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Science, technology and innovation (STI) policies increasingly operate in a multilevel policy governance structure. This paper analyzes the variety of local authorities' innovation support mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan, drawing on a unique data set of 241 local SME research and development (R&D) subsidy programmes at the prefecture and city/municipality levels. The variation of SME R&D subsidy programmes in terms of institutional forms and coordination practices of multilevel innovation support mechanisms is analyzed as manifestations of the complex territorial adaptability. The institutional co-evolutionary processes between different levels of governments help both vertical and horizontal coordination in a highly centralized system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-case analysis explores national level internationalisation of higher education (IoHE) policies in Singapore and Japan. Through comparison of the state level internationalisation strategies, this paper aims to highlight how each country's unique policy environment impacts their approach to IoHE. The analysis suggests that despite the differing national circumstances and ultimate approaches to internationalisation, both states use it primarily as a means to stay competitive in the twenty-first century global knowledge-based economy. This suggests that while IoHE does build bridges between nations, institutions, and individuals within and between regions, within these cases it is being driven by nationally-centred rationales. While some criticize a competition orientation in IoHE, even with such rationales it may still serve to drive greater collaboration and integration among East Asian higher education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which multiculturalism is debated and practiced forms an important frame for 'mixed' ethnic identities to take shape. In this paper, I explore how young migrants of Japanese-Filipino 'mixed' parentage make sense of their ethnic identities in Japan. My key findings are that dominant discourses constructing the Japanese nation as a monoracial, monolingual and monoethnic nation leave no space for diversity within the definition of 'Japanese', creating the necessity for alternative labels like haafu or 'mixed roots'. Japanese multiculturalism does not provide alternative narratives of Japaneseness but preserves the myth of Japanese racial homogeneity by recognizing diversity while maintaining ethnic and racial boundaries. Lastly, these categories have not been actively questioned by my respondents. Rather, they show flexibility in adopting these various labels - haafu, 'mixed roots', Filipino, Firipin-jin - in different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subnational fiscal performance has been receiving a lot of attention from researchers in various disciplines. However, there is very little published on the impact of citizen involvement on fiscal performance. This paper shows that a lack of citizen involvement in the electoral process was associated with fiscal performance in all 807 city-level Japanese municipalities from 2006 to 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Cool Japan' is an instance of Japanese government's nation branding exercise as part of its soft power projection in which the unique selling point is identified as Japanese national identity. In this paper, I examine the relationship between Cool Japan and Japanese national identity and highlight a tension in the construction. Cool Japan is about emphasizing Japan's attractiveness for public diplomacy, while the top-down nature of the branding undermines the imagery that the branding is designed to convey. I show that policy elites resolve this tension by invoking the traditional Japanese identity narratives that construct Japan into both a non-Western and an un-Asian entity, reproducing the myth of Japanese uniqueness. I argue that the elite narratives surrounding Cool Japan readily replicate the language reminiscent of prewar identity construction. Despite the contemporary popularity of manga and anime, the purported 'coolness' of these products are framed within older constructions of Japanese Self that can trace their pedigree back to the nineteenth century. Using the minutes of committee meetings, policy documents, as well as media interviews given by policy- and business elites, I show that Cool Japan is effectively a twenty first century rendition of the familiar Japanese identity construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive planning has been a key activity of local governments in Japan. This paper discusses the history of the comprehensive planning concept and argues that the purpose of comprehensive planning in large Japanese cities (dai-toshi) differs from that in Western cities. Specifically, Japanese comprehensive plans reflect Japan's distinctive planning and political culture, such as the country's history of granting gradually increased local autonomy to its cities under the Local Government Act, and the implementation of top-down plans prepared and implemented by powerful mayors and bureaucracies. Since year 2000 comprehensive plans for Japanese large cities have begun to change due to lower rates of economic growth, population stability, and ageing, alongside the challenges of introducing more efficiency and effectiveness into the planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of norovirus food poisoning from oyster consumption can be minimized by consumers, as thorough cooking can destroy norovirus. This paper uses data from 23 prefectures in Japan during 1970–2010 to examine how the demand for oysters responds to this manageable risk. We find that the incidence rate of norovirus has no effect on the price of oysters in prefectures that specialize in oysters for cooking, whereas it has significant negative impacts in prefectures that produce oysters to be eaten raw. These