- Table View
- List View
Japanese Development Cooperation: The Making of an Aid Architecture Pivoting to Asia (European Institute of Japanese Studies East Asian Economics and Business Series)
by André Asplund Marie SoderbergThe world order as we know it is currently undergoing profound changes, and in its wake, so is foreign aid. Donors of foreign aid, development assistance or development cooperation around the world are already facing new challenges in the changing development architecture. This is an architecture that globally seems to become increasingly forgiving of foreign aid as a win-win concept that also meets the donors’ own national interests—something that has been an unofficial Japanese trademark for many years. This book examines Japan’s development assistance as it transitions away from Official Development Assistance and towards Development Cooperation. In this transition, the strong and reciprocal relationships between Japanese development policy and comprehensive security, diplomacy, foreign, domestic and economic policies are likely to become even more consolidated and integrated. The utilization of, and changes within, Japanese development policy therefore affects not only recipients of foreign aid but also the relationships Japan enjoys with its allies and strategic partners, as well as the relations to competing donors and rivals in the region and around the world. Japanese foreign aid as such provides an extremely interesting case from where regional and even global changes can be understood. Written by a multidisciplinary team of contributors from the fields of political science, international relations, development, economics, public opinion and Japan studies, the book sets out to be innovative in capturing the essence of the changing patterns of development cooperation, and more importantly, Japan’s role in within it, in an era of great change. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese Politics, Foreign Policy and International Relations.
Japanese Diaspora and Migration Reconsidered (Japan Anthropology Workshop Series)
by Yvonne SiemannIn contrast to most studies of migration, which assume that migrants arrive from less developed countries to the industrialised world, where they suffer from discrimination, poor living conditions and downward social mobility, this book examines a different sort of diaspora – descendants of Japanese migrants or "Nikkei" – in Bolivia, who, after a history of organised migration, have achieved middle-class status in a developing country, while enjoying much symbolic capital among the majority population. Based on extensive original research, the book considers the everyday lives of Nikkei and their identity, discusses how despite their relative success they remain not fully integrated into Bolivia's imperfect pluricultural society and explores how they think about, and relate to, Japan.
Japanese Diasporas: Unsung Pasts, Conflicting Presents and Uncertain Futures (Routledge Studies in Asia's Transformations #7)
by Nobuko AdachiJapanese Diasporas examines the relationship of overseas Japanese and their descendents (Nikkei) with their home and host nations, focusing on the political, social and economic struggles of Nikkei. Frequently abandoned by their homeland, and experiencing alienation in their host nations, the diaspora have attempted to carve out lives between two worlds. Examining Nikkei communities and Japanese migration to Manchuria, China, Canada, the Philippines, Singapore and Latin America, the book compares Nikkei experiences with those of Japanese transnational migrants living abroad. The authors connect theoretical issues of ethnic identity with the Japanese and Nikkei cases, analyzing the hidden dynamics of the social construction of race, ethnicity and homeland, and suggesting some of the ways in which diasporas are transforming global society today. Presenting new perspectives on socio-political and cultural issues of transnational migrants and diaspora communities in an economically intertwined world, this book will be of great interest to scholars of diaspora studies and Japanese studies.
The Japanese Diet And The U.s. Congress
by Francis Valeo Charles E MorrisonThe Japanese Diet and the U.S. Congress have in common many of the characteristics of democratic institutions, similarities that can be seen in the way the two legislative bodies are constituted, in what they do, and in how they do it. At the same time, there are disparities that stem from each nation's unique cultural background and political experiences. Both the similarities and the differences are treated in this unique study. The authors, well-known japanese and U.S. scholars, illuminate significant factors that not only underlie the differing roles of the Diet and the Congress in the two governments and the style of each government, but also help shape the nature of the interaction between japan and the U.S.
