Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Analysis Of Japan And United States School Lunch Programs, Julie Phillips

Honors Theses

Question: Are school lunch policies and programs in Japan beneficial and applicable to the United States?

Main points: Japan has a certification program that allows dietitians to teach nutrition. Japan also includes agricultural experiences as part of its academic curriculum to promote holistic development in students.

Conclusion: The School Lunch program in the United States would benefit from providing an avenue through which dietitians are able to teach students nutrition and from increasing the number of schools involved in Farm to School so that more students have experiences with nature.

Navigating Sexual Consent In Japan, Samara Mizutani Cesar

MSU Graduate Theses

Employing an exploratory sequential research design, including focus groups and an online survey, this thesis explores the factors influencing how Japanese people navigate the gray zones of sexual consent. This study not only addresses gaps in the literature on sexual consent but also provides a preliminary understanding of Japanese individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences in ambiguous sexual interactions, which is particularly meaningful given Japan’s recent legal revisions and changing sociocultural landscape. Findings indicated the impact of traditional sexual scripts on consent perceptions, with gender and relationship norms contributing to the dismissal of sexual assaults within specific relationships. It was …

Beautifully Grotesque: Umezu Kazuo And The Shōjo Experience In Horror Manga, Miko Suzuki

Dissertations and Theses

"Mama's Scary" ("Mama ga kowai", 1965) by manga artist Umezu Kazuo took a new direction in depicting mother-daughter relationships by giving them a monstrous twist. "Mama's Scary" directly responded to how mother-daughter relationships were portrayed in 1960s shōjo manga, in which they were typically shown to be loving and caring, hence why adding horror elements to such relationship dynamics was considered jarring during the Shōwa era. Therefore, to analyze "Mama's Scary" is to also explore how women and young girls were portrayed in manga by men during the Shōwa era, and to analyze how adding the element of horror either …

Shōjo, Kawaii, And Yōkai Iconographies In Chiho Aoshima's Strawberry Fields And How They Relate To Contemporary Gender Dynamics In Japan, Neo Sim Yee

Theses

This paper analyzes the shōjo, kawaii, and yōkai iconographies in Chiho Aoshima’s digital painting Strawberry Fields and examines how they relate to contemporary gender dynamics and anxieties in Japan. The painting bears the artist’s distinctive, characteristic style, which includes elements that are childlike and monstrous, cute and dark. The work, rich in layered context, simultaneously reminisces about the innocence and freedom of adolescence, and critiques the prominent the unequal, rigid, and highly restrictive gender roles dictated by the Japanese patriarchal system. The distinct two halves of Strawberry Fields depict the dichotomous vision of Japanese women—innocent and girly versus defiant and …

“Go, Go, Godzilla!” Defining And Creating Meaning In The Godzilla Franchise, Jc Dyer

Honors Theses

Godzilla is one of the longest running film franchises in history. Its core anti-nuclear message has stood the test of time, giving it continued relevance in the modern world, especially in its home country of Japan. However, after 69 years and 36 movies, it is safe to say that Godzilla, both as a movie franchise and as a character, has changed drastically since 1954. These changes, coupled with the globalization of the franchise and the creation of a new, US based Godzilla series, have created a complex and at times contradictory web of differing themes and adaptations. This project examines …

"Kore Saa (コレサア)": Visual Representations Of Dialogue In Edo Popular Fiction, Lauren Gatewood

Masters Theses

During Japan’s Edo period (1600-1868), popular literature began to take on a variety of physical formats and develop into various genres. Because many authors of this period were familiar with and producing creative works in a number of these genres, there was much crossover of content, format, and style. Authors were experimenting and playing with different ways to represent and give information about their characters through devices such as the dialogue they wrote, the illustrations included in the works, asides in the images, and many more. In this thesis, I explore the myriad ways authors of Edo period popular fiction …

By Other Means: The Political And Economic Motivations For The Formation Of The Anglo-Japanese Alliance Of 1902 In The United Kingdom, David Cornell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is an attempt to answer the question of why British political leaders made the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. To answer this question, I have used primary sources such as government communications, newspaper articles, and articles from scholarly journals. Also, I have consulted the works of past historians to better understand the complex topic of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. This thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One explains the events that led up to the creation of the treaty between Britain and Japan and clarifies why this treaty was so unusual for the British Empire in the early 1900s. …