results indicate that consumers respond differently to manageable and non-manageable risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past, Japanese electronics firms have been known for following vertical integration strategies. Such strategies are consistent with Japanese managerial preferences, traditional relationships, and institutions in Japan. However, changes in the technological and competitive environment have resulted in increasing vertical specialization in the electronics industry outside of Japan. This paper examines whether and to what extent Japanese information technology and consumer electronics firms involved in active matrix Liquid Crystal Display production implemented and maintained integration strategies. While focusing on one industry, this paper aims to shed further light on changing attitudes and practices in Japanese management relating to strategy and internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As there are many anthropologists in Japan, including those who work elsewhere, the focus here is largely on foreign anthropologists who choose Japan as a field, and whose numbers have increased exponentially during the working lifetime of the author. The perspective is from Europe, but the vital cooperation of local anthropologists in Japan is acknowledged from the outset. The paper recounts ways in which these anthropologists have themselves cooperated, reviews a selection of the theory and ethnography they have espoused, and demonstrates the importance of anthropology as a discipline essential for a good understanding of Japan and its inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the defense interdependence between Japan and the United States (US) in the short and long run and to investigate whether Japan is a follower or a free rider of the “US” over the 1975–2009 period. Given that mutual aid between Japan and the US has been maintained, the empirical results suggest that Japanese defense has a stable relationship with US defense. Furthermore, the results reveal that Japan is not a free rider but rather a follower in the period under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is an ethnographic study of weekly intercultural meetings held at an alternative community space run by a large private university in Tokyo, Japan. Through a ‘team ethnography’, the two authors of this paper illuminate ways in which alternative modes of learning were promoted and institutional boundaries were transgressed and unlearned. We argue that this was made possible by its spatial as well as organisational liminality. We begin with an explanation of Turner's notion of ‘liminality’, which provides our conceptual framework. This is followed by a reflexive account of our methodological approach, which leads us to the ethnographic description of our field site and our engagement in the field. We then analytically situate our ethnography in the larger institutional and social context. Our analysis focuses on the transgression and ‘unlearning’ of professional hierarchies, age-related, ethnic and linguistic boundaries that permeate the mainstream Aoba institution as well as how alternative, experiential learning is promoted at this liminal site. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much has been written about the many Western experts, particularly engineers, who travelled to Japan and contributed to the country's modernization in the years following the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this paper it is argued that more emphasis could be placed on the contribution made, not only by experts in situ, but also by agents who remained in the West and sent out instructions and materials, enabling extraordinary changes under the new centralized Japanese government. The author traces the achievements of the Waters and Robinson families who, as agents, engineers, entrepreneurs and opportunists, combined to contribute to a decade of advancement now known to Japanese historians as the Waters era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kyoto has become synonymous with heritage tourism on a mass scale. Most accounts emphasize the role of Kyoto as the ancient capital, the arts and crafts that developed in the service of the court, and the wealth of temples and shrines. Yet, this article analyses the ways that Japanese historical events from the Bakumatsu era are represented, packaged, and consumed in contemporary Kyoto. Through a case study of two sites dedicated to the life and death of Sakamoto Ryōma, it is argued that the nostalgia exemplified in these sites is not one of pre-modern heritage, but the emergence of modern Japan. The sites examined here commemorate and commodify an important national moment, one that combines the bravado of samurai culture with the import of modern ideals. Through a pastiche of artefacts and experiences these sites recreate Ryōma's story for a contemporary audience, lauding the turn to modernity through Ryōma as the quintessential young hero who embodied new global values. Thus, with Ryōma at the fore, this paper analyses the ways that heritage sites mobilize specific moments in history to construct tourist sites and visitor experiences, and how those places take on new meanings within the context of contemporary Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In research on gender and teaching in higher education, the experiences of male teachers as men, and of whiteness in a non-majority-white context have received little attention. As one step towards addressing this gap in the literature, this paper analyses interview accounts of white Western men working as English language teachers in Japanese higher education. The paper demonstrates, first, ways in which disembodied academic identities are constructed by erasing the men's racialised gender and sexuality. Second, it shows how favourable images of white Western male teachers are produced through a series of negative contrasts based on gender and race. Third, it