Abstract Contention about representations of history and the purposes of History education has long surrounded Japanese History textbooks. From 2012, the ascent of powerful nationalist Prime Minister Abe Shinzō raised questions about possible political pressures on textbook content. This article analyzes recent market-leading junior high school and high school History textbooks to discover how pedagogical format and content related to controversial topics or national identity have changed since 2012. It finds that leading junior high school textbooks have largely maintained their representation of controversial topics, while developing investigative, analytic pedagogical approaches. Coverage of some aspects of ethnic and cultural diversity within Japan has increased. Following the implementation of a new curriculum from 2022, some high school textbooks for the new compulsory subject “Integrated History” facilitate a more analytic, “disciplinary” pedagogy than previously evident in compulsory high school History. Nonetheless, an “enhancing collective memory” approach to History pedagogy remains central throughout secondary education. These developments suggest that power over History education in Japan is distributed between a range of actors. The state, the market, and social pressures all influence the content of History textbooks in Japan.

Kawaii, meaning ‘cute’ in English, has long been a central feature of Japanese culture, shaping fashion, media, and character design. In recent decades, the concept has expanded beyond innocence and sweetness to include darker, emotionally complex subgenres such as guro-kawaii (grotesque-cute), which juxtaposes cuteness with violent or disturbing imagery, and kimo-kawaii (creepy-cute), which blends awkwardness or oddity with endearing traits. Among these, yami-kawaii (sick-cute) has gained significant cultural traction. Emerging in the mid-2010s, it fuses black and pastel tones with symbols of distress, such as bandages, syringes, and suicidal phrases, to express emotional struggles in a visually striking way. This article explores how kawaii aesthetics, focusing particularly on yami-kawaii, as well as the subgenres of kimo-kawaii and guro-kawaii, function as tools for emotional expression and healing in contemporary Japan. It draws on direct observation in Harajuku, media exploration, and analysis, introducing representative characters such as Menhera-chan, Gudetama, and Gloomy Bear. The article demonstrates how these styles and characters help individuals externalise difficult emotions, challenge social norms, and foster dialogue about mental health. Ultimately, it argues that kawaii has evolved into a powerful medium for coping, self-expression, and emotional well-being.

ABSTRACT This study questions whether job changes improve the subjective well-being of young Japanese workers exposed to workplace harassment. Workplace harassment is prevalent in Japan as well as in other societies worldwide and can be conceptualised as an interaction emerging from negative social ties. Job change can also be regarded as an action to relocate from negative workmate social networks to better networks. Using unique longitudinal survey data focusing on Japanese youth and fixed effect models with a double-demeaning interaction effect, we investigated whether the harassed employees could improve their subjective well-being after one year through job changes. A series of data analyses revealed that the positive effect of job change on subjective well-being was greater among those harassed at work, and this tendency is more salient for men. Meanwhile, harassment exposure, job changes, and their interaction had no statistically significant effect on monthly income as an indicator of economic attainment. Based on these empirical findings, this study tentatively concludes that the external labour market may facilitate positive youth career formation in contemporary Japan.

Review of: Stephen G. Covell, The Teaching and Teachings of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan

ABSTRACT Within Japanese girls’ culture, perhaps no fandom is more influential than that of the ubiquitous male celebrities known as ‘idols’ who dominate Japan’s media landscape. Usami Rin’s 2020 award-winning novella Oshi, Moyu (Idol, Burning) presents a thought-provoking window into the lives of the women who dedicate themselves to supporting these male idols via the practice known as oshi-katsu (pushing one’s ‘bias’). Rejecting the view that oshi-katsu solely represents a consumerist behaviour that entangles women within neoliberal structures geared towards their exploitation, this reading of Oshi, Moyu instead argues that oshi-katsu may operate as a significant practice which asserts the agency of women within a society that routinely silences their desires. This article argues that Oshi, Moyu explores the experiences of young women navigating precariousness in contemporary Japan’s hetero-patriarchal society to recuperate oshi-katsu as a feminist praxis. Through a ‘fanthropological’ reading of Oshi, Moyu, it brings previous scholarship on the Japanese idol industries into dialogue with recent feminist theorisations of fandom in Japan, providing a reparative analysis of women’s participation within the fandom which has been largely absent from the previous English-language literature on Japanese idols.

