Japan's Civil Research Articles

Transformation of Japan's Civil Society Landscape

Japan's civil society is being transformed as more people volunteer for advocacy and professional nonprofit organizations. In the US context, this trend has been accompanied by a decline in participation in traditional organizations. Does the rise in new types of nonprofit groups herald a decline of traditional volunteering in Japan? This article argues that while changes in civil rights, political opportunity structure, and technology have also taken place in Japan, they have contributed to the rise of new groups without causing traditional organizations to decline, because Japanese attitudes about civic responsibility have continued to support traditional volunteering.

Japan's dual civil society: members without advocates

Contents List of figures List of Tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Japan's Civil Society in Comparative Perspective 3. The Regulatory Framework 4. Neighborhood Associations and Local Civil Society 5. The Politics of Regulating Civil Society 6. Conclusion: Members without Advocates Appendix Notes Bibliography Index

New Women in the New Pacific: Japanese–American Romances in the Context of U.S. Empire

In the title of a 1903 American Journal of Sociology essay, Ernest W. Clement announces a new phenomenon: “The New Woman in Japan.” By this title, he quickly explains, he does not mean to satirically compare this Japanese sociological development to the American “parody of man” usually associated with the phrase, because “such a creature as that called the ‘new woman’ in the Occident has not yet appeared to any great extent among the Japanese.” Although sometimes in Japan “the process of the new woman's evolution may be disfigured by some accident” producing “a sickening sort of person,” Clement's interest is not in particular aberrations, but rather in “the abstract, legal new woman” created by recent changes in Japan's civil code. In this abstraction Clement sees improvement on previous Japanese laws that “relegat[ed] woman to an abnormally inferior position.” Clement thus assures readers that, although Japan's modernization hinges upon its women's legal and cultural status, female advancement in Japan will not approach the “abnormal” excesses of the United States. Quoting Alice Mabel Bacon's influential book Japanese Girls and Women to stress this point, Clement explains that Japanese men are adopting many Western habits and opinions, but they still “shrink aghast, in many cases, at the thought that their women may ever become the forward, self-assertive, half-masculine women of the West.” Yet still, many of these Japanese men express “a growing dissatisfaction with the smallness and narrowness of the lives of their wives and daughters — a growing belief that better educated women make better homes.”

Continuity and Change in Paths to High Political Office: Ex-Bureaucrats and Hereditary Politicians in Japan

This paper examines two dominant paths to national political office in order to assess the degree of changes in Japanese politics. Ex-bureaucrats in political office (seikai tenshin) and hereditary politicians (seshu giin) make up a high percentage of prime ministers, cabinet members, and holders of elected positions in the Lower House of the Diet as well as in the Liberal Democratic Party. The percentage of seikai tenshin politicians has remained relatively stable, while that of seshu giin rose dramatically, pointing toward a narrowing of channels to high political office. Although it is well known that seshu giin represents a form of personalistic politics, it is less well known that over 60 per cent of cabinet members and almost 60 per cent of LDP Lower House members came through one of these two channels at the 2003 election. We maintain that the rise of seshu giin is related to koenkai, while hereditary politicians represent a bridging channel between local interests and the central government. This channel serves to illustrate the permeability of Japan's civil society and its state.

Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations

Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilization is a new and exciting addition to Facts On File's series of encyclopedias of ancient history. It covers ancient Asia from the Jomon culture in Japan in approximately 11,000 BCE through the Cambodian empires of Funan, Chenla, and Angkor that lasted until the 15th century. In many cases - for example the states of Champa in present-day Vietnam which are only described in French and Vietnamese texts and the Dvaravati state of central. Thailand which is best covered in the Thai language - the civilizations covered have thus far been treated only marginally in English literature. Written by one of the preeminent experts in the field, this encyclopedia is the ideal resource for high school and college students researching the subject as well as a useful scholarly reference. Each of the 11, area-specific sections begins with an outline of the region's ancient history, followed by A-to-Z entries that cover archaeological sites; agricultural and economic development; personalities and political institutions; as well as articles on religion, trade, warfare, and other important topics. The eleven sections are: 1. The Civilization of China; 2. The Indus Civilization; 3. The Civilizations of India; 4. The Civilizations of Sri Lanka; 5. The Civilizations of Burma; 6. Thailand: the Civilization of Dvaravati; 7. Cambodia: Funan, Chenla, and Angkor; 8. Champa, Vietnam; 9. The Maritime states of island Southeast Asia; 10. The Civilization of Korea; 11. The Civilization of Japan

Terror in Japan

Observers of early twenty-first-century Japan commonly note economic, political, and social crisis, on the one hand, and pessimism, lethargy, or helplessness about the possibility of reform, on the other. Yet Japan's civil society was idealistic and energetic in the early postwar decades. What happened? The reform movement that captured much of the vitality of the early postwar decades was either foreclosed, as many were co-opted in the “all-for-growth” economism, consumerism, and the corporation, or crushed in successive waves of repression of dissidence as the cold war order took shape. Political parties sacrificed broad vision and ideals to narrow-interest articulation. While the mass base of the reform movement was discouraged, demoralized, and depoliticized, one minority in the late 1960s turned to violent revolution and another in the late 1980s turned inward to seek spiritual satisfaction. Both paths led to violence. This article looks at the course of the student movement between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, with particular reference to the Japan Red Army, and at the new religious movement Aum Supreme Truth in the 1980s and 1990s. Both adopted “terrorist” tactics, by almost any understanding of that term. However, they were children of their times, reflecting the same deep social, political, and moral problems that Japan as a whole continues to face in the early twenty-first century.

