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Investigates impact of national culture on interorganizational relationships among organizations. Matches 35 Japanese and American companies by their business types. Reveals that the network of shared public relations firms was loosely connected--American companies were more central. Indicates the network structure of shared public relations firms was influenced by differences in national cultures and business types. (PA)

The purpose of this article is to identify the key issues arising in relation to the existence of de facto (common law, nai’en) marriages in Japan. This paper will first show the broader context of the impact of the pandemic on legal-family relations in Japan. The discussion will then focus on the issue of de facto marriages, i.e. the genesis and increasing role of de facto marriages in Japan will be presented. Indeed, there have been increasing symptoms of the inclusion of informal relationships close to the marriage relationship in a legal context. The examples presented in this article provide a starting point for an analysis of the demands that have emerged in Japanese public space in relation to the specific needs of the COVID-19 pandemic era, i.e. the change of the unified spousal name system, as well as the issue of access to the partner’s medical information, and legal regulation related to parental authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The administration of former Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III pursued a policy of “lay[ing] the groundwork for a potential web of inter-locking strategic partnerships” (Philippine NSC 2011, 29), essentially “expand[ing]… defense and security engagements” (Del Rosario 2013a) with other countries apart from the United States. The Aquino government broadened relations with other nations, including Japan, the country’s first strategic partner. This study aims to determine the conditions under which small powers undertake strategic partnerships. Focusing on the PhilippinesJapan strategic partnership, this study argues that the said partnership is driven by the need to support the current international order, promote capacity-building, and enhance the existing multilateral architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the twentieth century, Japan produced an extraordinary documentary film heritage around the rural world which has not received sufficient attention. This article identifies three different approaches to the rural in Japanese film history: first, the wartime interest in place as providing an "authentic essence" of a national identity. Second, the postwar representation of the rural in public relations films (PR eiga), mainly interested in geography. And third, the release of Ogawa's Summer in Sanrizuka in 1968 which brought a new dimension to a countryside transformed into both a battlefield and an icon of the political protest of the era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a case study of a participatory evaluation of community-university collaboration in the Noto region of Japan, comprising capacity development and research programs. By modifying the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique, we designed our own methods using the "Horizontal MSC" technique to address the lack of a mechanism to collect and share the views of those engaged in the program implementation. The study found the Horizontal MSC useful in participatory evaluation, which itself can serve as a learning process for key actors to share future goals and has the potential to enhance overall cycles of planning, implementing, and evaluating programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Military establishments the world over invest in multi-faceted and paradoxical relationships to children and childhood. This article aims to examine how the Japanese military today engages children and childhood in order to mold their public image, legitimize their missions, appease parents, and recruit the young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apology has been found to be the most effective strategy in times of crises. However, there is a dearth of research on the kinds of apology used and how primary stakeholders, in particular consumers, received them. This study aims to examine consumer responses to the types of apologies offered post crises against the levels of attribution of responsibility. We also assess the potential mediating role of ethical concerns by developing the Perception-Behavioral Model of Crisis Response. An experiment was conducted to ascertain consumers’ impression of the organization post-apology. The results showed that the attribution of crisis responsibility significantly influences complaining, withholding and negative word-of-mouth behaviors. However, a very high degree of apology issued by the organization does not necessarily translate to reduced negative responses from consumers in light of the large attribution of responsibility. Finally, the Perception-Behavioral Model of Crisis Response suggests that ethical concerns can mediate negative behavioral intentions from consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine Kikkoman’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication with public schools associated with a new food education law in Japan. It describes how an internationally recognized soy sauce maker, Kikkoman, effectively entered a previously untapped market, public schools in Japan, and improved its corporate image using the vehicle of CSR activity.Design/methodology/approach Three traditional qualitative data sources were utilized: documents, interviews, and observations.Findings Social, political, economic, and environmental factors pushed Kikkoman to create a soy sauce lesson as a new CSR activity, which created challenges in corporate communication. The company, with the help of government, overcame the difficulties and was able to effectively communicate its CSR and improve its corporate image while promoting its signature product to children. This case presents a successful public relations strategy using a stakeholder approach as a framework.Research limitations/implications It is difficult to generalize the findings to CSR communication in Japan because this is a single case study with interviews with one company representative and observations at two schools.Practical implications First, collaboration between business people and public schools teachers is on the rise. This may open new opportunities for socially responsible corporations to engage in effective public relations activity through CSR in Japan. Second, human resource development in CSR activities is strategic and employees can play a pivotal role in Japanese CSR.Originality/value This paper examines the unique activities of a Japanese food industry leader from multiple data sources including observations of actual corporate behaviors in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the lens of Institutional Entrepreneurship, this paper discusses how governments use the levers of power afforded through business and welfare systems to affect change in the organisational management of older workers. It does so using national stakeholder interviews in two contrasting economies: the United Kingdom and Japan. Both governments have taken a ‘light-touch’ approach to work and retirement. However, the highly institutionalised Japanese system affords the government greater leverage than that of the liberal UK system in changing employer practices at the workplace level. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study suggests that Buddhist priests’ sutra chanting can heal troubled and bereaved people. Sutra chanting can include home visits with teatime chats, and memorial services to console the spirits of the departed. Japanese “Funeral Buddhism” has been criticized for its lack of social engagement, but home visits and memorial services may partly counter such criticisms. This study presents four cases collected through chain sampling of Zen monks using semistructured interviews in December 2012. Respondents were asked to reflect on helping laypeople along with their usual activities. Their temples are in suburban areas of cities affected by the 3.11 earthquake-tsunami disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccination programs often organize subsidies and public relations in order to obtain high uptake rates and coverage. However, effects of subsidies and public relations have not been studied well in the literature. In this study, the demand function of pneumococcal vaccination among the elderly in Japan is estimated, incorporating effects of public relations and subsidy. Methods: Using a data from a questionnaire survey sent to municipalities, the varying and constant elasticity models were applied to estimate the demand function. The response variable is the uptake rate. Explanatory variables are: subsidy supported shot price, operating years of the program, target population size for vaccination, shot location intensity, income and various public relations tools. The best model is selected by c-AIC, and varying and constant price elasticities are calculated from estimation results. Results: The vaccine uptake rate and the shot price have a negative relation. From the results of varying price elasticity, the demand for vaccination is elastic at municipalities with a shot price higher than 3,708 JPY (35.7 USD). Effects of public relations on the uptake rate are not found. Conclusions: It can be suggested that municipalities with a shot price higher than 3,708 JPY (35.7 USD) could subsidize more and reduce price to increase the demand for vaccination. Effects of public relations are not confirmed in this study, probably due to measurement errors of variables used for public relations, and studies at micro level exploring individual's response to public relations would be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan presents a useful case for studying new religious movements and their development of public relations and growth strategies, not only because there are large numbers of new religious movements in Japan, but also for the presence of controversial movements such as Aum and the Unification Church. The strategies employed in recruitment and fund-raising have become increasingly important for such movements in Japan--as well as for research on these movements--in the wake of the "Aum Affair." This article will focus on the strategy employed by the Unification Church, which is broadly perceived as a social problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses two research questions: whether interest in Asian communication has been growing over the past 20 years, and whether there is an increasing level of participation and growing contributions among Asian scholars in the field of communication. Using 23 communication journals in the SSCI database, we identify Asia-related journal article titles and count the number of authors of Asian origins. We find that both are clearly on the rise, especially in the fields of new media and public relations. China, Japan, and South Korea have the largest share of title references, followed by Israel, Taiwan, India, and Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explores the blunders in negotiation of Japan with North Korean government following its abduction of Japanese citizens. He believes that the massive public relations strategy of Japanese government toward its citizens has affected the negotiation process and eventually backfired on the government. He notes that the abductions from Japan by agents of North Korean government happened from 1977 to 1983. He highlights that resolution of the abduction issue was an implausible precondition for the normalization of diplomatic relations.