suggests that men's homosocial networks may serve to facilitate male predominance in the Japanese university system. The analysis contributes to current understandings about the construction of white Western masculinities in academic institutions, in international education, and in English language teaching as a globalised industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article briefly introduces and comments on the EPAT special issue 'Philosophical reflections on modern education in Japan: strategies and prospects' edited by Morimichi Kato. There are seven papers excluding the editor's introductory essay. This special issue provides a unique approach to Japanese educational philosophy by offering and deliberating features and concepts peculiar to Japanese education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to identify key challenges facing Japan's higher education since the early 1990s and their impacts on major research themes. In this paper key challenges include those resulting from the decline in the 18-year population, the cultivation of high-quality university graduates, the incorporation of national universities, the diversification of higher education systems, and globalization and internationalization of higher education. The paper concludes by arguing that challenges facing Japan's higher education and research are unquestionable and considerable. Because several challenges are different from that of any other countries, Japan has to find out solutions to tackle them by its own efforts. Furthermore, in response to these challenges, there has seen an evident transformation in a vast majority of higher education research institutes and centers from a purely academic-based research to more practical and operational research. Besides, at a policy level, numerous research themes and agenda have been developed and implemented by the Japanese government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the gap between national level minority education policies and local implementation in Japan, this paper considers this gap as a “soft middle” whereby local communities and schools have considerable leeway in how they implement policies. In particular, this paper focuses on Japan's largest minority group, theburakuminand their educational experiences. It traces the origins of educational policies targetingburakuminand how these policies were designed with this soft middle in mind. Following this, the paper considers two different localized approaches, both under policies directed at theburakuminand after the termination of such policies. It argues that schools can selectively implement policies while still fitting within the parameters of the law. Finally, it demonstrates that considering the soft middle provides for a richer, more nuanced understanding of educational systems, beyond monolithic assumptions of national systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Contemporary Japan - Journal of the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Indicator 4.7.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) measures the extent to which Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) are incorporated into educational documents. An appropriate framework is crucial to accurately monitor the level of incorporation, but a framework that can confirm validity is not yet present. This case study uses Japan to explore a valid analytical framework that can measure the level of ESD and GCED incorporation. By proposing our framework and testing its validity, we developed an analytical framework which consists of eight topics organised with three themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors explain the purpose and context for the 2009 International Symposium on Economic Education that was the source for articles on four nations with relatively developed systems for economic education: Australia, England, Japan, and Korea. The authors highlight several key comparisons from the four articles that appear in this Journal of Economic Education issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's policy toward India since 2000 appears to be a sign of new directions in Japan's security policy since its decision to establish a strategic partnership with India is different from the previous policy of exclusive bilateralism centering on the US-Japan alliance. Nonetheless, Japan's recent security partnership with India is part of Japan's long-term effort to support the US-led liberal political and economic order in East Asia. This paper argues that Japan's policy toward India since 2000 has evolved toward becoming fully aligned with US policy toward the Indo-Pacific region. The critical shift in Tokyo's policy toward India came in spring 2005, when Japanese political leaders and policy elites came to recognize India as an important balancer against China as a result of the violent anti-Japanese demonstrations in China. They decided to support including India into the East Asian Summit and incorporated India into their new values diplomacy. This shift in Japan's policy toward India, along with efforts to increase interoperability between Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces and Indian Navy, coincides with US strategy to bring India into the US-led coalition to balance against China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City branding is a managerial procedure which offers any given city a distinct identity; providing cities with a chance to present as different, positive and distinguishable from other competitors. In Japan, the use of mascots for city branding is often part of urban planning strategy.Kumamonis the most successful regional mascot in Japan and offers an opportunity to explore the nature of mascot city branding strategies. Employing a large number of promotional strategies, the local prefecture created a uniqueKumamoncity brand and enhanced the local image, resulting in significant economic benefits. The paper argues that five