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During the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic, Fukushima marked the 10th anniversary of its nuclear disaster of 2011. And although pandemic scientists around the world used technological surveillance to predict risks, the experiences from the Fukushima health crisis call into question such technological solutionism. The Japanese government and electronic companies had placed nuclear workers under intensive health surveillance for decades, but the health data rarely helped workers to protect themselves. Rather, the government has often used the data to decline workers' claims for medical compensation. I call this contradictory consequence of data Protective Abandonment, the systematic disposal of people through the promise of protection. Data are collected through surveillance, for the purpose of risk management, but the information ends up protecting only the existing political economic systems. Crucially, data collection disguises protection and hides the unequal distribution of care. I argue that protective abandonment may become a common experience in today's data-driven societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permeated by traumatic memories and claims for recognition and compensation of the colonial past, the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Japan experienced intense strains during the administrations of Park Geun-hye (2013-2017) and Moon Jae-in (2017-2022). Park stipulated that recognition of the colonial past would be a prerequisite for improving relations with Tokyo, and the Comfort Women Agreement, unexpectedly signed, had its legitimacy challenged. During his term, Moon invalidated the Comfort Women Agreement and demanded a resolution centered on the demands of the victims, while also advocating for Japanese companies to compensate South Koreans forced to work in its facilities during the colonization. In a different panorama, the conservative government of Yoon Suk-yeol (2022-present) adopted a stance of restructuring the South Korea-Japan relations without criticizing the effects of colonization or seeking Japan's acknowledgment of responsibility. This research analyses how the administrations of Park, Moon, and Yoon have handled the colonial agenda in South Korea's foreign policy, resulting in either friction or rapprochement with Japan. It is argued that Park intensified historical grievances, even after the Comfort Women Agreement, due to its unsatisfactory approach. Moon, focused on healing the colonial wounds, faced diplomatic, economic and security friction amid Japan's unwillingness to revisit the past. Lastly, Yoon, in seeking reconciliation with Japan, achieved rapprochement in a tone of submission, undermining the victims' claims for justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, factions and seniority determined who became President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and, thus, Japan's Prime Minister. Since the electoral reform of 1994, however, some scholars have argued that the role of factions has declined, and this has led to ongoing debates over the extent to which factions and other factors have helped determine who will become the leader of Japan's LDP. Using data from the 2021 LDP Presidential election, we find that it is not policy but factional affiliations that matter for LDP members in selecting their leader. In addition to this finding, we disaggregate faction and show that the influence of this political institution in LDP Presidential elections varies across different factions. We also find that electorally weaker LDP incumbents are more likely to support a candidate who is more popular among Japanese voters in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture has implemented various measures to ensure a stable food supply, considering food security a top priority due to the increasing uncertainty of the global economy. However, the ministry's food security policy has evolved substantially with a disproportionate focus on the domestic production of specific food products. This policy change occurred without being widely recognized by the public, media, or intellectuals. Why has the Agricultural Ministry's policy changed even though its goal has remained the same? By applying both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we investigated the context behind this obscure policy transition. Our findings reveal that, contrary to conventional understanding, this policy shift occurred not so much due to political pressure from the agricultural sector, but mainly because of a change in the definition of a key policy concept (i.e., the food self‐sufficiency rate) in the late 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the pervasive social constructivist turn, regardless of some exceptions, discussions of race, racialization and racism continue to focus on the relatively essentialist White/non-White binary. In this article, I move from the White/non-White binary to consider the dynamics and practices of racialization, racism and racial conflicts in Japan where there are no phenotypical distinctions between the dominant and the main racialized minority groups – the Burakumin, the Ainu, the Okinawans, the Zainichi Koreans and the Chinese. The main argument made in this article is that in Japan, class and power inequalities generated by colonialism, the division of labour, adoption and the deployment of the dominant Western 19th-century discourse of 'scientific racism' contributed to 'racial formations', 'racial projects' and the construction of the racialized boundaries that fuelled and continue to compete over material and non-material resources. A historical sociology of the permanent dialectic between class and race in Japan is offered in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has been a country of interest and curiosity in our country since ancient times, and various articles have been written about it, both in literary works and in media. While the first information about Japan appeared in the 11th century, the first news was made in the 19th century. In the first news published in the newspaper Ceride-i Havadis, general information about Japan was given. After this news, articles on Japan started to be written not only in newspapers but also in magazines. During the Republican Era, news about Japan continued to be conveyed to the readers. News about the political situation of Japan, which was the superior power in the Far East, was heavily written in the newspapers. This study is focused on Japan in the context of Hakimiyet-i Milliye, one of the most important newspapers of the Republican Era. The years from 1929 to 1934 were chosen as the time period. It was tried to examine which news items on Japan were covered in the specified date range. As a result of the study, it has been seen that even the smallest detail about Japan was conveyed to the readers in the newspaper. It has been concluded that the newspaper's pages titled "Latest News", "Latest News from Outside" and "Curious Pages" have a high concentration of short news on Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dany Laferrière has demonstrated a continuous engagement with Japan, beginning with the novel Éroshima in 1987 and continuing to his most recent publication in 2021, Sur la route avec Bashō. The aim of this article is to understand what role Japan plays within Laferrière's writing and how it helps us understand the complex network of sex, power, and race in his work. Between the cosmopolitanism of the network of nation-states and the despair of identity