Japanese Digital Cultural Promotion: Online Experience of Kyoto (Routledge Contemporary Japan Series)
by Nadejda GadjevaGadjeva uses Kyoto as a case study to explore the innovative mechanisms being used to promote Japanese culture and cultural properties since the outbreak of COVID-19. Beginning by setting out the main initiatives and actors involved in preserving, introducing and utilising Kyoto’s cultural heritage, Gadjeva proceeds to discuss alternative approaches using digital technologies. These tools include remote access immersive reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, augmented virtuality, and mixed reality. She looks at how such approaches have been applied to Kyoto’s digital museums, real-time online experiences, and other virtual projects presenting tangible, intangible, and folk heritage. In doing so she draws on a wide range of interviews with experts from the Japan Foundation, the Kyoto Art Center, and other related institutions to investigate the limitations and possible strategies for further development of these practices. She also interviews scholars, government officials and experts from Europe about the prospects for further remote online experiences, applied both specifically to Kyoto and more broadly to cultural tourism. Based on the findings, the book discusses particular future challenges and suggests specific policies and project proposals for further remote online experiences of Kyoto’s cultural properties. A valuable read for professionals and scholars of cultural and tourism studies, that will be of particular interest to those specialising in Japan.
Japanese Diplomacy in the 1950s: From Isolation to Integration (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)
by Iokibe Makoto Caroline Rose Tomaru Junko John WesteThis book provides a detailed examination of Japan's diplomatic relations in the 1950s, an important decade in international affairs when new structures and systems emerged, and when Japan established patterns in its international relationships which continue today. It examines the process of Japan's attempts to rehabilitate itself and reintegrate into a changing world, and the degree of success to which Japan achieved its goals in the political, economic and security spheres. The book is divided into three parts, each containing three chapters: Part I looks at Japan in the eyes of the Anglo-American powers; Part II at Japanese efforts to gain membership of newly forming regional and international organizations; and Part III considers the role of domestic factors in Japanese foreign policy making. Important issues are considered including Japanese rearmament and the struggle to gain entry into the United Nations. In contrast to much of the academic literature on post-war Japanese diplomacy, generally presenting Japan as a passive actor of little relevance or importance, this book shows that Japan did not simply sit passively by, but formed and attempted to instigate its own visions into the evolving regional and global structures. It also shows that whilst Japan did not always figure as highly as its politicians and policy makers may have liked in the foreign policy considerations of other nation states, many countries and organizations did attach a great deal of importance to re-building relations with Japan throughout this period of re-adjustment and transformation.
The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain: Early Travel Encounters in the Far West
by Andrew CobbingThe investigations undertaken in the pursuit of knowledge by the first overseas Japanese travellers during the 1860s and 70s have left a unique record of life in the then unknown west. Leaving behind a homeland culturally isolated for more than 200 years, these samurai travellers were especially fascinated by the extent of British political and commercial influence they observed during their travels, and therefore paid particularly close attention to the Victorian world and recorded all they saw in minute detail. Their diaries and 'travelogues' comprise the single largest body of material on Victorian society to be recorded in any non-European language. This book examines the nature of these travellers' experiences and their perceptions of Victorian Britain. A deeper understanding of this rich source material is important because, although entirely unknown to British readers, the documents reveal one of the most spectacular culture shocks ever recorded in World History. They are also important because the images of Victorian and other western societies that they portrayed to the Japanese reading public in the late nineteenth century still underpin Japanese understanding of the outside world more than a hundred years later.
Japanese Drama and Culture in the 1960s: The Return of the Gods (Routledge Revivals)
by D.G. GoodmanThis title was first published in 1988: In this book the author has translated five postwar experimental Japanese plays and recreated the artistic, social and spiritual milieu in which they were created. He describes the turning point in Japanese thinking about the nature and limitations of a Western-oriented modern culture, and the creation of "underground" theatres which in which evolved a new mythology of history. Professor Goodman sees these developments as an interplay between personal and political (ie revolutionary) salvation.