main factors contributed to the success ofKumamon: government support, power of emotional attachment and anthropomorphism, efficient public transport and tourism services, the mascot branding, and social media. Understanding howKumamonmascot branding succeeded can assist makers to decide whether to replicate the use of mascot branding in other cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the impact of the trope of theshōjo, or girl trope in post-war Japanese cinema, this paper argues for the repeated motif as a key factor in the creation of a particular affective economy around the memorialization of war in Japan. I trace the development of theshōjomotif from the post-defeat era through the anti-nuclear films and activist movements of the early 1950s to show how the affect generated by the repeated trope drew real-life events into a persuasive cycle of repetition. The tone of this repeated trope thereby came to dominate the practice of public memorialization of war in Japan. Today’s post-pacifist Japan is informed by these past moments in the memorializing process, which impact on contemporary anti-war and anti-nuclear protests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the influence of the formative brand heritage construct on perceived authenticity at repaired/reconstructed heritage sites, understood in relation to the Japanese practice of kintsugi (...), thereby extending Kolar and Zabkar's consumer-based model of authenticity. It notes that variations of kintsugi occur in architectural heritage conservation worldwide. We establish relationships between brand heritage, cultural motivations, perceptions of authenticity, relational value, and consumer commitment, based on questioning 768 visitors to repaired and reconstructed Japanese heritage sites. Analysis using partial least squares found consumer preconceptions of brand heritage stimulating increased perceptions of authenticity at sites of limited historical provenance, thereby increasing visitor commitment to visiting. Heritage managers should use marketing strategies that effectively communicate a site's brand heritage prior to, during, and after the tourist experience. Even where the material components of the site are entirely reconstructed, this can lead to relational value, and improved consumer commitment. In sustainability terms, holistic brand marketing can increase site revenue, help conservation maintenance and, by increasing repeat visits, reduce footfall damage at other "unreconstructed" sites. Practical implications include better artefact and information presentation, ensuring synergy between site experiences and its purported values, especially through tour guide narratives and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the emergence of post-disaster ‘voluntours’ following Japan's 2011 disasters. An overwhelming, yet haphazard volunteer response to previous disasters spurred extensive collaboration between the state, relief organizations, and would-be volunteers in the wake of 3.11. However, when mapped onto to the massive devastation of the 3.11 disasters, this collaboration almost immediately turned many post-disaster volunteers into ‘voluntourists’, a problematic category commonly associated with visitors from the Global North volunteering for social and environmental causes while on holiday in the Global South. Japan's post-disaster voluntours demonstrate how uncoordinated and potentially risky volunteers have been channelled into a carefully-controlled and long-term response that satisfies people's desire to help disaster victims, while ultimately encouraging tourism (sansvolunteering) as the most desirable form of disaster recovery assistance. This shift toward voluntourism potentially undermines post-disaster volunteering and threatens to trap parts of Tōhoku, like other disaster sites, in a position of permanently ‘post-disaster’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to expand the scope of studies of Japaneseshōjo manga(girls’ comics) by examining early 1980s and 1990sshōjo mangathat were primarily targeted at the youngest band of readers, stories with early adolescent heroines in light, romantic, and fairytale-like narratives. These have been paid comparatively little scholarly attention thus far compared with texts that enact more explicit gender subversion, such as stories that feature same-sex male love and cross-dressed fighting girls. We argue, however, that the “maidenesque” (otomechikku) subgenres enact complex and fascinating versions of girlhood. Furthermore, we propose that these neglected manga benefit especially from an analysis that prioritises the visual dimensions ofshōjo manga. We apply these suggestions to our analysis of fashion and aesthetic in heretofore neglected “maidenesque” works by Takase Ryō. Rather than simply maintaining conservative norms of femininity and heterosexual romance, these works explore gender issues within the “safe” trappings of girlishness. Examining the visual and textual dimensions of such works is vital for a more accurate picture of girlhood and gender as it is more broadly imagined inshōjo manga. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