Postcolonial Hauntology Of Modernity: Exploring Legacies Of Enlightenment Thought In The Understanding Of The 'Human' Through Intertextualities In Heart Of Darkness And Hunter X Hunter, Pumho Karimi

Comparative Literature Undergraduate Senior Theses

The thesis explores how Enlightenment Thought defined a certain idea of being human through intertextual motifs observed in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness and Yoshihiro Togashi's Japanese manga Hunter x Hunter. Such a comparative analysis is premised on the idea that the historical context that inspires the plot in both texts are interlinked i.e., the colonial context in the Congo under Belgian rule mined the uranium that was used in making the atomic bomb that struck Japan in 1945. As such, using a postcolonial biopolitical framework, the intertextual motifs are analysed to argue how Enlightenment Thinking became a haunting …

Toward Understanding Japanese And Us Mainstream Media In Light Of The Invasion Of Ukraine: Conflict Training, Sophie Truesdale

University Honors Theses

In today's society, there are various ways of watching and reading the news; however, advanced marketing and technology expose us to what best matches our beliefs. Our beliefs influence which media we choose and are shaped by what we read or watch. Because of the overload of information produced by social media, 24/7 news, podcasts, and a barrage of online news sources, it can be challenging to absorb all the information that we gather. In times of extremity, we are so consumed by the incursion of information that we forget to question and probe. When there is heightened violence and …

The “Evil” Of Railway Gauge Breaks: A Study Of Causes In Britain, India, Japan, And Manchuria, Miles Herman

History Honors Theses

A railroad gauge is defined as the width between two rails on a track. In the earliest days of railroading, many companies adopted different gauges, often resulting in chaos where incompatible lines met up. By the 20^thcentury, most countries selected a single national gauge, but the fallout from the ‘battle of the gauges’ can still be felt today, making the issue of gauge breaks more than an historical footnote. This thesis suggests that the study of track width can provide meaningful insight into why Britain and Japan differed so greatly in constructing their own railroad lines—differences that impacted …

The Flex Voice In The Soundtracks For The Nintendo Game Boy, Matthew Dineiro

Theses and Dissertations

The Nintendo Game Boy had a sound chip which allowed for only three pitched voices and one unpitched percussive voice. These limitations affected the music that was written for this video game system. Of the three pitched voices, one voice typically performs the melody, and one voice typically is the bass and harmonic foundation. This thesis analyzes the third voice, typically in the middle of the musical texture, and the various functions that it can hold. As is discussed, the middle voice sometimes pairs in harmony with the melody or the bass. In other cases, however, it forms a musical …

A Realistic Path Towards A More Affordable Healthcare System For The United States, James Loome

Honors Theses

This study was performed in order to try to discover ways in which the American healthcare system can improve and become more affordable for its citizens. The main focus was to see how implementing a universal healthcare system could benefit the United States. I analyzed aspects of many different universal healthcare system structures and chose aspects that I think should or should not be included in a revised version of the US healthcare system. There was a strong focus on the aspects of Japan and Costa Rica’s healthcare systems. I also pointed out weaknesses in the US healthcare system that …

Longevity Bias, Ingroup Bias, And Culture: A Study In Modern Japan, Sophia Chier

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Japan has long been cited as the prime example of a collectivistic nation with many instances of ingroup bias, and is also known for its respect for things that are old. This research examined a proposed link between longevity bias, or the belief that things that are older are inherently better, and ingroup bias in a Japanese population by replicating the “art” domain in Eidelman et. al’s (2010) longevity bias study. Participants, undergraduates at a Japanese university, completed questionnaires that evaluated their aesthetic enjoyment of a painting, while also manipulating the participants’ knowledge of the artists’ nationality and the artwork’s …

Japan’S Minorities: Nations Within A Nation, Christopher Shumard

All Theses

This thesis concerns the modern history of Japan’s ethnic minorities. These are the Zainichi Koreans, the Okinawans or Ryukyuan People, and the Ainu. Analyzing the feelings expressed in their literature, the constitution of and shifting nature of each group’s identity is tracked. The central argument of this thesis is that there is something innate to the human adherence towards group identity. It is the goal of this work to prove this claim through Japan’s three ethnic minorities which demonstrated this shared tendency and desire for a solid group identity around which individuals clustered under dire circumstances. These circumstances originated with …

