1. Presenting and representing Japanese lives in Australia's Nikkei community: A textual analysis of interviews in a Japanese-language newspaper.
- Author
-
Denman, Jared
- Subjects
OVERSEAS Japanese people ,CONTENT analysis ,LOCAL mass media ,NEWSPAPERS ,STORYTELLING - Abstract
In an attempt to draw more attention to the relatively untapped resource that is Japanese ethnic community media, this article presents a case study of the interview column People Living Now in Australia in the Nichigo Press, the longest-running free Japanese-language newspaper in Australia. By focusing on this column, which claims to offer readers a window into the lifestyles of people in Australia's Nikkei community, I am able to make some initial observations regarding the way this publication seems to view and represent this community. After introducing the newspaper, its column and the interviewers, I examine the content of the articles to show the types of stories that are told and whether these are focused on lifestyles, as framed by the column's subtitle, or other things. Following this I look more closely at the people chosen to tell their stories and whether or not their selection offers readers a relatively accurate representation of Australia's Nikkei community as either a multigenerational and mixed one or a first-generation Japanese one. My finding that the column does not fulfil its stated purpose and instead promotes and celebrates the activities and achievements of first-generation Japanese of Sydney's Nikkei community raises the need for further research into the place, belonging and identities of people with Japanese heritage in Australia's Japanese ethnic community media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021