ABSTRACT This study explores how foreign-themed small hospitality establishments (SHEs) in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, operate as sites of cultural representation, negotiation, and contestation. Focusing on three themed SHEs linked to Australian, Irish, and New Zealand cultures, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach that combines semiotic analysis of visual elements (such as signage, décor, and menus) with sentiment and thematic analysis of over 1000 customer reviews. Against the backdrop of Japan’s tourism boom and increasing urban diversity, these venues function as more than consumption spaces. They serve as emotional refuges for expatriates and platforms for intercultural exchange, identity performance, and ‘glocal’ hybridity. Patrons frequently describe them as ‘a taste of home’ or ‘authentic’, yet these claims are not uncontested. Reviewer narratives show tensions around cultural ownership, authenticity, and inclusivity, especially when representations appear commodified or insensitive. Notably, controversy surrounding a drink name at one venue raises critical questions about humour, cultural offense, and the responsibilities of hospitality spaces in diverse settings. While most feedback is positive, the study demonstrates how SHEs navigate complex expectations tied to national identity, diaspora, and globalisation. By exploring both semiotics and sentiment, the research contributes to discussions on urban multiculturalism, hospitality semiotics, and cultural representation in contemporary Japan.

Abstract The 1914 eruption of Sakurajima (the Taisho eruption) caused catastrophic consequences by releasing enormous volcanic ash to Japan’s atmosphere, affecting both proximal and distal regions. As volcanic ash is a complex hazard that can cause damage to critical infrastructure and disrupt socio-economic activities, impacts from such an eruption in contemporary Japan will be more severe than in 1914. Despite records of past large eruptions at Sakurajima and evidence of associated threat, there are no comprehensive studies addressing the full extent of volcanic ash hazards, particularly in distal areas. To fill the gaps in current knowledge, this study presents the multiscale impacts assessment of volcanic ash hazards to contemporary Japan, using the Taisho eruption case, encompassing the physical and socio-economic impacts under both the general weather patterns and extreme weather events. This study incorporates an ash dispersal database generated using One Eruption Scenario (OES) approach which contains tens of thousands of individual eruptive episodes under various weather regimes. We then estimate the probability distributions of ashfall accumulation and overlay them on assets maps in contemporary Japan to assess potential disruption in transportation, service interruptions, damage to infrastructure, and human casualties. This study found that under typical weather, massive ashfall from a large eruption in Sakurajima volcano can disrupt and damage multiple critical infrastructure, such as airports, roads, power networks, and buildings at a local through national level, potentially causing significant economic losses and casualties. Under extreme weather when volcanic ash dispersal widens and intensifies, we found greater overall impacts due to the escalation of initial damage and addition of secondary hazards. The compounded effects of extreme weather and volcanic eruptions demands a re-evaluation of structural resilience and emergency preparedness, particularly in vulnerable regions, as part of integrated disaster management strategies.

The international migration of highly educated people, including IT professionals, is often characterised as a process involving continuous cross-border mobility. However, studies on the immobility of highly educated individuals within a host society remain scarce. Uncovering the way that these migrants exercise temporal professional immobility is therefore necessary. Employing the conceptual framework of motility, this study investigates how Vietnamese IT professionals in Japan practice temporal professional immobility to navigate their life as migrants in the host society. The study focuses on a growing foreign population in an emerging non-settlement immigration country: Japan. The study reveals three key findings. First, Vietnamese IT professionals undergo temporal professional immobility to secure their legal status. Second, they exercise professional immobility in their respective firms to acquire knowledge and expand their professional networks, thereby allowing them to pursue or project further upward career mobility. Third, they undergo temporal professional immobility to perform their parenting role. Extending the framework of motility, this study assists in understanding the process of temporal professional immobility implemented by highly educated migrants. The study indicates that their professional immobility often remains temporal and entails a future mobility projection and the prioritisation of (non)professional issues in their life in the host society.