How should we understand the relationship between nationalism and discourses of national decline, and more specifically the discourses of a shrinking nation? Driven by this question, this article highlights how bleak imaginings of the future also work to construct the relationship of the individual to the putative national community, creating forms of sentimental national belonging. This article analyses an emerging genre of best-selling books in Japan, Mirai no nenpyō [The chronology of the future] series, that present a dismal vision of Japan's national demographic future. Their goal is to provoke a sense of national urgency by encouraging Japanese nationals to feel personally the shrinking nation through imagining its coming consequences for everyday life. Such narrations of an imagined shrinking community act to create a timeless sense of national belonging, with daily lived experience in the imagined future interpreted through the lens of the contracting nation. Importantly, the future that these discourses present is nationalized within boundaries separating it from global developments and intercourse. Ultimately, this form of nationalism is constituted not by dying for the nation, but instead by people seeing the continued stability of everyday life as intricately tied to the fate of the national community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite different pathways and approaches to housing and public provision, considerations of East Asian developmental regimes have tended to categorise Japan and South Korea as different versions of a similar type of welfare regime. This paper addresses the roles housing systems and policies have played in these two societies in both the global context of neo-liberalisation and the regional context of developmental states. In the last decade Japanese and Korean governments have reacted strongly to shifts in global conditions, but ostensibly in contradictory ways. While Japan has deregulated or dissolved housing subsidy frameworks and marketised housing practices, Korea has embarked on a programme of public housing construction and increasingly applied market adjustment measures. This paper evaluates these transformations, and the implications for understanding divergence and the developing role of housing in East Asian contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalization of higher education is considered to be a major policy agenda in the global knowledge society. For Japan, internationalization has been a key driver in academic and social advancement, while its traditional culture and national identity have also been retained. Recently, a series of policies have been presented by the government, university, and industry to attract more students and top calibre researchers from Asia and further afield, and to enhance exchange and collaboration, internationalization at home, and global human resource development. Concurrently, the controversial nature of internationalization has been pointed out, as well as the stagnant mobility of Japanese students and their inward-looking attitude. This paper discusses the internationalization of Japanese higher education by examining the relevant policy, practice, and perceptions of the people and institutions concerned. The major findings reveal the complexity of internationalization as a dynamic process of change, its vulnerability and marginality, and the extent of the gap between policy and practice. The author also addresses the increased relevance of the research in this field to policy-making and practice in education and its contribution to the production of new knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present data on recent trends in private consumption and in possible determinants of private consumption (such as GDP, household incomes, household saving rates, household wealth, and employment conditions) in the group of seven (G7) countries and find that there has been significant variability among the G7 countries not only in their private consumption growth rates but also in the determinants of private consumption growth during the 2002–2007 period. With respect to Japan, we find that private consumption has been relatively stagnant during the 2002–2007 period and that the stagnation of private consumption has been due to the stagnation of household income and of household wealth and the relative stability of the household saving rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a strategy for successfully implementing the teaching portfolio in higher education institutions in Japan. The teaching portfolio has gained recognition in Japan in the last few years as an effective instrument for improving and showcasing teaching performance. It is well known that the implementation process is very important for successful integration of new practices. This paper presents a practical implementation strategy that includes planning the appropriate structure of the contents and processes of the portfolio, providing comprehensive information, and supporting networking among institutions in order to administer this strategy effectively. 本論文は, 日本の高等教育機関においてティーチング・ポートフォリオの導入および活用を円滑に進める方略について紹介し, 論じることを目的としている．ティーチング・ポートフォリオは教員の教育活動を可視化し, かつ改善する方法として近年日本でも注目を集めているが, その効果を発揮するには「正しい導入」が重要な鍵となる．本研究では,日本のコンテクストに適したポートフォリオの構成や導入プロセスについての検討に始まり, 包括的な情報提供の整備, さらには機関相互のネットワーク構築の支援を含めた総合的な導入支援環境について, 実践から得られた知見に基づいた提案を行っている. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberal agendas, globalism and the marketisation of higher education have had profound implications for teacher education throughout the world, including increasing standardisation, accountability and credentialism. The rhetoric is 'teachers need better training'. However, raising the bar to a master's degree without analysing carefully the rationale for such a reform seems short-sighted. What alternatives are there to a master's degree as a standard in teacher accreditation? What are the significant issues facing learners of the twenty-first century? In a post 9/11 world, with drastic changes stemming from globalisation, what is important? Teachers need global citizenship education to nurture global citizens who have the knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate phenomena in a rapidly changing world. In this paper, a narrative case study of a unique initial teacher education programme at a Japanese university is juxtaposed with discussion of a well-established Canadian programme offering multiple pathways into teaching. The results show that effective teacher induction integrating global citizenship education and providing a gradual acculturation into teaching is possible within undergraduate programmes, providing opportunities for sharing the transcultural personal, practical and professional knowledge