Caron's Japan: Tokugawa State And Society Through A European Lens, Cegan Hinson

Student Research Submissions

Dutch East India Company (VOC) merchant François Caron describes Tokugawa Japan as a rigid political hierarchy controlled by the Shogun, similar to the governments established by absolute monarchs in Europe. Caron understands and insightfully describes Tokugawa society by emphasizing perceived and real similarities between Tokugawa Japan and Early Modern Europe. He struggles to understand religious differences between these societies, but his description of Japanese religious practices still reflects how the Shogunate utilized Buddhism and anti-Christian policies to uphold their rule. Caron also depicts Tokugawa Japan as a land of plentiful resources prime for lucrative trade. He includes the writings of …

From Pedagogical To The Practical: A Study Linked By Japanese Themes, Kennedy Lomont

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio consists of three essays linked by Japanese themes and also includes a practical project. These papers delve into the subjects of Japenese incarceration, magical girl anime, and Noh theater. My practical portion contains the materials that I have created and refined for job search purposes.

Japan: Where Did All The People Go? An Empirical Study On Economic And Social Impacts On Low Fertility In Japan, Sasha Heasley

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This project analyzed potential impacts on the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Japan (2010 and 2015), which is dealing with both a declining population and an ageing population in parallel. Results indicate that income per person has the largest impact on TFR, and it is highly considered when making fertility decisions. Results also show that government policies are largely ineffective in impacting TFR. Results were obtained through two panel regressions and two Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions, in which TFR was the dependent variable.

How Properly Contextualized Christianity Could Benefit Japan, Benjamin Highsmith

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to ask the question “how could Christianity, if properly contextualized, benefit Japan?” It does so through the use of academic sources, interviews, and personal observations. Topics covered include Japanese culture, its perception of Christianity, and the lifestyles of Japanese Christians. This thesis uses cultural concepts to explain how Christianity and Japanese culture might find themselves at odds, but also explains how Christianity could work in unison with Japanese culture in order to benefit Japanese society as a whole, defending its argument using Biblical concepts intertwined with Japanese values.

What Doesn’T Kill You Makes You Stronger: The Shifting Strategies Of Japan’S Yakuza In Response To Economic Globalization And Securitization, Benjamin P. Murkison

Honors College Theses

The Yakuza in Japan is a deeply traditional and infamous ethnic mafia, which has historically based their profits off of the protection of gambling rings and street vendors, but have developed into one of the most sophisticated and wealthy criminal institutions in the world. Reaching their peak in the 1960’s with around 200,000 members, the Yakuza has been in a slow decline ever since. However, the past decade has seen the most dramatic drop in Yakuza numbers in recorded history, as a result of increasing securitization by the Japanese state. As their power has declined within Japan, they have only …

Christianity On Homebrew: Alessandro Valignano, Indigenization, And Japan's Hidden Christians, Brayden Lane

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the historiographical connections between Alessandro Valignano and the localized tradition of Christianity that produced the hidden Christian communities of Japan in the seventeenth century. Valignano, as overseer of Jesuit missions in Asia in the late sixteenth century, implemented policy changes designed to bolster the number and quality of laymen clergy assisting the Westerners with missionary duties. Valignano faced criticism for his overestimation of the time needed for training and for his methodology, but his efforts to train and support laymen clergy contributed to a rising trend of Christianity as a unifying tradition for local communities. The laymen …

Japanese Foreign Policy In The Shadow Of Hegemonic Shifts, Noah Lawrence Nirenstein

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates whether Japanese foreign policy has changed in response to the shifting power dynamic between Japan’s longtime ally, the United States of America, and China. In recent years, U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific has waned while Chinese influence has inversely grown. It was hypothesized that Japanese foreign policy would become more agreeable with Chinese attitudes as a result. With that in mind, this study explores the term “hegemony”, how it affects the formation of foreign policy, and how it is present in the relationship of these specific actors. A historical analysis is performed to demonstrate and understand Japan’s …

Is State Feminism The Key To Gender Equality?, Nadine Mohamed Kamaly

Theses and Dissertations

“The male point of view forces itself upon the world as a way of apprehending it. Perspectives from the male standpoint enforces a woman's definition, encircles her body, circumlocutes her speech, and describes her life” (Mackinnon, 1983, 636). How the world views women is sometimes out of their hands. Ogasawara (1999) explains that “there is a multiplicity of socially acceptable images of Japanese women today” (pg.87). Throughout this thesis, I will explore the several, but limited, images that Japanese society has rendered acceptable for women. I will also examine how Japanese State Feminism aims to give women the opportunity to …