politics, I situate Laferrière's use of Japan as a fantasy that empowers the writer beyond the impasse of a white-black racial imaginary. Reading Laferrière this way allows us to understand how his writing uses the fantasy of the Orient, often to the detriment of Asian women. As such it contributes to comparative work between Asian and French literatures, debates in Francophonie, and critical understandings of race in the Francophone sphere of the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the role of political parties in influencing a democratic state's international security cooperation policy. It focuses on Japan's expanded security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries pushed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The LDP as the ruling party saw Japan's expanded security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries as an effort to success Abe's "Take Back Japan" campaign and to overperform the previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration. Moreover, Japan was able to expand its security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries because LDP and its junior coalition partner New Komeito, using its preliminary review system in foreign and security policy making, and its stable power in parliament, were able to pass security legislations allowing Japan's to have more security cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

À partir d'un entretien avec François Laplantine, anthropologue, professeur émérite de l'université Lumière Lyon 2, il s'agit d'explorer les principaux jalons de son parcours, de la philosophie du mal à l'anthropologie de la maladie et à l'ethnopsychiatrie, en particulier l'ethnopsychiatrie psychanalytique, puis des travaux sur le Brésil et le Japon à une centration sur la thématique de la création artistique. La méthode consiste en un entretien réalisé avec François Laplantine. Les questions concernent d'abord sa formation personnelle, puis les raisons de l'évolution des thèmes sur lesquels portent ses ouvrages et enfin sur son exploration de divers champs de la création, littérature, cinéma, théâtre et danse contemporaine. François Laplantine évoque son passage de la philosophie du mal, avec sa première thèse en philosophie sous la direction de Paul Ricœur, à l'anthropologie de la maladie, avec la rencontre de Devereux. Il décrit ses travaux sur la question des métissages, puis son passage de la psychanalyse à une initiation au Candomblé au Brésil, pratique du multiple qu'il rapproche de différentes formes du théâtre en France. Il parcourt alors l'évolution de ses écrits, à partir de ses explorations au Brésil et au Japon, vers la création artistique, notamment la littérature, la musique, la danse, le cinéma. Il évoque l'œuvre de nombreux artistes et aussi différents types de mises en scène des catastrophes, notamment des mises en scène minimalistes dans le théâtre japonais, avec le Nō, le butô. La question du langage, de l'indicible et de l'invisible, apparaît au cœur de son travail par rapport à la création. Il évoque aussi ses travaux sur l'imaginaire, le hors-champ, ainsi que sur le temps et l'espace, en lien avec la problématique de la création. François Laplantine défend l'idée qu'une mission des arts contemporains est de tenter de dire la catastrophe ; il explore les limites du langage et avance que l'une des fonctions du théâtre et plus encore de la danse contemporaine consiste dans la mise en scène du drame de l'insuffisance du langage. Le recours à la création artistique s'impose comme une nécessité, dans la tension entre dire et montrer. L'exploration de la création artistique apparaît comme une voie royale pour un anthropologue comme François Laplantine. Based on an interview with François Laplantine, anthropologist and professor emeritus at the University Lumière Lyon 2, the aim is to explore the main milestones in his career, from the philosophy of evil to the anthropology of illness and ethnopsychiatry, in particular psychoanalytic ethnopsychiatry, then from work on Brazil and Japan to a focus on the theme of artistic creation. The method consists of an interview with François Laplantine. The questions deal first with his personal background, then with the reasons for the evolution of the themes on which his works are based, and finally with his exploration of various fields of creation: literature, cinema, theatre and contemporary dance. François Laplantine describes his transition from the philosophy of evil, with his first thesis in philosophy under the supervision of Paul Ricœur, to the anthropology of illness, with his encounter with Devereux. He describes his work on the question of métissages, then his transition from psychoanalysis to an initiation into Candomblé in Brazil, a practice of the multiple that he likens to different forms of theatre in France. He then traces the evolution of his writings from his explorations in Brazil and Japan to artistic creation, particularly literature, music, dance, and film. He discusses the work of many artists, as well as different types of staging of disasters, particularly minimalist stagings in Japanese theatre, with nō and butô. The question of language, of the unspeakable and the invisible, appears central to his work in relation to creation. He also discusses his work on the imaginary and the off-screen, as well as on time and space, in relation to the issue of creation. François Laplantine defends the idea that one of the missions of contemporary arts is to attempt to express catastrophe; he explores the limits of language and argues that one of the functions of theatre, and even more so of contemporary dance, is to stage the drama of the inadequacy of language. Recourse to artistic creation is a necessity, in the tension between telling and showing. Exploring artistic creation appears to be a royal road for an anthropologist like François Laplantine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is part of the reflection on the Japanese animated series Hakuoki Shinsegumi Kitan (Idea Factory, 2010), an adaptation of an otome video game saga with the name of Hakouki. The narrative places us in the Edo era where the protagonist, Chizuru, is forced to dress as a man and live under the rules of the members of the Shinsengumi, one of the last police forces of the Tokuwaga Shogunate period. From an interdisciplinary approach, we will analyze how the animation of this Japanese series translates and models otaku culture based on three fundamental components: emotion, history, and esthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the relational identity perspective of critical constructivism, it is proposed that Japan's national identity (i.e., the state narrative) has been a political construction made by decision-making leaders, and has been established on selectively replicating foreign entities, with the aim of providing order and legitimation to the authorities while pursuing a distinctive nationalist narrative. In the Edo period with China, in the imperial era with the West, and in the post-war phase with the United States; It is observed that there continually exists a teacher o "civilized center" (Hua) who exerts great influence over the country, and that Japanese leaders seek to selectively replicate, while maintaining a particular notion of national identity. The great temporal extension of the research is defended, arguing the nature of the objective as well as the importance of a broad and different view other than modern State-centrism in International Relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associated with Japan, anime is an