of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, a new type of human resource management (HRM) practices called ‘performance-based HRM practices’ (seika-shugi in Japanese) emerged in the 1990s, and has been adopted by many Japanese firms. In this paper, I illustrate how these type of practices emerged as a management fashion, diffused across a large number of Japanese firms, and became institutionalized in the Japanese business context; and discuss the relationship between performance-based HRM practices and firm performance. This illustration is used to develop a theoretical framework to better understand the relationship between HRM practices and firm performance by integrating theories of management fashions, institutionalization and strategic HRM. Suggestions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the emergence of the so-called ‘liberal historiography’ in the mid 1990s, historical revisionism in Japan has been one of the most hotly debated academic topics in Japanese studies. While the majority of the current scholarship focuses on the structure of the revisionist texts and the individuals behind them, the case study presented in this paper seeks to explore the way young readers in Japan actually receive the revisionist texts, with a particular focus on the revisionist manga. Building on Stuart Hall's conceptualization of the relationship between media producers and the audience, this paper analyzes the results of a survey conducted among students of two Japanese universities. Its main argument can be divided into two parts. In terms of empirical findings it shows that in general the respondents engage in critical reading of those narratives that contradict the dominant discourse. Drawing on these findings the paper argues that academic scrutiny of a certain cultural product needs to take into account the broader discourse when speculating on its possible effects on the reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the development of two similar academic disciplines in Japan, i.e. firstly practiced comparative education and recently flourishing intercultural education. The major focus of this paper is to analyse how these educational studies have been brought to, and practised in, Japan. Both comparative education and intercultural education are relatively young academic disciplines in the country, and their conceptualisation is still ongoing, as is their methodology and future direction. Despite considerable overlap, it is argued that comparative education – which evolved in the form of investigating nationally framed education – and intercultural education – which focuses on diversity in society beyond national frameworks – have grown differently. It is further argued that the development of both comparative and intercultural education is closely related to Japan’s positioning of ‘self’ against the ‘others’ in Japanese history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has been the largest source country of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, excluding overseas Chinese territories and tax havens. However, Japan's large-scale but relatively closed production networks have received little discussion in previous research. Two peaks in Japanese investment can be distinguished: the first led by the electronics industry in the mid-1990s and the second by the automotive industry after 2003. Cross-border production network building in the electronics industry is quite different from the scenarios of conventional global production networks (GPN) theory, where leading firms dominate the building of global production networks. In this paper, I demonstrate that in the development of the electronics industry, the institutional advantage small and medium enterprises have of knowing how to operate production bases in Southern China has enabled them to guide leading firms in building cross-border production networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper analyzes public policy and public opinion responses toward immigrants in Germany and Japan, two countries whose immigration policies have relied on blood purity (jus sanguinis). The paper retraces the rationale for jus sanguinis and contends that it was adopted at the turn of the century in both countries out of political convenience. The principles and goals of immigration policies are compared cautioning that better principles must not mean better outcomes. It is reiterated that Germany has made a politically motivated move away from the ethnic monocultural concept, whereas Japan still hangs on more or less to the old model of silent and subtle assimilation. The more dissuasive Japanese model of tight immigration control, deportation and monocultural assimilation isthen compared to the more permissive German immigration model. A comparison of identity discourses in the form of Japanese Nihonjinron and German Leitkultur shows that both countries struggle with identifying and asserting their core values and that this has a negative impact on integration issues. The paper concludes that Germany has failed to bear the full consequences of its ambitious plans by taking into account the values, beliefs and worldviews of its immigrants, whereas Japan continues to treat immigrants as temporary guests denying any need for long-term integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances a way of thinking about the quality of Japan's democratic polity by reviewing a set of constitutive attributes that define and contribute to its governing structure and processes. In Japan, the basic characteristics that accompany modern democracy, such as rule of law, accountability, responsiveness, individual freedom, and fundamental rights, can be taken for granted. This paper addresses more nuanced features of these characteristics, their historical origins, and how they are born out in the actual working of Japan's democracy today. In particular, it highlights various aspects of 'hybrid' institutions and their political consequences, including