This article explores why Japan's PR industry remains under-developed compared to that of the United States. To explain how culture affects PR practice, it draws on the Hofstede (2001) dimensions of cultural variability. Long-term orientation results in stakeholders' patience in the face of new corporate directions (obviating the need for PR intervention) and stability in the choice of an agency, whether or not it performs spectacularly. High masculinity has meant the near absence of high-ranking women in corporate PR and indigenous agencies. Collectivism manifests itself in in-house rather than agency-based activities, a unique press club system and (slow) consensus decisions. (Slow reaction time and silence during crises can also be attributed to Japan's high-context communication style.) A specific aspect of collectivism - Japan's lifetime employment system - differentiates its PR practice from that of the United States; on-the-job rather than university-based training results in loyalty to the company, not the PR profession, as does life-long employees' movement in and out of PR duties. No system of professional accreditation exists in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study of how a cable TV channel, run by a small rural town in Japan, influences the awareness and behaviour of its residents. The study is based on a postal survey. Results indicate that the TV programmes increase residents’ interests in the community, communication among residents, and resident participation in public activities. They also show that such effects on the community are influenced by the usefulness of the programmes, viewing frequency, amount of community participation, and certain personal attributes of residents, such as gender, age and household type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon Hofstede's (1980, 1991) five dimensions of culture, this study contrasts the organizational responses to two major airline crashes that occurred in 1985 in Japan and the United States. Using a qualitative approach, the study reveals significant cultural differences that affected communications practices by Japan Air Lines and Delta Air Lines. Findings are based upon analysis of 198 US newspaper stories and 196 Japanese newspaper and magazine stories published during the 10 days that followed each disaster. The study reveals significant differences in the use of apology, media strategies, and litigation concerns. The findings suggest that cultural sensitivity is a key to developing a successful crisis communication plan in the airline industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the background of media and public relations in Japan. Social perceptions about the role of the media; Measurement of performance in terms of agenda-setting ability; Use of media for political campaigns.