Japanese modern books feature a unique accessory known as the obi. The obi is a band wrapped around the lower portion of a book’s cover or case, primarily used for promotional purposes. Although its origins are estimated to date back to the late Meiji to early Taisho periods, its exact beginnings remain uncertain. Nevertheless, nearly all newly published books in contemporary Japan include an obi. The obi serves as a medium to convey new information, such as advertisements or announcements, not included in the book’s main content. In this paper, I argue that the obi’s material liminality allows it to have two seemingly contradictory characteristics. First, the obi embodies the characteristic of "transience," allowing it to be replaced or updated with ease. On the other hand, the obi also is flexible enough to add durability to a book’s changing existence, and is often crafted as part of the book’s binding, exhibiting the characteristic of "sustainability." The obi, blending these two characteristics, has become an indispensable element of Japanese books, enriching the culture of book design with its diverse styles. I will demonstrate the indispensable role of obi within Japan’s unique book publishing strategies and explore its dual nature as both a source of information and a creative work.

Sibling Composition and Intergenerational Financial Support in Contemporary Japan

Abstract The continued assault on women's reproductive freedoms has dampened the critique of the liberal feminist logics of autonomy in reproductive rights activism. This article centers on the Pill, a longtime symbol of women's empowerment, to reorient debates about individual choice. While critical work has recognized the stratified nature of birth control, the literature adheres to a dialectic of difference in which the Pill extends the autonomy of privileged women while oppressing structurally marginalized women. Breaking this dualism, this article explores the Pill's uptake among otherwise privileged, middle‐class women in contemporary Japan, where the Pill's offer of autonomy introduces new medical, sexual, and social risks that shape women's resistance to making reproduction a matter of individual responsibility and control. By examining the narratives of 48 pill users in Tokyo, I show how, instead of autonomy, women ask for the sharing of reproductive risk and responsibility through contraceptive practices that promote relational forms of care. Situating women's stories against the backdrop of pronatalism and everyday gender inequality in Japan, I show how the multiple layers of structural injustice that middle‐class women navigate make it impossible to sustain a fantasy that one can be empowered by a technology that offers individual choice.

"Shō ga nai yo ne": Interembodied experiences of menstrual pain among young Japanese women.

The purpose of the article is to reveal semantic connections between anime about Momotaro, created during 1930–1940s and shonen-anime “One piece” as the tools of reactualization and popularization of traditional Japanese culture and nationalistic ideology in a space of visual culture of contemporary Japan. Problem statement. The article covers an underexplored problem of reactualization of cultural meanings promoted in propagandistic anime during 1930s–1940s in the cultural space of Japan in the XXI century. In particular, it concerns a potential semantic continuity between anime about Momotaro and “One Piece” — one of the most popular shonen anime of 2000s — 2020s. Despite an obvious contrast in visual design and the degree of detailing of the plot lines, the selected works have certain points of intersection. “One Piece” is a unique case, which not only reflects the figurative and symbolic range of anime of the first half of the XX century, but also recreates their internal structure, functions, as well as the values and worldviews that they represented. The chosen focus of research will allow us to deepen existing cultural knowledge about the functions of modern art forms, as well as contribute to the awareness of their significance for the reactualization and representation of the cultural memory and identity of Japanese people. The results. As a result of the comparative analysis of storylines, image semantics, values and ideological constructions of anime about Momotaro and “One Piece” series, numerous common features were identified. These anime share the same cultural root (Momotaro fairy tale), recurring images (demonological, animalistic and pirate), core values (collective good) and ideological foundations (arahitogami, kokutai). The methodology. The purpose of the article is achieved by using a comparative approach. It was used to a comparison of storylines, image semantics, values and ideological constructions of the anime. An internal specificity of every mentioned component necessitated the combination of comparative analysis with other methods of culturological researches. In particular, the study of figurative semantics and ideological basis of selected anime was carried out by synchronizing the methods of comparative and structural-semiotic analysis. At the same time, within the framework of the study of the value basis of anime, the method of comparative-axiological analysis was used. The novelty of the research. This study explores how Japanese nationalistic ideology previously used in the anime of the 1930s and 1940s is represented in popular contemporary anime series “One Piece”. For the first time, the similarity of storylines, figurative semantics, values and ideological foundations of the anime about Momotaro and “One Piece” is substantiated. The practical significance. The materials of the research can be used in such research areas as culturology, Oriental Studies and Cinema Studies specialists for a further understanding of anime and manga impact on Japanese cultural landscape, national memory, identity and self-representation in the age of globalization.