the coexistence of conflicting governing principles and the unusual procedure for the selection of the prime minister as stipulated in the constitution. Also discussed are inconsistencies in the electoral rules used for various levels of governments and how they have inhibited the development of political parties and stable party systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whaling and whale watching to determine the viability of their divergent practices – and explains why they coexist in some cases. Whale watching is often viewed as an ecotourism product and presented as an activity that is fast growing, holds potential for local regeneration, promotes conservation and sustainable practice and is ecological and profitable. Whaling is currently under considerable scrutiny and relies on economic and increasingly cultural rhetoric to support its viability. Contrary to some statements, it is rarely a long-established practice. The paper uses Japan and Iceland as examples to examine the sustainability frameworks and political rhetoric surrounding these activities, and asks whether whale watching might offer an alternative economy for the whaling/fishing communities in an era of conflict over sustainable resource use. The paper finds that whale watching participation grew from 9 million tourists in 2001 to 13 million in 2008, with revenues rising from $1 billion to $2.1 billion per annum over that period. Whaling relies heavily on state and private subsidies. We also find, however, that whaling and whale watching can co-exist, that both use sustainability-based rhetoric, but that global trends in public opinion and taste favour whale watching over whaling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the corporatization of national universities, the environment surrounding Japanese universities has dramatically changed in various respects. A series of government-led attempts have intended to support the domestic colleges and universities in gaining a competitive edge by improving the quality of teaching and research as well as guaranteeing the international validity of the country's higher education system. Impacts of all the challenges that have been tackled with internal efforts in the last few years could be enormous on the personnel workload. However, little is known about the impacts of Japan's recent university education reform, particularly on the changing workload of the faculty who engage at the forefront in student teaching and advising, administrative roles as well as research activities. Using results from individual faculty interviews, this paper attempts to link the changing workload of Japanese professors with specific reasons that are rooted in the country's recent university education reform. Reviewing the effects of the reform on faculty workload provides us with important insights for the long term and guides us to prevent the derailment from the endeavour to which a significant amount of resources have been dedicated by the country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the natural monopoly features of infrastructure industries, together with their strategic roles, have been important elements in state intervention. The aim of this paper is to evaluate what relative weight was attached to market failure problems on the one hand and geo-political factors on the other. For the period 1830-1939, how far were geo-political factors stronger than natural monopoly problems in accounting for the scale of intervention in the various countries of the Western World? How far did the policy instruments for security and market failure overlap? Whilst most of the infrastructure sectors are covered - including internal telecommunications, coal, gas, shipping, electricity and water - special attention is devoted to international submarine telegraph tables and railways. The paper concludes by demonstrating strong differences between Britain and USA on the one hand and Continental Europe plus Japan on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of a larger study that investigates the cause of increased singlehood among women in Japan. On the basis of findings from qualitative research this paper argues that Japanese corporate practices and culture have severely limited women's opportunities for romantic encounters. In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted in the Tokyo area with forty never-married and married women aged 25 to 46. The data were analyzed inductively. The findings reveal that long work hours for men, and in some cases for women, impeded opportunities for women to form romantic relationships in several ways: (i) men were seldom available; (ii) many married women expressed discontent with marriage due to the absence of husbands; many single women held ambivalent views toward marriage after having heard negative stories from married friends; (iii) some single women found it unappealing that corporate men could talk about nothing but work; and (iv) single women with careers regularly worked overtime and their devotion to work was regarded as 'unfeminine'. Additionally, workplaces are often segregated by gender, further limiting opportunities for single women to meet potential partners. This paper sheds critical light on the culture and practices of Japanese corporations, arguing that such culture and practices create serious consequences for individuals' lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares two sets of US-led postwar reconstruction strategies: the Reverse Course in Japan after World War II and the New Way Forward in Iraq in 2007 and 2008. Relying on Antonio Gramsci's concept of power, the article argues that in the wake of military victory in Japan and Iraq, the US attempted to found a new historical bloc in the occupied countries, a historical bloc centred on capitalism as a mode of production and US ideas and values as the ideological cement coalescing the Japanese and Iraqi population and elite around the US project. The paper