artistic-communicational language based on animation. While its definition is widely discussed, some authors agree that “anime may not necessarily denote animation from a specific country but rather indicates a way of positioning images and information onscreen and how viewers interact with them” (Brian Ruh). Particularly in Japan, after World War II, with the U.S. occupation and the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a literary tendency is gestated on this traumatic scenario that relates adult failure, the destruction of the world and the survival of a group of young people impregnated with imported ideals linked to freedom and democracy, in a context in which tradition failed but did not disappear. Kill la Kill is an animated production that can be labeled in this trend: it introduces an extraterrestrial creature called Life Fiber, which has contributed to the development of humanity and now threatens to destroy it; a group of young people must fight it from different ideological fronts, except that the invader will also be an ally. This paper will analyze the thematic relations that occur in the encounter between humans and ‘life fibers’, starting from epistemological coordinates coming from posthumanist and transhumanist philosophy – Monica Cragnolini, Donna Haraway, Giorgio Agamben – and the representations constructed from the category of ‘monster’ – Julia Kristeva, Robin Wood, Jefrey Cohen –, that plurisignificant figure related to ‘the other’, characterized as different and that must be annihilated or assimilated. Who is the monster and in what way should it be confronted? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If it can be said for certain that dramatization is intimately part of Araki Nobuyoshi's works, then how the use of this detachment from objectivity - believed to be inextricably bound up with the photography as a media - becomes a component of an aesthetic language in itself? The sprawling work Tokyo Lucky Hole shows, with a bold brightness that recalls Walker Evans' "documentary style", much more than a mere immersion in Tokyo Kabukichō's clubs and peepshows. Accordingly, the nude body - feminine, even masculine - seizes the main place of Araki's work through his models' acting. By means of three different analysis lines, we will discuss in this essay the importance of bodies position (clothed, then naked) in this unusual work, whether this position is internal or external to the image. Bodies positioning seems to convey a major meaning through their juxtaposition or repetitions, which could ultimately be understood firstly as the medium of the language of pseudo-objectivity, and secondly as the indicator of some social criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially claims that Japan had discovered Takeshima (Dokdo) since the seventeenth century, but this article argues that quite to the contrary, Isotakeshima Oboegaki, a primary source that confirms Japan's recognition of Dokdo as Korean territory, clearly corrects this claim. Isotakeshima Oboegaki's importance can be explained in three ways. First, Japan's official position regarding Dokdo wrongly conflates different uses of "Takeshima" depending on historical context and ignores that it was because of a paucity of Japanese sources confirming Japanese ownership over Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and a comparative certainty from the Korean government, forcing a reluctant Bakufu to admit the deficit in historical evidence and order that Japanese fishermen cannot trespass into Ulleungdo. Second, Isotakeshima Oboegaki was not just a document of its time but a key primary source that the Meiji government invoked as undeniable evidence to officially declare in the Dajokan Directive that neither Dokdo nor Ulleungdo were under Japanese sovereignty due to a paucity of evidence. Finally, Isotakeshima Oboegaki terminates Japan's logic regarding Dokdo because it contradicts the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' claim of "original discovery" regarding Dokdo and Ulleungdo and corrects the mistaken notion of terra nullius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sheds light on the growing, but understudied role of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in supporting the local production of master plans across the African continent as a tool for guiding long-term investments in urban development. To explore the multiple logics, actors and interests driving the conception, preparation and implementation of these plans, we approach urban master planning as a transcalar process, through which diverse investment, planning and governance arrangements are produced and mobilized in ways that transcend the city scale. We illuminate these dynamics by building on an analysis of the history of Japanese development cooperation and drawing on case studies of JICA master planning in Malawi, Ghana and Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic growth and related assertiveness are causing significant changes in the Asia Pacific strategic environment, producing policy responses from the region's major powers, and gaining linkage with 1914 Europe. This article revisits the analogy, made in 2014, between the Asia Pacific today and Europe of 1914 to theoretically explain Asia Pacific's strategic environment vis-à-vis China's rise and the responses of four Asia Pacific powers—the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. Using the notion of "security dilemma," I argue that a perceived threat of China's newfound confidence expressed in military aggressions creates distrust, fear, and uncertainty in the Asia Pacific, resembling Germany and its ambitions in the first half of twentieth century Europe. However, the similarity does not necessarily mean that the two environments and periods would produce similar outcomes because the strategic conditions are different. Asia Pacific today is more constrained in alliances than twentieth century Europe. I conclude by critiquing the balance of power to propose a power-sharing mechanism in the region to ensure peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of several cases of representation of contemporary Japanese housing architecture and the use of drawing as a tool for ethnographic knowledge allow us to reason about the best way to introduce the complex reality of a house, in relation to the context in which it is situated. In this way, a reflection is established on the appropriate method of representation to expose the relationship between the light assembled house, the dense city and the interstitial space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the role of traditional and emerging donors during the COVID-19 pandemic, without a doubt, allows us to assess the actions implemented during the most critical years of the massive infections of SARS CoV2, in addition to its social and economic effects. In this sense, this article seeks to explore, under an analytical-descriptive approach, the experiences of Spain and Japan, as actors of International Development Cooperation, in the face of this global health emergency. From this perspective, we proceed to identify some of the humanitarian aid initiatives and other cooperation modalities implemented at the regional and bilateral level that, undoubtedly, allow us to explain the convergences of both actors in their contribution to react to the pandemic according to their priorities and principles of their international strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2023 is a significant year for Argentina and for the bilateral relations with Japan. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the return to democracy in our country and the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Argentina and Japan. Having in mind this historical context, this paper's goal is to analyze Japan-Argentina bilateral relations since the coming of democracy, between 1983 and 2022. To accomplish that goal, the following 4 dimensions will be described: political-diplomatic, commercial, development cooperation and finance. Lastly, this paper will end with some reflections on the bilateral relations future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature of electoral reform explains politicians' preferences and social forces such as working‐class power or expansions of the suffrage are the major factors that bring about a change in electoral rules. However, we argue that generational replacement and electoral issue effects lead politicians to introduce a new electoral system for their electoral survival in future. By examining Japan's surveys for pre‐ and postreform elections, we show that the entrance of new generation and salient issue concerns dissolve electoral bases of political parties and finally give rise to a change in the rules of the game for the greater electoral stability that political elites desire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article verifies three conditions in its aim to confirm the influence of Japan's experience on the introduction timing and policy model of South Korean long‐term care insurance (LTCI). First, the LTCI systems in Korea and Japan agree in terms of their core principles. Both are based on a separate social insurance system and ensure financial sustainability at the expense of service quality in response to the need to elevate expenditure. Second, the policymaking process reveals the reference relationship between the two systems. The advocacy coalition for LTCI suggested introducing an LTCI based on Japan's experience. However, their rationale was constrained due to the bounded rationality of policy learning. Finally, this article demonstrates that the rival arguments cannot completely explain the introduction of the Korean LTCI without considering the bounded learning argument. Consequently, the results of this study indicate that policy learning is critical to welfare development in latecomer welfare states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manga has established itself as one of the world's most profitable publishing industries, becoming a major artistic movement of the 21st century whose influence has permeated other media such as film, music, video games and fashion. This article attempts to identify the existence of a general semantics in manga narrative, as well as its industrial influence. This leads us to predict the disappearance of its commercial genres due to a process of hybridization that is occurring in contemporary productions, implying the dismantling of the male hegemony rooted in it for decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding nation-state formation in East Asia is often divided between what I term as ‘globalist’ and ‘localist’ explanations. The former observes that East Asian polities modelled their nation-states by replicating a catalogue of external ideologies and institutions. The latter emphasises instead pre-existing cultural elements that conditioned distinctive nation-state formation. Presupposing nation-state formation with external/internal bounded categories obscures complex interactions while hardening and reifying such boundaries. To overcome this divide, this article follows nation-state builders and observes how they imagined and actualised complex external/internal boundaries for their nation-state formation projects. More importantly, to map their dynamic interactions, I develop two specific patterns, namely ‘defining the global’ and ‘designing the local’. The former shows how nation-state builders visualised different global boundaries with corresponding nation-state identities and interests. The latter, in turn, shows how they modified local complexes to legitimate what was specifically defined. Because they were configured through these interactive patterns, emergent global and local boundaries were intertwined, rather than polarised. For empirical demonstrations, I focus on Civilisational and Cultural nation-state projects in 19th-century Japan that emerged out of the ‘defining’ and ‘designing’ patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exposure to natural disaster media coverage is associated with mental health problems, but its long-term impacts are still unclear. Also, no study has analysed the psychological impact of exposure to natural disaster media coverage among children who are generally sensitive to threatening events. Objective: We aimed to examine how television images of victims after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake were associated with mental health among children and their parents. Methods: In 2012, questionnaires for sociodemographic factors were distributed to 2053 families. Parents who provided written consent were contacted in 2013 and invited to provide information on mental health problems (outcome) and retrospectively provide information on television watching at the time of the earthquake (exposure). We used data from 159 parents who completed the survey as the final sample. We used a dichotomous variable to evaluate exposure to media coverage. Multivariable regression was used to examine the association between exposure to television images of victims and mental health, adjusting for potential confounders. Bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs) were used. Results: Exposure to television images of victims was significantly associated with worse psychopathology among children (β, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.07–2.96) and greater psychological distress among their parents (β, 1.49; 95% CI, 0.28–2.70). Child psychopathology and parental psychological distress were significantly correlated (r = 0.36, p <.001). Conclusions: Exposure to television images of disaster victims may produce long-term impacts on mental health among children and their parents. To reduce the likelihood of mental health problems associated with disasters, clinicians may recommend reducing exposure to television images of victims. Television images of victims after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake were associated with worse psychopathology among children in 2013, adjusted for potential confounders. Similar associations were found in psychological distress among their parents. Child psychopathology and parental psychological distress were correlated with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review addresses An Insider's Guide to the Japanese Martial Arts: A New Look at Japan's Fighting Traditions by Alexander Bennett, published in 2023 by Tuttle Publishing. The Japanese martial arts and Japan have long attracted practitioners from around the globe travelling to Japan, hoping to further the knowledge of their chosen martial art. Far from being a recent trend, records of such travels have graced the martial arts literature for decades. This volume offers a neatly packaged representation of the Japanese martial arts written in an approachable manner by a bilingual, bicultural, academic, martial arts researcher and high-ranking exponent. Stocked with educational and credible material and delivered in an affable tone, this book provides a thorough coverage of the Japanese martial arts from their early past to the present day. In addition, practical and indispensable