IntroductionIn Japan, the concept of tabunka-kyōsei (multicultural coexistence) has emerged in response to the growing number of foreign residents, yet its ideological background and policy implications remain insufficiently examined in international discourse. Unlike multiculturalism in Europe, Canada, and Australia, it has evolved under Japan's unique social conditions and remains conceptually distinct.MethodsThis study adopts a normative theoretical approach, analyzing tabunka-kyōsei through Axel Honneth's theory of recognition. Selected local initiatives are used illustratively to explore broader conceptual implications without empirical validation of specific cases.ResultsThe analysis traces the development of foreign resident policies in Japan, identifies the distinctive ideological and institutional features of tabunka-kyōsei, and compares them with Western multiculturalism. Differences include limited rights-based frameworks and an emphasis on exchange and mutual understanding over institutional recognition.DiscussionApplying Honneth's three-layered framework of love, law, and solidarity, the study argues that institutional recognition and social solidarity are central to evaluating Japan's multicultural practices beyond cultural tolerance. The findings contribute to normative debates on tabunka-kyōsei and offer insights for designing inclusive policies in contemporary Japan.

This article examines the reasons for the emergence of dozens of anonymous reporter accounts on the social network X (formerly Twitter) in the early 2020s. It is based on a qualitative analysis of a database of 195 anonymous accounts and a series of interviews with journalists. While some choose anonymity because of their company’s internal policies, others seek to protect themselves from online harassment campaigns that have been exacerbated by the rise of anti-media discourse. The article also points out that this anonymization is taking place against the backdrop of a weakening traditional media facing growing economic and political pressures. It highlights the tension between journalists’ increased visibility on social networks and their need for protection from criticism and attack. The study thus contributes to a better understanding of the mutations of journalism in Japan in the digital age and the issues surrounding anonymity in the online public sphere.

This article introduces a special issue that approaches the culture of imperial Japan (1920s–1940s) through an art-historical lens, centred on the intersectionalities of gender, ethnicity, class, and the dynamics between nation and empire. Regarding time frame, the contributions primarily focus on the years around 1940, but the 1920s also come into view as a period during which the professionalisation of Japanese women artists took shape. The introductory article begins with a brief retrospection on the rise of gender-critical art history in Japan since the mid-1990s and then highlights the present issue’s methodological originality within this lineage. It acknowledges the broad scope, which includes mainland and colonial ‘minority’ artists, ‘high-art’ painting, ‘decorative’ arts, and popular visual media, and which considers not only outstanding masters and their works but the entire art world – ranging from schools and funders to salon exhibitions and their jurors, as well as audience expectations related to aesthetic conventions and notions of fine art. The issue’s articles are regarded as contributing to the study of women’s history and imperialist culture in a discipline-specific manner, challenging traditional methodologies within the field of art history itself. Before delving into the articles, the Introduction discusses the concept of Imperial Feminism and its relevance to modern and contemporary Japan. Initially translated into Japanese by scholars of women’s history, it is used here to examine how women’s artistic work engaged with imperialism while asserting creative and social agency, and also generating aesthetic innovation. As a result, local particularities come to the fore, opening an avenue for transcultural conceptual discussion. Additional potential avenues are identified in reconsidering the concept of ‘woman’ and incorporating Anne Ailin Cheng’s proposition of Ornamentalism.

