Social Science Japan Journal - current issue

Shared Abodes, Disparate Visions: Japanese Anthropology during the Allied Occupation

Katsumi, N. — 2007-12-10

During World War II, the US enlisted behavioral scientists to provide intelligence on combatant nations. In 1945–1951, when Japan was put under Allied occupation in the wake of military defeat, American anthropologists were dispatched to work for the Civil Information and Education Section under General Headquarters in Tokyo, under whose orders they carried out a number of social science surveys throughout rural Japan. The first of these anthropologists, Herbert Passin, hired a number of young Japanese survey assistants trained in the fields of anthropology, sociology, folklore studies and law. They conducted field surveys in farming and fishing villages. On the foundations of these surveys, the US established Japan studies, while Japan imported American-style cultural anthropology. In this article, I chronicle the specific contents of these surveys, while at the same time clarifying the process through which cultural anthropology was established at Tokyo University.

The Potential of Fandom and the Limits of Soft Power: Media Representations on the Popularity of a Korean Melodrama in Japan

Kaori, H., LEE, E.-J. — 2007-12-10

This paper examines Japanese and Korean representations of the audience, fandom and popularity of the Korean drama ‘Winter Sonata’ as it emerged in media discourse in Japan from the beginning of 2004 through the first half of 2005 to better understand the potential and limits of soft power. In the course of the emergent ‘Korea Boom’ in Japan in 2004 and 2005, narratives in the media describing the Japanese audience of Winter Sonata differed widely between Japan and South Korea. This paper looks at this gap, examines why and how this discrepancy of fandom representations occurs and what this means to both societies. In Japan, the mainstream media discourse on the popularity of Winter Sonata or the ‘Korean Wave’ was reduced to the image of middle-aged female fans seeking romance stories and good-looking actors. Rather than taking seriously the activities of Japanese women as they reached across borders to its Asian neighbor and former colony, the Japanese mass media stereotyped and derided Japanese women in the pejorative language of fandom. In South Korea, on the other hand, the media discourse was first and foremost self-centered and nationalistic, but this focus led both conservative and liberal commentators to extend the discussion further to include discussion of an imagined ‘Asian community’. Amid this celebration of Korea's growing cultural influence in Asia, women, who were the main driving force of its popularity in Japan, were elided from the Korean discourse on this phenomenon.

Compliance with International Standards: The EDIFACT and ISO 9000 Standards in Japan

STORZ, C. — 2007-12-10

International standards play an increasingly important role in the world economy. Research in the field of economics on standardisation has focused on addressing the question of how and in which situations standards should be generated. While this analysis is important, it tends to overlook the subsequent process of implementation, despite its importance for an appropriate standard setting. This paper uses empirical evidence from Japanese firms in order to identify the reasons why and under which conditions firms do not comply with international standards. The Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (EDIFACT) standard, which defines data exchange networks, and the ISO 9000 standard, which defines quality management processes, are the two case studies. I also draw comparisons to the implementation of these standards in Germany. I conclude that non-compliance with standards is a common phenomenon with specific, regional characteristics. At the end, I make preliminary conclusions about new ways of thinking about how international standards are set.

How Godzilla Ate Pittsburgh: The Long Rise of the Japanese Iron and Steel Industry, 1900 1973

ELBAUM, B. — 2007-12-10

From the 1890s to as late as 1960, industrial policy provided vital aid to the development of the Japanese iron and steel industry. Japanese industrial policy proved successful in steel even though public support was much prolonged, subject to political influence, and based on limited forecasting power ex ante, particularly with regard to recurrent raw material problems. Policy success in steel within different time periods suggests that specific targeting mechanisms were less important than the prevalence of market failures within a context of underdevelopment, broad support for industry, and dedicated and capable governmental bureaucracy. By implication, industrial policy in recent years faced greater difficulties insofar as it attempted narrower targeting and operated in a more mature economy.

Toward Maintaining and Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care: The Current State and Issues Regarding Home Helpers in Japan under the Long-Term Care Insurance System

Satoko, H. — 2007-12-10

In Japan, where the population is aging at a speed unequaled by any other country in the world, there has been a rapid increase in the use of long-term care services, following the adoption of the Long-Term Care Insurance System. The increase is seen mostly in home-visit care services, and the need for such services is expected to increase even further in the years ahead. This paper reviews previous studies on long-term care insurance service market in Japan, focusing especially on home helpers. The first section of this paper introduces the framework of the Long-Term Care Insurance System and the current state of the long-term care insurance service market. The second section examines the systems and working conditions regarding home helpers. Finally, the third section analyzes the job performance skills of home helpers and development thereof. Through these observations, this paper aims to introduce the measures proposed to be effective for maintaining and improving the quality of long-term care services, and for consistent provision of such services, by focusing mainly on employment management that enables helper skill development.

Focusing in on Contemporary Japan's 'Youth' Nationalism

Yuki, H. — 2007-12-10

Unraveling the World of Welfare in Japan

Koichi, O. — 2007-12-10

On Day Laboring and Homelessness in Contemporary Japan

GILL, T. — 2007-12-10

Sangyoka to Shoka Keiei: Beikoku Hiryo-sho Hiromi-ke no Kinsei Kindai

Tsuneo, S. — 2007-12-10

Meiji Demokurashi

Mamoru, S. — 2007-12-10

Kokusai Kekkon no Tanjo: 'Bunmeikoku Nippon' e no Michi

Yuki, S. — 2007-12-10

A Vision of Empire: Kita Ikki and the Making of Modern Japan

Minako, S. — 2007-12-10

Rural Economic Development in Japan: From the Nineteenth Century to the Pacific War

Noriaki, I. — 2007-12-10

Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics

Satoshi, S. — 2007-12-10

Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination

SAKAMOTO, R. — 2007-12-10

Deaf in Japan: Signing and the Politics of Identity

FEDOROWICZ, S. C. — 2007-12-10

Housing and Social Transition in Japan

SORENSEN, A. — 2007-12-10

Shakai Ido no Rekishi Shakaigaku

Masayuki, T. — 2007-12-10

Henka Suru Shakai no Fubyodo

SHIPPER, A. W. — 2007-12-10

Reviving Japan's Economy: Problems and Prescription

SMITKA, M. J. — 2007-12-10

Seika-shugi no Shinjitsu

ISHIGURO, K. — 2007-12-10

Japanese Multinationals in Europe: A Comparison of the Automobile and Pharmaceutical Industries

Hiroshi, I. — 2007-12-10

Japan's Dual Civil Society: Members without Activities

NEUMAN, W. L. — 2007-12-10

Tsushin Gurobaru-ka no Seijigaku: 'Gaiatsu' to Nihon no Denki Tsushin Seisaku

KAWABATA, E. — 2007-12-10

Global Governance and Japan: The Institutional Architecture

SODERBERG, M. — 2007-12-10