information for surviving and making the most out of one's stay in Japan is presented. Invaluable to the practitioner with their sights set on studying martial arts in Japan, this publication goes way beyond and presents a plethora of information, both historical and contemporary, which will captivate all those studying the arts, regardless of their domicile. This valuable contribution to the martial arts literature is an enjoyable and educational walk through the Japanese martial arts that will benefit the uninitiated, novices, and seasoned veterans alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1618 the Italian Jesuit Jerónimo de Angelis traveled to Ezo, now Hokkaidô, an island located north of Japan and which, at that time, was an uncharted territory for both, Europeans and Japanese. The objective of this journey was to assess the suitability of this land and its inhabitants, the Ainu ethnicity, to receive Christianity. This article analyzes the report that De Angelis wrote about his trip to inform the superiors of the Society of Jesus in Rome. This document, unpublished until now, contains detailed information about the livelihood, character and spirituality of the Ainu people, which, in addition to being of great value for the study of Japanese Christianity, can be considered as an early example of modern ethnographic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on August 2022 was held during a complicated context for the world due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Beijing’s reactions translated into military exercises generated a series of interpretations and predictions regarding the possibility of an armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Based on Taiwan’s current position as a key factor in international trade and in key industries, this article, through analysis of primary and secondary sources, explores the implications of a conflict scenario from both economic and strategic perspectives. On the one hand, Taiwan participates both in the value and production chains of many countries such as Mexico, for which a conflict would paralyze key industries, such as automotive and technology sectors, for example. On the other, from a strategic perspective, Taiwan has the military support of the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea, who have both sufficient and prepared resources regarding armed forces, however in the case of Seoul, a defined position represents a challenge given the nature of the relationship with Beijing. Analysis of the sources presented in this article shows that an armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait exceeds the costs compared to the benefits for both Taiwan’s neighbours and distant partners such as Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Las invasiones japonesas de Corea (1592–1598), conocidas como Imjin Waeran , constituyen uno de los conflictos asiáticos que mayor impacto ha tenido en la historia mundial, y, sin embargo, es escaso el interés que estos hechos han despertado entre los investigadores contemporáneos. Por el contrario, los cronistas hispánicos de los siglos XVI y XVII sí supieron apreciar la trascendencia de una guerra que transformó el devenir político de Japón, Corea y China. A partir de la ingente cantidad de información que estas crónicas atesoran sobre este conflicto, el presente artículo analiza el impacto que tuvo en la literatura peninsular cercana a los hechos, y examina las marcas del discurso narrativo europeo. El objetivo primor-dial de la investigación no es otro que proponer un marco interpretativo distinto respecto del que se ha venido planteando acerca de este suceso. The Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), known as Imjin Waeran , represent some of the many East Asian conflicts that had a great impact on world history, and yet these events have aroused little interest among contemporary researchers. In contrast, Hispanic chroniclers of the 16th and 17th centuries did understand the significance of this war that transformed the political future of Japan, Korea, and China. Taking advantage of the vast amount of information that the peninsular chronicles reveal about this conflict, this article analyzes the impact of the Imjin Waeran on Spanish peninsular literature around these events, and examines the imprint of European narrative discourse. The main aim of this investigation is to propose a different interpretive framework from what has been suggested thus far about this historic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 2000s, Caribbean states have been experiencing several challenges to economic growth and development, such as the loss of preferential market access and reduction in US aid. As a result, they have been trying to reposition themselves in the changing international relations sphere by reorienting their foreign policy strategies. This article posits that Caribbean states have been placing more emphasis on diversifying their relationships with non-Western powers, such as Japan, as an economic adjustment strategy. In particular, the article examines how Caribbean states have been pursuing “unorthodox” foreign policies due to their limited resource base. As a result, they have been creatively using their value-based resources such as votes and quality advocacy in international fora, in exchange for economic assistance from Japan. In the context of small states in the international system, the article argues that having acknowledged their vulnerabilities due to their smallness, Caribbean states have shown resilience and resourcefulness in crafting these strategies as they seek to reposition themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important defining features of Japan's "Free and Open Indo‐Pacific" (FOIP) vision is coalition‐building. Given the Yoon administration's strong political will to commit to the Indo‐Pacific affairs and improve its ties with Japan, can Japan and South Korea finally forge cooperation in the Indo‐Pacific region? I argue that Japan has not incorporated South Korea in its FOIP vision because of four main factors: timing, leadership transition, commitment to regional and global strategic affairs, and differing perspectives on China. Particularly, the negative impact of South Korea's leadership change and its fluctuating commitment to regional and global affairs have nurtured Japan's skepticism toward South Korea's potential role in the Indo‐Pacific region. In this context, the key to overcoming such difficulties and incorporating South Korea into the Indo‐Pacific network depends on the Yoon administration's conceptualization and institutionalization of its Indo‐Pacific strategy and Japan's support for South Korea's current diplomatic activism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first news about Japan in the Ottoman press was published in the Ceride-i Havadis in 1841. After the end of the isolation, information about Japan began to reach out to westerners. This article is based on the question "What information was there about the Japanese in Ottoman journals?" that aims to answer the question "How were Ottoman journals the reflection of the Japanese making great achievements with the Meiji restorations?" For this purpose, the date range of the study has been determined as the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Articles about Japan and Japanese people from journals published during the Ottoman period were scanned. In the first stage of the composition process of the article, secondary sources that may be relevant to our subject were scanned. In the second stage, we scanned journals