Presenting the voices of a unique group within contemporary Japanese society—Zainichi women—this book provides a fresh insight into their experiences of oppression and marginalization that over time h
The book explores the notion of animism through the lens of four prominent figures in Japan: Minamata fisherman Ogata Masato, Minamata writer Ishimure Michiko, sociologist Tsurumi Kazuko, and animator
The first-ever attempt to paint a full scale portrait of the Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia during the Asia-Pacific War (1942-1945). This book draws on the huge body of available narrative - mi
While Japanese pacifism is usually seen as a national policy or an ideology rooted in the provision of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, it cannot be adequately understood without grasping Japan
This book provides an historical overview of the Japanese Communist Party from its foundation to the present. It outlines the development of the party, explores its stance on key issues and discusses
Japan is not only the oldest society in the world today, but also the oldest society to have ever existed. This aging trend, however, presents many challenges to contemporary Japan, as it permeates al
The Japanese koseki system is the legal and social structure keeping record of all Japanese citizens. Determined by the Civil Code and the Koseki Law, for activists challenging it, the koseki is also
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Japanese literature and film through the interpretive lens of trauma studies. Focusing on depictions of protagonists who dissociated their childhood, ado
More than any other region in the world, Asia has witnessed tremendous change in the post-war era. A continent once engulfed by independence and revolution, and later by the Cold War and civil war, ha
Japanese studies has provided a fertile space for non-Eurocentric analysis for a number of reasons. It has been embroiled in the long-running internal debate over the so-called Nihonjinron, revolving
Japanese literature and film have frequently been approached using lenses such as language, genre and ideology. Yet, despite a succession of major social traumas that have marked, and in many ways sha
This book is about why and how central and local governments clash over important national policy decisions. Its empirical focus is on the local politics of Japan which has significantly shaped, and b
Hailed by Japanese critics as a milestone in the study of contemporary Japanese media, this book explores the contemporary ‘boom’ in Japanese media representations of the recent past. Recent years hav
Since Japan’s economic recession began in the 1990s, the female workforce has experienced revolutionary changes as greater numbers of women have sought to establish careers. Employment trends indicate
Today’s convergent media environment offers unprecedented opportunities for sourcing and disseminating previously obscure popular culture material from Japan. However, this presents concerns regarding
The natural and man-made cataclysmic events of the 11th March 2011, or 3.11, have dramatically altered the status quo of contemporary Japanese society. While much has been written about social, politi
In Japan, the main local administrative affairs are traditionally allotted to prefectures and municipalities, while communal disposal systems, fire-fighting and regional development takes secondary im
The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over four islands off the northeast coast of Hokkaido has been an enduring obstacle to closer relations between the two powers and therefore an importa
Japan was sometimes described as a country of "peace" during the Cold War period, in contrast to the continental border conflicts taking place at the time, such as the China-Soviet r
The gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) varies greatly from country to country, and the number of Japanese women in these fields remains relatively few. This prompts
This book examines five features of Japan’s ‘Lost Decades’: the speed of the economic decline in Japan compared to Japan’s earlier global prowess; a rapidly declining population; considerable politica
This edited collection explores how graphic art and in particular Japanese manga represent Japanese history.The articles explore the representation of history in manga from disciplines that include su
"Recent natural as well as man-made cataclysmic events have dramatically changed the status quo of contemporary Japanese society, and following the Asia-Pacific war's never-ending 'postwar' period, Ja
The Japanese political system is a parliamentary democracy and was the first western style government in Asia when the parliamentary system was adopted in the 1880s. It has a multiparty system, free e
This book examines how Japan’s heritage conservation policy and practice, as deployed through its foreign aid programs, became one of the main means through which post-World War II Japan sought to mar
"The book explores how internationalisation, a process affecting many countries throughout the world, is affecting Japan. The book considers how internationalisation is imagined, discussed and operati
The aim of this book is to examine and analyse the phenomenon of ‘Japan-bashing’, from its invention and popularisation in the United States in the late 1970s to the emergence of other national varian
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was established in 1993 with the intention of creating opportunities for trade and investment on both sides and the promotion of susta
The 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
This book argues that sound – as it is created, transmitted, and perceived – plays a key role in the constitution of space and community in contemporary Japan. The book examines how sonic practices re
Since the 1950s, Japan-Europe relations have been characterised by a mutual coldness in terms of diplomatic dialogue, punctuated by a number of trade disputes. This book analyses the development of th
The ‘High Treason Incident’ rocked Japanese society between 1910 and 1911, when police discovered that a group of anarchists and socialists were plotting to assassinate the Emperor Meiji. Following a
Just as the sinking of the Titanic is embedded in the public consciousness in the English-speaking world, so the crash of JAL flight JL123 is part of the Japanese collective memory. The 1985 crash inv
Censorship in Japan has seen many changes over the last 150 years and each successive system of rule has possessed its own censorship laws, regulations, and methods of enforcement. Yet what has remain
Post-war Japan offers a compelling case study of national apologies for past wrongdoings. Actions of the Japanese Army and government during the Second World War caused enormous suffering and distress
The Japanese, and other Asians, are increasingly taking over some of the roles previously played by Europeans in the Pacific islands, which is giving rise to interesting new economic relationships, an