Environmental Policy Implementation And Electoral Institutions In Germany And Japan, Kaia Rendo

Honors Theses

In an era when attention to reconstruction and preservation of the environment is crucial, this thesis looks at the effect that electoral institutions have on attention paid to the environmental policy issue dimension. Specifically, it looks at party manifestos and policies in post-1980 Germany and Japan to determine if specific electoral structures, such as the number of parties in a system, correlates with a greater amount of either attention paid to environmental policy in party platforms or in the actual passing of policy. It finds that though both Germany and Japan employ multi-member proportional systems, the greater number of parties …

A Comparative Study On How Governments And Outside Entities Responded To Natural Disasters: Haiti 2010, Ecuador 2016, And Japan 2011 Earthquakes, Cindy Burga-Romero

CMC Senior Theses

With the world becoming more susceptible to natural disasters on account of climate change, it is important to better see and understand the relationship between a country’s economic and political stability to its ability to provide resources and take care of their people and their institutions. This paper looks at 3 earthquake events in the 21st century that have had large disastrous impacts on the country’s infrastructure, economy, and livelihood of people. The events that occurred in Haiti in 2010, in Ecuador in 2016, and in Japan in 2011 have all had major negative impacts on the vastly different countries. …

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 …

Japanese Colonialism: Unraveling The Complex Historiography And Cultural Genocide In The Korean Peninsula, Madison Huckabay

History | Senior Theses

Upon the influence of western imperialism reaching East Asia, Japan began its own imperial conquests as it worked to establish itself as a world power alongside Russia and Western powers. After the first Sino-Japanese war between Qing China and Imperial Japan, China was forced to recognize independence to Korea, along with ceding the Taiwan, Pescadores and Liaodong territories to Japan as of 1895. While Japan initially claimed to promote Korea’s independence and nationalism, they officially ended up annexing Korea as of 1910. From the perspective of the western powers and historians, they were initially optimistic about Japan’s reform on Koreans. …

Nuclear Weapons In Japanese Strategic Culture, Logan Joseph Douglas Campbell

MSU Graduate Theses

Acquiring nuclear weapons of its own has been inconsistent with Japan’s post-Cold War strategic culture, which is heavily based on an identity and associated norms grounded in nuclear pacifism. However, Japan’s strategic culture has been evolving with changing threat perceptions, eroding international nuclear nonproliferation norms, and declining confidence in US security guarantees. As Japan’s strategic culture shifts towards a more pragmatic interpretation of its national interests, acquiring nuclear weapons may become a more easily legitimized option, one that would be entirely consistent with a remilitarized strategic culture. Scholarship on Japanese strategic culture is vast but lacks a strategic culture explanation …

The Power Of Anime: Artistic Power, Social Consciousness, And Cultural Impact, Natalie Ortez-Arevalo

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores the widespread popularity and impact of anime on Japanese culture. In my research, I demonstrate how the integration of anime into Japan’s culture creates big splashes—like stones being thrown into a lake—that, at the same time, ripple out in various directions and reverberate on multiple levels. First and foremost, this research centers around an important concept: that anime contains well-crafted storytelling and powerful imagery that demonstrates wider historical, cultural, and social issues—both the positive and negative. In anime films and shows, symbolism plays an important part as it can be found throughout the imagery and the storylines …

Understanding Karaoke’S Popularity In America, Aki Camargo

Capstones

In 2021, the karaoke bar industry generated over 1 billion dollars in revenue in the U.S., surpassing other nighttime staples like comedy clubs. What makes singing other people’s songs on stage so hot? Aki Camargo finds that karaoke bars plays a unique role in mainstream American culture.

Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: Veiled Criticism Through Extreme Entertainment, Thoby Jeanty

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis examines the writings of Meiji novelists living during a time of transition. Their writings became known as part of a genre called Erotic Grotesque Nonsense. The genre became defined as engaging in extremes to entertain an audience captivated by the eroticism, grotesque, or even the nonsensical nature of the stories being told. The thesis discovers there is a pressing social commentary on the tumultuous transition to modernity hidden within these works. The traditions established during the Tokugawa era starting from 1603 and lasting until 1867 came under pressure with the start of the Meiji era in 1868. Each …