Focuses on the management of public relation practice in Japan. Economic pressures in Japan; Impact of the media reports on the economic downturn in the management styles of Japan; Literature on innovative and entrepreneurial management.

The article presents an analysis of public relations in three dominant Asian cultures namely India, Japan and South Korea. In analyzing the public relations the authors described two types of metaresearch, arguing that "every communication researcher must do meta-research even though none of them is given any formal training in how to do it." Next, the authors review the literature in these three areas pertinent to this study. First, because they use the concept of culture and report on its impact on public relations in the three countries studied here, they review literature in the area of societal and corporate culture. Then, because they have used J. E. Grunig's models of public relations as the theoretical foundation for evaluating how public relations is practiced in the three countries, they briefly review literature on this widely written topic. Having identified the factors that cause the cultures of a society, it is important to understand how societal culture is manifested.

The article examines images and image-making in what is considered the most traditional Japanese popular song genre, enka. Audience members more readily believe in the sincerity whose images fit particular slots. Although enka constitutes only four percent of recording sales in the 1990s, according to industry sources, it accounts for nearly half of the popular music consumption when one includes cable broadcasting, karaoke and amplitude modulation radio. Enka fans include various segments of the population but especially older men and women past the age of forty. Yet, the image of its fans is important to the identity of the genre as rooted in pre-modern sentiments, values and lifestyles. The enka pattern is valorized by certain segments of the music industry as indicative of a kind of moral strength. Besides the image of the underdog is that of enka as a music genre which upholds Confucian values of rank and hierarchy. In Japan, what is more important is the song's strength accrued through persistent effort. In the Japanese enka world, the assumption is that the singer is a product of producers, directors and managers who shape his/her image to best suit the buying trends of the public. Among the important aspects of image-making for a singer is the creation of a gei-mei or stage name. The genderedness of his/her being becomes an essential part of a singer's image, especially in a genre primarily made up of love songs.

Abstract: This case study presents how McDonald''s Japan improved its corporate image through food education as corporate social responsibility activity. Email interviews with a CSR representative and seven public school teachers who experienced the company''s educational program reveal the company has successfully improved its corporate image, which may have contributed to its increased sales performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined how and whether Japanese research organizations adapt their communications outputs and practices to the media's requirements in a media landscape that has frequently been described as "cartelized." A survey and subsequent in-depth interviews with communications and public relations departments at Japanese research organizations showed that universities and government-funded research institutions employ outputs expected by the media, such as issuing press releases and using fax machines for dissemination. The adoption of media-imposed requirements appears to meet the dual interests of Japanese research organizations and established media. The results suggest that press clubs, one manifestation of an information cartel, are an indicator of how research organizations orient to the media at the organizational level. The findings add a non-Western perspective to the current literature of science medialization.

The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project was designed as part of the national reconstruction project for addressing the damage from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. It is an integrated project involving the genome cohort study of 150,000 participants, integrated biobank construction, and multi-omics analyses. Public relations and communication activities emerged to be extremely important in the successful development of this project. To gain insights into the contributions of these activities, we divided the public relations and communication activities for the project into three phases based on the situations surrounding the project. Prior to the start of the cohort study (Phase I), a cooperative relationship was established with a focus on concluding cooperation agreements with local governments. Until the participants reached the target number (Phase II), we actively communicated with the media to publicize the project. During the phase in which use of the constructed biobank is promoted (Phase III), for ensuring the industrial utilization of the biobank, visits from the industry are promoted. Throughout the execution of these activities, we explored the best strategies for building relationships with multiple stakeholders like local government, media and industry. By paying attention to these phases that have been changing according to the project's progress, we were able to adapt the strategies and methods of public relations and communication. The success of these activities has enabled the overall project to progress smoothly. We hope that the process of designing our project's public relations and communication activities will be useful for other similar initiatives.

While direct to consumer health-related genetic testing (DTCGT) has potential to provide accessible genetic information and empower individuals to make informed healthcare decisions, it attracts concern associated with regulatory gaps, clinical utility and potential for harm. Understanding public reactions to DTCGT is vital to facilitate considered regulatory, health care and consumer protection strategies. Yet little is known, particularly outside the dominant US market, about how the general public view and might engage with DTCGT outside traditional health care systems. This paper addresses this knowledge gap with the first empirical study to investigate general public views across four countries, each at different stages of market development. US (n = 1000), UK (n = 1014), Japanese (n = 1018) and Australian (n = 1000) respondents completed an online experimental survey assessing comprehension, risk perceptions, and potential psychological and behavioural outcomes by type of test (disease pre-disposition and drug sensitivity), severity, lifestyle factors, and family history. Results showed generally low awareness and intention to purchase across countries, highest in the US and lowest in Japan. Results also showed clear preference for within-country purchases (less in Japan), with reports returned via doctors far more important in Japan. All respondents were more likely to act on test results, where there was higher genetic or lifestyle risk of developing a disease. Statistical comparisons of demographic and health-related variables across countries point to the need for further analyses designed to explain much needed cross-cultural, cross-health care system and developed versus developing market differences.