Review: <i>Mental Health and Social Withdrawal in Contemporary Japan: Beyond the</i> Hikikomori <i>Spectrum</i>, by Nicolas Tajan

The article analyzes the Japanese official narrative about the Northern Territories, which is widespread in Japanese society as a key factor in the formation of the bad image of Russia in Japan. Of particular importance from the point of view of the emotional effect on public consciousness is the thesis that the Southern Kurils are the “ancestral territory of Japan,” that the USSR committed aggressive and unfair actions against Japan during World War II, and modern Russia did not correct them, and that the Japanese natives of the Southern Kurils experience enormous moral suffering, not having the opportunity to freely visit the graves of their ancestors. The article examines the organizational structure of state, public, and socio-political organizations designed to ensure public policy to popularize this narrative and shows the features of its reflection in school textbooks, museums, and memorial complexes. The author focuses on the Movement for the Return of the Northern Territories and the events held within its framework, including the annual “Northern Territories Day,” held on February 7.It is concluded that, despite all the efforts of the government, Japanese public opinion in reality turns out to be relatively poorly informed about the problem of the Northern Territories. At the same time, as generations change, the interest in this problem is gradually decreasing, especially among young people. There is a process of realizing the futility of maintaining a hard line in the government’s approach to solving it. The humanitarian aspect of the problem, related to visits to graves by former islanders and members of their families, causes the greatest public outcry, but even this aspect, as the results of public opinion polls show, has a limited effect.

This study examines the current state and potential revitalization of Ushikubi Tsumugi, a traditional silk textile produced in Shiramine, Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Despite its designation as a national traditional craft, Ushikubi Tsumugi faces dual challenges: declining production and limited consumer engagement. The research adopts a three-pronged approach. First, it analyzes the institutional definitions and certification systems established by both the local producers’ cooperative and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Second, it presents findings from an original survey targeting Ishikawa residents (n = 900), focusing on how identity attributes—such as gender, age, marital status, and occupation—influence recognition, ownership, emotional receptivity, and gift-giving intention. Third, it discusses how traditional crafts may be sustained through cultural branding and policy support. The results reveal a tension between institutional legitimacy and market accessibility. While emotional receptivity to Ushikubi Tsumugi is high—especially as a gift—ownership remains low, and willingness to give is cautious. The study concludes that reviving traditional industries requires not only technical preservation but also strategic adaptation. Recommendations include product diversification, improved distribution, cultural storytelling, and enhanced intergenerational engagement. These findings contribute to broader discussions on sustainable cultural heritage in contemporary consumer society.

ABSTRACT When a dollhouse went into flames in Japan, narrated by social media influencers sharing stories of sexual harassment and abuse, a controversial new form of politics was cast into light. This burning of a dollhouse and speaking of white-hot rage came in the form of a promotional video for the tenth anniversary fashion show of LARME magazine, which stands as one of the last major flagships of Japanese subcultural femme style. Drawing on a pool of social media influencers, or colloquially “idols,” and setting the video in the chaos of Kabukichō, an entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, the producer of the LARME video was able to release something that she hoped young femme readers might identify with. Collectively, the idols speak out for femmes from a house on fire, in a world that is burning around them. Through an examination of the “LARME incident,” we uncover hidden layers and tune into the missing voices of girls and women. When the idols unfurled a fantasy in which they set that dollhouse ablaze, they did so, we argue, as a calculated attempt to add fuel to the fire of feminine discontent and fan the flames of alternative pleasures.