Group’s …

Uniquely Okinawan: Determining Identity During The U.S. Wartime Occupation, Courtney A. Short

History

When the U.S. military landed on the shores of Okinawa in 1945, they faced not only a fierce and battle-tested Japanese force, but also 463,000 Okinawan inhabitants. Larger than any other civilian population encountered by the Americans during previous campaigns throughout the Pacific islands, the people of Okinawa also had a unique and complex historical and political relationship with Japan. Okinawa never experienced subjugation as a colony, yet its acceptance as a prefecture did not yield equal treatment for the people because of their Ryukyuan heritage. As the U.S. military prepared for the Battle of Okinawa, they faced dangerous uncertainty …

Contemporary Japanese Career Women: Reflections On Profession, Life, And Purpose, Anne Stefanie Aronsson Aarons

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I explore what motivates Japanese women to pursue professional careers in today’s neoliberal economy and how they reconfigure notions of selfhood while doing so. I ask why and how one fourth of Japanese women stay on a career track, often against considerable odds, while the other three fourths drop out of the workforce. Employment trends indicate that more white-collar professional women are breaking through the “glass ceiling” and more women are now filling managerial posts. These trends have been supported by the recession, which has led to the liberalization of career paths that fit with women’s tendencies …

Skbi Big 5 Survey 2020 February, Singapore Management University

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

On balance, our overall read of the latest multiyear Big5 survey results implies the following economy-at-risk scale (least to most): India, US, Euro Area, Japan and China (i.e., India’s economy might be least at-risk, while China is deemed to be most at-risk). Broadly, survey participants expect the risk assessment to GDP growth to be skewed to the downside in 2020 followed by a more balanced backdrop in 2021. But participants seem to be more divided, with most responses favoring “downside” or/and “balanced” risks, on the 2022 growth environment. The risks to headline inflation in 2020, however, appear to be more …

Strategy Of Japan In Afghanistan: Priority Interests And Key Results, A. Umarov

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article analyzes the Japan’s strategy of involvement in the conflict stabilization in Afghanistan. The priority interests of Tokyo in this country, the main directions of Japanese assistance to the development of Afghanistan, as well as the results of the implementation of numerous projects, are studied. At the same time, a number of promising areas for Uzbek-Japanese cooperation on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan have been noted.

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.

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 …

Culture Moderates The Link Between Perceived Obligation And Biological Health Risk: Evidence For Culturally Distinct Pathways To Achieving Positive Health Outcomes, Andree Hartanto, Yee-Man Ivy Lau, Jose C. Yong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Rationale: Although perceived obligations to meet the expectations of family, friends, and society can be detrimental to physical health, much research in this area has thus far been conducted exclusively on Western samples. Cross-cultural research importantly suggests that positive health can be dependent on whether one engages in modes of being that are sanctioned by one's culture. Specifically, studies show that better health is predicted when people from cultures that value independence are able to exercise their personal autonomy and when people from cultures that value interdependence are able to maintain relational harmony (Kitayama et al., 2010). Objective: Based on …

Review Of Magic Ramen: The Story Of Momofuku Ando By Andrea Wang, Jacy A. Stahlhut

Library Intern Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Feminist Action Against Pornography In Japan: Unexpected Success In An Unlikely Place, Caroline Norma, Seiya Morita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In late 2016 a feminist movement against problems of commercial sexual exploitation, and especially issues of coerced pornography filming, arose in Japan. This article describes the history of this movement as it mobilized to combat human rights violations perpetrated by the country’s pornographers. The movement’s success came not spontaneously or haphazardly; in fact, it was orchestrated earlier over a full decade-and-a-half by activists who persevered in researching and highlighting pornography’s harms in a civil environment of hostility, isolation and social derision, even among progressive groups and individuals. The Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) was particularly prominent in this history. …

American Identities And The Consumption Of Japanese Homoerotica, Caitlin Joyce

Capstone Showcase

My thesis is a cross-cultural comparison of the consumption habits of Japanese and American yaoi or boy’s love (BL) fans, with a particular focus on how the motivations for consuming this type of media may differ between each group. Within my literature review, I start with the history of Japanese homoerotica, from Heian era writings and shunga artwork, to how this has evolved into the modern BL industry in Japan. Additionally, I examine where BL media fits into the landscape of both Japanese and global LGBT+ identity politics. Using identity construction and queer feminist theory, I explore how this type …