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In the spring of 2011, Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami that brought in its wake devastation and a severe threat of a nuclear crisis. The threat of this crisis took the world by storm because it had implications not only for the people of Japan but for other parts of the world. This paper analyzes how an US-based online news source, CNN.com and a Japan-based online news source, Asahi.com, framed the 3/11 disaster. This comparative analysis of how online news sources from two parts of the world covered the crisis offers a unique understanding of how culture and medium might impact reporting of an environmental crisis that happened locally but had global implications. An examination of loss, threat, cause, responsibility and solution frames of the CNN.com and Asahi.com coverage documented that while both outlets were similar in how they stressed the responsibility and solution frames, CNN.com talked significantly more about the threat frame compared to Asahi.com. Similarly, Asahi.com talked significantly more about the cause and loss frames than CNN.com. Through its findings, this paper offers insights into cross-cultural crises framing by online sources and expands the literature on media framing of environmental crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have argued that interpersonal networks are more dominated by kin and work ties in Japan than in America. This paper seeks to examine the extent to which these differences manifest in the voice calling patterns of smartphone users in these two countries. We draw on data collected from a smartphone application that we designed to anonymously collect mobile log and pop-up survey data. The application was used to collect data from 226 adults in living in Japan and 195 adults living in America. Using descriptive and multivariate statistics we compare the voice call interaction patterns of respondents in these two countries. We conclude by discussing the extent to which the concept of interpersonal collectivism can be applied to understand different patterns of mobile communication in Japan and America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares media relations in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. There are several significant findings. First, the media-public relations practitioner relationship is more informal and closer in Asia than it is in the U.S. Second, media ethics, such as gift giving and informal gatherings, are different in these Asian cultures and in the U.S. Finally, the U.S. journalists and public relations practitioners have more positive attitudes toward on-line types of source-reporter relations than Asian journalists and practitioners do. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on the findings of this comparative analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although U.S.-Japanese communication has been the frequent focus of intercultural communication scholars, there have been few studies of interpersonal U.S.-Japan communication from a critical metatheoretical perspective. This paper attempts to fill in this large gap. First, the differences between an approach focusing on cultural differences and a critical metatheoretical approach are discussed. Then a case study based on the author's personal experience of having lived 19 years in Japan is presented in order to illustrate the ways in which a critical metatheoretical approach is able to account for many crucial aspects of interpersonal communication between U.S. Americans and Japanese that would otherwise be neglected and ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]