and listed articles about Japan from the scanned journals. In the third step, the listed articles were read in detail and categorized to determine the subject headings. Considering the number of papers, similar papers or papers with short information were excluded from the study during the screening process. In our research, articles on various subjects were found in the journals Sırât-ı Müstakîm, Musavver Muhit, Mecmûa-i Fünûn, Maârif, Ma'lûmât, İctihad, Servet-i Funun, Şehbal, and Mecmûa-i Ebüzziyâ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems – established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2002 – is a certification expected to conserve traditional agro-ecosystems and associated biodiversity, natural resources, outstanding landscapes, and cultural heritages that are at risk of extinction in the current market system. Employing the Nishi-Awa Steep Slope Land Agriculture System in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2018, as the case study, this research explores the potential and contradictions of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System to incorporate alternative values such as traditional knowledge, biodiversity, landscape, healthy diets, and cultural heritages into the dominant hierarchy of values that favor market competitiveness. Based on original field surveys, literature review, and qualitative analyses, the study demonstrates that while the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System certification is expected to bring considerable economic opportunity through an increase in international tourists and price appreciation of the local agri-food products certified by a local agri-food labeling system (established by the public and private actors in the designated area), this system does not explicitly guarantee the values claimed in Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System certification. Therefore, the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System scheme to conserve the claimed values in designated areas is faced with a contradictory situation in a market economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En Chine, au cours des deux dernières décennies, les gouvernements locaux se sont investis dans la mise en place d'associations de « nouveaux migrants » à l'étranger, qui ont progressivement été mises au service d'objectifs économiques et diplomatiques. En s'appuyant sur l'étude du cas de la création de l'Association des nouveaux Chinois d'outre-mer et immigrés d'origine chinoise au Japon (New Overseas Chinese and Ethnic Chinese Association in Japan, ou NOCECAJ) en 2003, une fédération d'associations, cet article soutient que la plupart de ces nouvelles associations implantées au Japon ont oeuvré spécifiquement au recrutement de talents dans le domaine des STEM (science, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques) à l'échelle régionale. Elles ont également servi des objectifs en matière de diplomatie publique et, plus récemment, soutenu les ambitions affichées par l'État chinois de se montrer « serviable » et « à l'écoute ». Enfin, elles ont oeuvré à l'amélioration des relations sino-japonaises, marquées par une histoire mouvementée. Cet article défend l'idée que, malgré ces efforts d'unification et de cooptation, l'investissement croissant des gouvernements locaux et des bureaux de mobilisation de la diaspora à l'échelle provinciale et municipale nous incite à repenser l'« État diasporique » comme un ensemble complexe et mouvant d'interactions entre un large éventail d'acteurs diasporiques intervenant à plusieurs niveaux. Cherchant à dépasser à la fois le « transnationalisme d'État » et la « gouvernance en réseau », il postule qu'une approche par « assemblage » est plus à même de nous aider à saisir les méandres de la mobilisation de la diaspora chinoise au XXIe siècle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peace negotiations that the ambassadors of Ming China and the representatives of the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) achieved in the 16th century constitute to the most convulsive and complex phase of the greatest war that occurred worldwide during this century. The main objective of this article is to analyze the diplomatic activity carried out within the framework of the warlike conflict called Imjin waeran (1592-1598), drawing on the texts prepared by the European religious who were developing their proselytizing work in the Far East. The study emphasizes in particular an unpublished manuscript titled De cómo vio Taico los embajadores de la China (1596). A set of unpublished data from this text was collected which complements and, to a large extent, refutes the information provided by Asian sources and which allows us to shape a more complete image of said peace agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia is a region divided into two main poles of influence; China and the pro-Western nations led by countries such as Japan. The former being one of the most powerful in terms of political, economic, and military capabilities. Trying to balance power in an ideologically bifurcated context, full of territorial conflicts and opposing hegemonic interests, has been a difficult task for States. It has been argued that the rise of China as an economic and fi- nancial hegemon with solid military capabilities, including the nuclear one, is a matter of concern not only for countries such as Japan. It has also been a fundamental issue for the Asian political agendas of Western powers such as the United States. Considering this, the aim of this article is to analyze the two central security approaches in East Asia and what motivations and objectives States have to rival against each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unpublished Castilian manuscript Relación de las cosas que ha hecho Quabacundono..., probably written at the end of 1593 by an anonymous author and still unpublished, is one of the few codices that is not limited to the classic Histories of the Missions of the Indies. Instead, it describes historical events that, although they did not have an impact on the work of the missionaries directly, were crucial for the political and geographical balances of power in the Far East, which were disrupted by the Imjin waeran or the Great East Asian War (1592–98). The exceptional nature of this manuscript lies in the synthesis of its discursive praxis based on Japanese sources. It thereby attempts to portray an authentic account of the conflict and to justify to the European reader a possible opening of a new Christian Church in Asia, namely a Korean Christian Church. In addition, this study aims to shed light on the multiple narrative plans incorporated in Relación and, in general, on the construction of an Asian historiography elaborated without taking into account the classical Western Herodotean canons which were based on direct eyewitnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The excellent physical and chemical properties of Abacá and Japan papers make them one of the most used materials in restoration of cultural assets on paper. The objective of this work is to characterize the fibers that compose them and identify plant genera or species that were used in their manufacture. M&M: Fibers from samples of each paper and previously collected reference plant material were disintegrated. The diagnostic characters of the fibers were observed with a photomicroscope and photomicrographs were taken. Subsequently, the homologous characters were compared by relating the Abacá paper fiber samples with those of Musa sp. and the Japan paper