Japanese Economic Development: Theory and practice (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies)
by Penny FrancksThis fully revised and updated third edition of Japanese Economic Development looks at Japan's economic history from the nineteenth century through to World War II, recasting analysis of Japan’s economic past in the light fresh theoretical perspectives in the study of economic history and development. Francks draws out the historical roots of the institutions and practices on which Japan's post-war economic miracle was based and provides a comparative framework within which the Japanese case can be understood and related to development in the rest of the world. New features for this edition include: textboxes summarising key concepts expanded coverage of the early-modern economy, the ‘traditional sector’, and the international context of Japanese growth an increased number of case studies fully up-dated references, glossary and bibliography. Taking a thematic approach, this textbook demonstrates how studying the first example of Asian industrialisation can provide the basis for an alternative, non-western narrative of development. As it such is an important resource for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the Japanese economy, as well as comparative economic development and economic history more generally.
The Japanese Economy: Strategies to Cope with a Shrinking and Ageing Population (Europa Economic Perspectives)
by Randall JonesJapan has many unique strengths, but it also faces numerous challenges, many of which are related to population ageing. Rapid demographic change is projected to reduce Japan’s population by one-quarter by 2060 while increasing the share of elderly people from 29% of the total population to 38%, which would be the highest share among advanced countries. This book analyses the Japanese economy and the challenges it faces, and suggests policies to promote wellbeing, high living standards, fiscal sustainability, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The book’s 24 chapters focus on key aspects of Japan’s economy, including the labour market, innovation, education, women in the workforce, corporate governance, small and medium-sized enterprises, the service sector, agriculture, fiscal and monetary policy, income distribution and policies to address climate change. The volume aims to increase understanding of Japan, the world’s third-largest economy and a key player in the global economy. It will assist policymakers and serve as a resource for academics and students of economics and public policy. As Japan is a front-runner in population ageing, the book’s analysis and policy recommendations are highly relevant to other countries that are, or soon will be, facing similar challenges.
The Japanese Economy and Economic Issues since 1945 (Dimensions of Contemporary Japan #5)
by Edward R. BeauchampFirst Published in 1999. The best scholarship on the development of contemporary Japan This collection presents well over 100 scholarly articles on modern Japanese society, written by leading scholars in the field. These selections have been drawn from the most distinguished scholarly journals as well as from journals that are less well known among specialists; and the articles represent the best and most important scholarship on their particular topic. An understanding of the present through the lens of the past The field of modern Japan studies has grown steadily as Westerners have recognized the importance of Japan as a lading world economic force and an emerging regional power. The post-1945 economic success of the Japanese has, however, been achieved in the context of that nation's history, social structure, educational enterprise and political environment. It is impossible to understand the postwar economic miracle without an appreciation of these elements. Japan's economic emergence has brought about and in some cases, exacerbated already existing tensions, and these tensions have, in turn, had a significant impact on Japanese economic life. The series is designed to give readers a basic understanding of modern Japan-its institutions and its people-as we stand on the threshold of a new century, often referred to as "the Pacific Century".
Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone's Legacy (The University of Sheffield/Routledge Japanese Studies Series)
by Christopher P. HoodThe Japanese education system has attracted increasing attention over the past 20 years, largely due to the belief that it has been central to Japan's economic growth. Many have felt, however that the system is stunted by an inability, or perhaps even on an incapacity, to change. This study challenges these contentions. It examines the reform policies implemented by Prime Minister Nakasone during the 1980s and argues that, not only has the system changed considerably as a result of Nakasone's work, but that it continues to do so. It analyses the key areas of the education reform debate, in particular internationalism, government control of education, increased liberalization and various social problems, and considers the degree to which response to them have been successful. This book will be of great interest to all those interested in the Japanese educational system.
Japanese Electoral Politics: Creating a New Party System (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies)
by Steven R. ReedThe old Japanese single-party system collapsed in 1993, but a new system has not yet fully evolved. Following the most significant party reform in Japanese history, this book analyses the most recent national elections, examining voter behaviour and how it is influenced. It provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese politics from 1955 to 1993 and a detailed historical study of events leading up to the 1996 and 2000 elections, before presenting statistical analysis of the elections themselves. The authors then look to the future, anticipating what form the new political system will take. Japanese Electoral Politics contains four very detailed case studies and a wealth of new data. It will appeal to students and researchers of Japanese politics and elections and electoral systems.