contends that consistency of action between reconstruction policies, and between reconstruction policies and regional and global foreign policies, is the key to the efficiency of postwar reconstruction projects. Consistency of action refers to the maximisation of power resources and to their use in a coherent way; that is avoiding opposition and favouring complementarities between means of power used. Such consistency was achieved in Japan while its attainment in Iraq is less obvious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the characteristics of early childhood care and education (ECCE) assessment and identifies current challenges and changes in the assessment of ECCE in Japan. There are differences in assessment between ECCE and elementary school education. Assessment in ECCE is used to focus on making better plans, improving the understanding of children and improving one's professional skills in Japan. However, the challenges from elementary schools, including commercialism, and various family expectations have forced changes in ECCE attitudes towards assessment. This research suggests that the goals of assessment should be to ensure that institutions are administered in a way that provides the most appropriate practice and environment for the development of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reformulates and extends Polanyi's main insights in The Great Transformations (2001 [1944]) and attempts to theorize the societal countermovement against neoliberalism by illustrating the cases of Korea and Japan. Polanyi's main approach was to synthesize three critical domains: the state, market, and society, and his notion of double movement should be understood as such. Predicated on his double movement, I analytically decompose the mechanism of societal countermovement, emphasizing the importance of social organizations that aggregate people's insecurities and translate them into a political voice capable of acquiring social protection. Applying this analytical framework of the double movement to Korea and Japan reveals that the problem with the conventional understanding of the double movement is that it necessarily arrives at social compensation equilibrium. This paper implies that a highly contentious society, like Korea's, and a highly docile society, like Japan's, may both hinder social welfare provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on various sources of official discourse and public commentary pertaining to the recent implementation of two large-scale strategies aimed at internationalising student and academic staff populations within Japanese higher education institutions, this paper will present a number of broad multifaceted perspectives addressing those issues which may hinder the success of the two strategies. Announced in 2008 and 2009 respectively, the '300,000 international students plan' and the 'Global 30' Project aim to enable 30 select universities to attract 300,000 international students to Japan by 2020. The 30 institutions, known as centres for internationalisation will each strive to recruit between 3000 and 8000 international students from across the globe. However, since the late 19th century Japanese attempts at the importation of ethnolinguistic diversity into the education system have been greeted with accusations of insincerity and the masking of a predominantly self-serving nationalistic agenda. The current paper will also seek to assess whether the self-serving nationalistic argument is still valid in relation to contemporary internationalisation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the post-war period Australian Prime Ministers have played a proactive role in formulating foreign policy towards Japan. This paper explores the role of executive leadership towards Japan and its impact on the bilateral relationship. The Howard period and current Rudd-led initiatives on whaling, nuclear disarmament, climate change and regional architecture are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that cultural policy and copyright law have paid insufficient attention to the rise of mini-creators, people who get inspiration from existing copyrighted works and add to them to create new expressions. With the various creative and distributive technologies available today, they attempt to recontextualize cultural products they consume and express themselves, but their activities tend to be on the borderline of copyright infringement. Examination of lawsuits related to video game modification in the USA and in Japan will show different judicial approaches to the spread of modification devices for users, but commonly reveal the failure of copyright law to come to terms with their activities. It is suggested that copyright law should recognize their creativity and contribution to the enrichment of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a country with the most rapidly ageing society in history, Japan is facing strong demand to develop an environment for older adults to find meaning (ikigai) in their late life. In response, the Japanese government has encouraged policies pertaining to 'social participation' of older adults, particularly in employment and lifelong learning. Although the government papers do not use the term 'productive ageing,' debates and discussion on productive ageing among academics and researchers have centred on older adults' labour participation. Since Japanese older adults report one of the lowest satisfaction rates in quality of life among industrialized nations, a structural reform in social policies related to income maintenance, labour, education, and long-term care in Japan is warranted to realize the true essence of ' productive ageing.' The paper will focus on examining today's policies and programs for older adults including employment, volunteerism, career-related education, and family caregiving. Key challenges and related issues will be discussed. [image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]