samples with Broussonetia sp. and Euonymus sp. Results: There were coincidences between the diagnostic characters of the paper fibers of Abacá and Musa sp. Regarding the Japan paper samples, there were results consistent with Broussonetia sp. but not with Euonymus sp. Conclusions: According to the results observed between the Abacá paper fibers and the samples of the collected living material, we infer that the Abacá paper contains fibers of Musa sp. In the Japan paper samples, the similarities observed between the diagnostic characters of the fibers with respect to the reference plant samples indicate the presence of Broussonetia sp. fibers. There is no evidence of fibers of Euonymus sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Shintoism, the indigenous religion of Japan, the term kami, is simply used for anything possessing supernatural power or force. However, the term is more complex than that, which is identified with belief in God. In this regard, “Shinto gods” are broadly called kami. For this reason, many researchers defined this belief as polytheist, pantheist, animist, shamanist so forth. Basically, the reason behind this kind of characterizations for the belief in God in Shintoism is originated from the concept of kami, which has different meanings such as the good and bad spirits that are believed to exist in the sky, the spirits of ancestors, and evils. In addition, the spirits of dead people are also regarded as kami and are blessed by their families. However, the meaning of this concept cannot fairly be understood without knowing its context and how it is used in a sentence. It is believed that kami can provide benefits and cause negative impacts to individuals in all aspects of their lives. Regarding this belief, kami has noticeable effects on Japanese social life. For instance, it is noteworthy that the crime rates in Japanese society are low compared to other developed countries. In addition, it is possible to see the reflections of this belief in every field of life from literature to cinema and architecture to art. In this sense, scenarists and writers in Japan engaged in the kami belief with the themes of their works. For instance, in Japanese comic book “Manga”, which is identified with Japan and in the cartoon movie industry has employed kamis for different purposes; such as instilling religious knowledge and morality, giving various messages, scaring and warning. Apparently, the role of kami in Japanese people’s moral behaviors also takes an important place by virtue of practicing worships and conducting ceremonies. Depending on these eminent aspects of kami effects on Japanese people’s ethical life, it can be interpreted that kami implements psychological well-being. It can be said that these faith-based worship and behaviors make a great contribution to believers. In Shintoism, the manifestation of God in the form of both human and other beings, and the understanding that people become deified if they die by doing good deeds in their lives, are quite different from religions such as Islam and Judaism that separate God and other beings ontologically with sharper lines. This transitivity between beings has helped people who adopt this religion to avoid hurting all beings. In this study, we aimed to analyze the effects of the notion of God in Shintoism on Japanese social life with the phenomenological and descriptive method that is frequently used in the history of religions. Therefore, in our study, the nature of the term kami has been respectively discussed in the context of its essence with the belief in God, as well as the function of this belief in worship and religious festivals, which is observed to be practiced frequently. Lastly, the effects of kami on the social lives of those who believe in Shintoism has been emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/Context: This article aims to explore conceptual, theoretical and analytical tools to study the diffusion of cultural diplomacy practices towards trade and cooperation spheres/fields. The reconfiguration of the global scene has generated a myriad of spheres, actors and practices that have transformed, expanded and renewed the diplomatic field; nevertheless, this aspect has been scarcely explored in current diplomatic analyses. Methodology: This article presents a qualitative comparative case study. We conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed documentary sources to investigate the diffusion process of cultural diplomacy practices to international cooperation agencies and the bi-national chambers of commerce of South Korea and Japan in Colombia (2009-2018). We analyze how and why this diffusion process has occurredand what its implications are. Conclusions: We found that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the countries deploying cultural diplomacy are the source of the explored diffusion processes. In the analyzed cases, learning and emulation were the diffusion mechanisms identified. As a result of this diffusion process, we argue that there has been aconvergence among different agendas. The institutions studied have become cultural diplomats because they have succeeded in blending their interests with the foreign policy objectives of the states they represent. Originality: At the theoretical level, our research findings extend preliminary approaches to the processes of diffusion within International Studies. At the empirical level, this article make progress in researching cases and actors relevant that to the understanding of the contemporary diplomatic phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inheritance of claims for moral harm in cases where the victim died is not uniform in comparative law. Some jurisdictions explicitly prohibit the inheritance of such claims, except in cases where the victim sued before dying. In others, the heirs have an independent claim. Nevertheless, many jurisdictions are silent on the matter. Japan follows the last approach, which caused broad discussion on the nature of moral harms and their inheritance, which ended in courts admitting that the victim´s heirs could inherit the claim. In turn, this led the case law to accept new claims for medical malpractice, using the general principle of inheritance of claims for moral harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jesuit Mission in Japan was characterized by the establishment of the first painting Seminario in the Far East supervised by the Italian Jesuit Painter Giovanni Cola, who arrived in Nagasaki from Rome in 1583. The activity of the painting school focused on the production of sacred images needed for the Missionaries' evangelization effort, and it soon became a hub of Renaissance technology. European pigments were made available to Japanese and Chinese painters who trained at the Jesuit facility. New archaeometric studies allow, for the first time, a renewed interpretation of historical records, also revealing, along with documentary evidence, that Arie, a place located in Kyushu, where the Seminario stayed between 1595 and 1597, played a major role as it hosted the first European glass workshop in the Far East. The systematic use of pigments introduced at Arie influenced the production of scared images both in Japan and China. However, the overall technological transfer proved an asymmetrical process due to the fierce persecution of Christians starting in 1614, and as a consequence, local production of imported pigments did not start until the lifting of the ban on Christianity in 1873 with the return of Europeans to Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advocacy coalition framework (ACF), a unified framework for understanding the policy process, has been applied in various countries and regions; however, there are few contributions from Japan, despite seemingly favorable conditions for applying it. An exploration of what hinders ACF applications in Japan is worthwhile for developing the ACF as a framework for comparative policy process studies across various social and political settings. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review previous Japanese ACF studies. Our review found that Japanese ACF studies are fewer in number, have less coverage of policy fields, and have less methodological diversity and transparency than international trends. While most of the Japanese ACF studies supported the basic hypotheses of the ACF, we found a need to refine some hypotheses and research methods of the ACF studies. We also discuss the background factors in the inactivity of ACF studies in Japan and suggest solutions for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the phenomenon of convergent migration (Green, 2002) of the Syrian-Lebanese, Japanese and Chinese communities in Mexico, specifically in the municipality of Cárdenas, a small town of railroad origin located in the middle zone of the state of San Luis Potosí. At the same time, Cárdenas is analyzed as a contact zone due to the local-global relationship that this community had with other countries after the arrival of foreigners in 1920, who brought with them cultural and economic practices that were well received by the locals. The research method corresponds to a historical and anthropological task, by means of which diverse historical sources were consulted, and ethnographic research was carried out with the descendants of the immigrants who still reside in the municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to clarify the factor structure of a bonding measure among Japanese fathers with infants and the factors associated with the subscales. Among fathers of children attending the 4‐month health checkup, the Japanese version of the Mother‐to‐Infant Bonding Scale had a two‐factor structure comprising "anger" and "lack of affection." Anger was associated with fathers' work demands and poor mental condition, and lack of affection with fathers' older age, poor mental condition, and interpersonal problems at home. Paternal parenting support needs to account for not only the fathers themselves, but also interpersonal communication at home and in the work environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goniodromites sp. (Brachyura: Dromiacea: Goniodromitidae) is described from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) cold seep sediment in the Middle Yezo Group of Hokkaido, Japan. This species is the first recognition of the genus and family from the Cretaceous chemosynthetic communities, and represents the second record of a decapod from the fossil chemosynthetic communities in Japan. In addition, Sabellidromites inflata (Collins and Karasawa, 1993), a poorly known goniodromitid crab is redescribed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente artículo estudia la nueva sociedad hispano-nipona ideada por un anónimo jesuita en 1599, una ciudad-satélite mestiza destinada a ser la nueva plaza fuerte española en el Kyûshû (Japón). La investigación pone de relieve las preocupaciones de estricta supervivencia vital de los misioneros destacados en las islas niponas y la clara estrategia de hispanización desplegada por los jesuitas, que, al menos en parte, incorporaba ciertos valores afines a la doctrina cristiana: el espíritu de justicia social, el rechazo de la violencia, la fraternidad de los hombres y, por otro lado, establecía un planteamiento más coercitivo hacia los nipones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The turn of the nineteenth century saw an increasing encroachment of Russian explorations into and around isolationist Japan, culminating with the capture and imprisonment of Russian naval captain Vasily Golovnin in 1811. These Russian attempts to "open" Japan were a threat to the established contact between Japan and Europe through the Dutch base in Dejima at Nagasaki, which gave the Dutch a monopoly on relations and the transfer of knowledge between Japan and Europe. However, Russia's imperial designs in the North Pacific and the Napoleonic wars, which reduced Dutch power, threatened this monopoly, offering new perspectives on Japan and throwing political relations with the Japanese Shogunate (Bakufu) into turmoil. This paper compares Dutch and Russian approaches to contact with Japan at the turn of the nineteenth century and examines how actions such as Golovnin's imprisonment foreshadowed an end for Japanese isolationism and the Dutch monopoly on contact with the Shogunate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War was, along with the Spanish Civil War, one of the preliminary military episodes of the Second World War. This led to both Spain and Japan cultivating a relationship with Germany and Italy, as well as an intensification of Spanish-Japanese relations. Amongst other elements, these relations began to display a propagandistic inflection which did not escape the attention of the Canarian press. By analysing the main headlines in Gran Canaria from July 1937 to the end of 1938, this work delves into the construction of Imperial Japan's image, as much as coverage of conflict during the course of the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade of the Cold War and the early years of the post-Cold War international order saw the emergence of a radical conservatism in Japan which has since taken root as a key ideological force in the country's conservative political culture. This article traces the neglected but important influence of José Ortega y Grasset's theory of the masses on this contemporary movement. However, in this journey across time, space, and culture, the theory of mass society has mutated. The article examines the ways in which Japanese radical conservative thinkers Susumu Nishibe and Keishi Saeki interpreted and applied Ortega's work to critique the development of Japan's contemporary political landscape. Radical conservatives transformed Ortega's theory of the modern masses and his argument for elite liberalism into a critique of the liberal international order which favours reactionary nationalism. To understand this shift, the article examines the conceptualisations of modernisation and national identity as a necessary background to such theoretical and political appropriation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly accounts of the European encounter with East Asia tend to emphasize the admiration that Europeans held for Chinese and Japanese culture and society, yet the period also exhibited powerful currents of Sinophobia and Japanophobia. In his account of a 1609 visit to Japan, the Mexican criollo Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco presents an overwhelmingly positive vision of the Japanese that would help support his effort to broker a diplomatic agreement between the Hapsburg Monarchy and the Tokugawa shogunate. A careful reading of the text, nevertheless, reveals the presence of conflicting attitudes toward the Japanese, including a powerful Japanophobic undercurrent probably nurtured by Vivero's prior experience as interim governor of the Philippines. This essay explores how Vivero processes these conflicting attitudes in order to produce, later in life, an image of Japan as an exemplary foil to the Catholic Monarchy in both politics and piety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]