Search

In this paper, we introduce a project on singles' intimate practices conducted during COVID times as a case study of quantitative social research with a particular focus on qualitative reflections. We thematize the topic of self-reflexivity, which is considered an essential category in qualitative research but largely neglected in quantitative research. We discuss three methodological issues through the lens of self-reflection: 'translation issues'; the problems of asking 'sensitive' and the 'right' questions; and the problematics of 'the present' in particularly fluid times. We show that this approach promotes contextualization of the measurement tool, the data and the findings and can be a way for doing quantitative research on intimacy outside the 'standard' nuclear family in pandemic times. Overall, this paper underscores the ways that scholars as individuals and teams are inextricable from our research site, as we navigate disruption even while seeking to understand its implications on our informants.

Singles—here understood as unmarried or never married individuals—are a growing subset of the Japanese population that has not received discrete attention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article addresses the ways in which the pandemic and its associated interventions—calls for social distancing, self-restraint, or the avoidance of the '3Cs'—affect singles' (non)familial personal relationships and practices of intimacy (platonic and romantic), as well as perceptions of singlehood and 'solo activities' (sorokatsu). Based on exploratory analyses of data from an original cross-sectional online survey conducted in early 2021 (n  = 4.000; unmarried residents of Japan aged 25–49 years), we show that while practices of intimacy are changing throughout the pandemic, the changes are less dramatic than we anticipated. In addition, changes are highly gendered and seem to support contemporary media and public discourse on how individuals are managing COVID-life and its concomitant uncertainties. We see two diachronic developments: an increase in social isolation and distress on the one hand, and an increase in acceptance of being single and doing 'solo activities' on the other. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the ways that singlehood, marital status, and extra-familial relationships are shaped, and shape the experiences of this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of fathers in parenting and care has become a topical issue in public discourse in Japan. The phenomenon is often epitomized in the popular neologism ikumen , defining fathers actively involved in childcare (ikuji) as "cool" men. On the basis of an extended ethnography, the article focuses on a group of men who reject the ostensibly carefree ikumen image and who explicitly and "proactively" (shutaiteki) define themselves as "househusbands." The article explores the interactive and creative process through which this marginal group of men "crafts" their new identities as self-reliant, responsible caretakers of children and the home. I suggest that these men affirm their potentially new masculine identity through relating to—and differentiating themselves from—three symbolic others: the ikumen, the trendy and cool but not really committed new father; the sarariiman , the epitome of Japanese hegemonic masculinity; and the dedicated housewife (sengyō shufu), the symbol of Japanese femininity. Adopting a perspective that does not hesitate to look at the potential of change in gender relations, the article poses crucial questions about the potential househusbands have to undo conventional understandings of masculinity and fathering—and, through this, "undo gender." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of the researcher's linguistic fluency or competence (or lack thereof) on the data collection process during fieldwork and subsequent analysis. We focus on researcher interaction with the field in a largely monolingual setting in Japan, and the multilingual setting of an international school in Indonesia. Researcher positionality during fieldwork shifts with their (perceived) linguistic fluency, which in turn affects the data. Despite the emphasis on reflexive ethnography, anthropological research rarely interrogates the impact of the researcher's linguistic fluency on the field. We attribute this silence to the perception that highlighting researcher language ability may compromise their ethnographic authority. In this paper we use self-reflexivity to make visible the ethnographic impact that the researcher's language ability has on fieldwork processes. We argue that being self-reflexive about our linguistic fluency, or lack thereof, does not necessarily compromise our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan the average age of first marriage continues to rise steadily, and people are spending a greater proportion of their adult life single. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of singles express desire to marry one day. The reasons for the rise in late and non-marriage are varied and complex, but difficulty in finding an appropriate or compatible partner has emerged as one of the key issues. Against this backdrop, thekonkatsu(‘marriage-partner hunting’) industry has emerged, ostensibly to assist singles to find marriage partners. In this paper, we examinekonkatsupopular literature, online matchmaking sites and the perceptions of single women andkonkatsuworkers to consider the ways that contemporary discourses of gender and marriage are reflected, (re)produced or challenged. The ‘male-breadwinner family’ model, based on the functional roles of ‘supportive wife’ and ‘provider husband’, is increasingly both undesirable and untenable for single Japanese women and men. However, values and norms pertaining to gender and marriage as portrayed in matchmaking sites and in somekonkatsuliterature remain remarkably unchanged. In this context, single women’s ambivalence towardskonkatsumay reflect both ambivalence to marriage as a goal per se, and uneasiness with the gendered roles in marriage purveyed bykonkatsudiscourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the feminist perceptions and identification of the members of a Kyoto, Japan-based women's group, as well as their engagement in feminist praxis. It states that some members of Notices, the women's group, keep at a distance from the feminist term because of its observed implications, such as aggressiveness, non-conformism, or radicalism. It says that the group can be considered as feminist, considering the praxis-focused model of Patricia S. Misciagno. It adds that the connection between womanhood's individual experiences and wider gender inequality issues is being emphasized by Notices.

The article discusses research on feminist identification in contemporary Japan, focusing on women's groups, government women's centres and individual feminists. Constructions of "Japanese" womanhood must be understood as embedded in specific relational contexts that reflect international relations, including wars and globalisation, as much as domestic social trends and demographics.

In this article the author examines two different women's centers in Japan and uses them to illustrate the connections between the Japanese government and non-governmental women's organizations in the country. She discusses the role that government based women's centers play in Japan, noting that they are fundamental players in the implementation of gender policies and in the promotion of social equality for women.