Japanese Encounters: The Structure and Dynamics of Cultural Frames (Routledge Culture, Society, Business in East Asia Series)
by Eyal Ben-AriThis book explores the multiplicity of special times and spaces in Japan within which people get together to decide, celebrate or play, in gatherings such as organizational meetings, community festivities, preschool games or drinking bouts. It analyzes these gatherings in relation to the theoretical model of sociocultural frames, examining how such occasions are put together, their unfolding stages, interactive encounters, and relations between participants and the wider social and cultural contexts. It considers the cognitive, emotional and behavioural dimensions, the scope for manipulation and the effects, intentional and unintentional, on participants and the connections to the ways in which in society and culture change. Overall, besides describing specific rites and ceremonies in Japan, the book provides great insights into the process whereby the interactions, feelings and action of individuals and groups shape popular culture.
Japanese Enthronement Ceremonies: With An Account Of The Imperial Regalia (classic Reprint) (The\kegan Paul Japan Library #No. 2)
by HoltomFirst Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Japanese Eyes American Heart: Personal Reflections of Hawaii's World War II Nisei Soldiers
by Hawaii Nikkei History Editorial Board Tendai Education Foundation StaffJapan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, set Hawaii on a new course of history that would affect every living soul in these Islands. How Hawaii's people, particularly those of Japanese ancestry, responded to the act of aggression by Japan changed Hawaii's social, economic, and political history forever. Much has been written about how Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJA) in the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion answered their country's call through military service--and the high price they paid in human lives in freedom's cause. The history has been recorded, the battles documented, the medals tallied, the social and political legacy articulated and applauded. Not as thoroughly recorded, however, are the thoughts and innermost feelings of the nisei soldiers who put their lives on the line for their country, and what those experiences meant to them. Those stories have always been the most difficult to pry from the hearts and souls of the AJA men who served our country in World War II. It was that void in the story of Hawaii's nisei soldiers that Bishop Ryokan Ara of the Tendai Educational Foundation asked members of the Hawaii Nikkei History Editorial Board to fill. Japanese Eyes... American Heart is the result of that effort. It is a rare and powerful collection of personal thoughts written by the soldiers themselves, reflections of the men's thoughts as recorded in diaries and letters sent home to family members and friends, and other expressions about an episode that marked a turning point in the lives of many.
The Japanese Family: Touch, Intimacy and Feeling (Japan Anthropology Workshop Series)
by Diana Adis TahhanThis book explores how the relationship between child and parent develops in Japan, from the earliest point in a child’s life, through the transition from family to the wider world, first to playschools and then schools. It shows how touch and physical contact are important for engendering intimacy and feeling, and how intimacy and feeling continue even when physical contact lessens. It relates the position in Japan to theoretical writing, in both Japan and the West, on body, mind, intimacy and feeling, and compares the position in Japan to practices elsewhere. Overall, the book makes a significant contribution to the study of and theories on body practices, and to debates on the processes of socialisation in Japan.
Japanese Family and Society: Words from Tongo Takebe, A Meiji Era Sociologist
by Phil BarkerAn accurate, thought provoking translation of original work from sociologist pioneer Tongo TakebeToday's sociology education emphasizes multiculturalism, yet most of the views originate from Judeo-Christian perspectives that can limit insight and understanding. Japanese Family and Society: Words from Tongo Takebe, A Meiji Era Sociologis
The Japanese Family System: Change, Continuity, and Regionality in the Long Twentieth Century (SpringerBriefs in Population Studies)
by Akihiko KatoThis book offers a new perspective and empirical evidence that are relevant for understanding changes in family structures, intergenerational relationships, and female labor force participation in the “strong family” societies and that also shed light on those in the “weak family” societies. Focusing on the stem family and the gender division of labor, presenting detailed quantitative evidence, and testing the theories on family change and gender revolution, the book provides a comprehensive examination of change, continuity, and regionality in the Japanese family system over the twentieth century.By analyzing data from a nationally representative life course survey with event history techniques, it investigates factors affecting post-marital intergenerational co-residence and proximate residence along with those influencing continuous and/or discontinuous employment of married women across the life course. In this way, it reveals the mechanisms underlying the stem family formation and those behind married women’s M-shaped employment pattern. It further explores regionality in the Japanese family system, applying a demographic mapping method to data from a nationally representative community survey and official statistics. The mapping analyses demonstrate persistent geographical contrasts between two types of living arrangements (single-household versus multi-household) in the stem family accompanied by two types of maternal employment (full-time versus part-time). They also reveal a historical correlation between traditional communal parenting systems and modern childcare services, linking past to present from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century.
Japanese Femininities (Routledge Contemporary Japan Series)
by Justin CharleboisThe corporate salaryman and professional housewife stand as hegemonic archetypes of masculinity and femininity in Japan. However, these rigid gender roles are being challenged by women who are seeking to move beyond the strictly defined confines of their traditional roles as caregivers and homemakers. Through interviews with a range of Japanese women, this book explores how women’s gender roles are both reified and undermined in Japan today, and uncovers the prevalent themes, or ‘discourses’, that are utilized to construct gendered identities. It shows that while dominant discourses formulate notions of femininity within the domestic sphere, these are simultaneously resisted and problematized by contemporary women. To this end, Justin Charlebois traces the construction of different ‘oppositional’ femininities, such as the single career woman and married working mother, which challenge, destabilize, and potentially reconfigure the traditional gender order. This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of gender roles and femininity in Japan, and as such will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese culture and society, gender studies and women's studies.
Japanese Feminist Debates: A Century of Contention on Sex, Love, and Labor
by Ayako KanoRecent years have seen a surge of interest in Japanese feminism and gender history. This new volume brings to light Japan's feminist public sphere, a discursive space in which academic, journalistic, and political voices have long met and sparred over issues that remain controversial to the present day: prostitution, pornography, reproductive rights, the balance between motherhood and paid work, relationships between individual, family, and state. <p><p>Japanese Feminist Debates: A Century of Contention on Sex, Love, and Labor contributes to this discussion in a number of unique ways.
Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video (Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia)
by Tom MesThis book explores the phenomenon of V-Cinema, founded in Japan in 1989 as a distribution system for direct-to-video movies which film companies began making having failed to recoup their investment in big budget films. It examines how studios and directors worked quickly to capitalize on niche markets or upcoming and current trends, and how as a result this period of history in Japanese cinema was an exceptionally diverse and vibrant film scene. It highlights how, although the V-Cinema industry declined from around 1995, the explosion in quantity and variety of such movies established and cemented many specific genres of Japanese film. Importantly the book argues that film scholars who have long looked down on video as a substandard medium without scholarly interest have been wrong to do so, and that V-Cinema challenges accepted notions of cultural value, providing insight into the formation of cinematic canons and inviting us to rethink what is meant by "Japanese cinema".
Japanese Film Festivals in the Asia-Pacific: Cultural Diplomacy, Practices and Audiences (Framing Film Festivals)
by Teck Fann GohThis book represents the first in-depth research dedicated to examining the historical and contemporary developments of Japanese film festivals as sites of cultural diplomacy. It focuses on the proliferation, network and operation of Japanese Film Festivals (JFFs) in the Asia-Pacific from the late 1970s until 2020. Through case examples in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand, the book explores how the formation and recent developments of JFFs in the region reflect wider changes in the function of Japanese cultural diplomacy through films, particularly with the intensification of economic, cultural and diplomatic opportunities presented in this geopolitical space.
Japanese Flower Culture – An Introduction
by Kaeko ChibaThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to ikebana and other forms of Japanese flower culture. Unlike other books on the subject which focus on practice, the book provides both an academic discussion of the subject and an introduction to practice. It examines ikebana and flower culture from anthropological and sociological perspectives, analyses Japanese aesthetics, customs and rituals related to flower arrangements, and outlines ikebana history and the Grand Master Iemoto system. It considers how the traditional arts are taught in Japan, and links traditional arts to current issues in today’s society, such as gender and class. This book also covers how to prepare ikebana utensils, preserve flowers and branches, and how to appreciate arrangements, placing an emphasis on acknowledging our five senses throughout each stage of the process. The book will be of interest to a wide range of people interested in Japanese flower culture – university professors and students, tourists and people interested in traditional Japanese arts.