An Appreciation of Charles R. Boxer: Teacher, Scholar, and Bibliophile

An Appreciation of Charles R. Boxer: Teacher, Scholar, and Bibliophile

Reforming Japan's Civil Justice System

Reforming Japan's Civil Justice System

MSAS (MTSAT satellite-based augmentation system) project status

This article presents an overview of the MSAS system as well as the whole MTSAT system which is a key component of the new CNS/ATM infrastructure in the Asia/Pacific region. The latest project status of MSAS is also described. MSAS is a Satellite Based Augmentation Systems that is being implemented in the Asia/Pacific region by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB). It uses a Multi-Function Transport SATellite (MTSAT), the first of which will be launched in the summer of 1999.

German influences on Japanese Pre-war Constitution and Civil Code

German influences were seen in every field of Japanese culture after the Meiji Restoration. as for the pre-war constitution, Dr. Hermann Roesler is considered the most important foreign advisor to the Japanese government because the constitution was established according to his plan. Roesler recommended that Japanese politicians strengthen the right of the Emperor and establish the constitution by the will of the Emperor, not by the will of the people. In the enactment of Japan's civil code was to be enacted in 1894 but this code was considered too democratic for the actual Japanese situation. conservative Japanese politicians then tried to established the civil code according to the German model and succeeded partly in doing so.

Japan's Civil Service System: Its Structure, Personnel, and Politics

Introduction Japan's National Bureaucracy: Its Structure and Control The Japanese Recruitment System in the Public Sector A Profile of the Japanese Higher Civil Servant The Retirement System of the Japanese Higher Public Servants A Comparative Study Japan's Local Public Administration Japan's Bureaucratic Decision-Making Process: The Textbook Case The Role of Higher Civil Servants in the Defense Policy-Making Process Conclusion Bibliography Index

ラナルド・マクドナルドの生徒たち

Ranald MacDonald (1824-1894) who got into Japan in 1848, when the doors of the country were closed to foreign countries, taught English to Japanese Dutch interpreters at Nagasaki for about 6 months, while he was imprisoned there. The names of the 14 students in his list have been identified. Their ages raged from 16 to 73, and their ranks as interpreter varied from the lowest to the highest. They were from families engaged in the hereditary occupation for about 200 years by that year. A few of them had already possessed certain knowledge of English. Moriyama was an interpreter on the occasion of Capt. Mercator Cooper's visit to Japan in 1845, when he translated Government orders to the Captain into English, and Uemura was one of the Dutch interpreters who started to study English under the Government orders in 1809, having Yan Cock Blomhoff at Dutch factory as their teacher of English, who, in the strict sense, was Japan's first teacher of English. Fathers or grandfathers of most of MacDonald's students were Blomhoff's students. The significance of MacDonald's English teaching was that it was by the first English teacher whose native language was English, and that it firmly took root in this country. In September 1850, about 18 months after the departure of MacDonald from Japan, all the Dutch interpreters were ordered to study English and Russian languages, and to compile an English-Japanese dictionary. Moriyama was one of the two responsible for this project. Unfortunately, the dictionary was unfinished after completion of 7 volumes on A and B, because the interpreters become too busy to continue compiling another, being forced to be involved in the negotiations of Japan with foreign countries after the visits of Perry and Putyatin in 1853. However, the knowledge of English taught by MacDonald was shared among their colleagues during the period of about 3 years' learning, and not only his students but also those who learned from them made great contributions to the civilization of Japan, by devoting themselves in their work, teaching English, and transmitting western culture.

Book Reviews

Book reviews in this article: The Patron State: Government and the Arts in Europe, North America and Japan. By MILTON C. CUMMINGS JR. and RICHARD S. KATZ (eds.) Advising The Rulers. By WILLIAM PLOWDEN (ed.) The State and Public Bureaucracies: A Comparative Perspective. By METIN HEPER (ed.) Steering the Modern State: Changes in Central Coordination in Three Australian State Governments. By MARTIN PAINTER. Japan's Civil Service System: Its Structure, Personnel, and Politics. By PAUL S. KIM Reaganomics: An Insider's Account of the Policies and the People. By WILLIAM A. NISKANEN

The Teaching of English by Henry Wood: Its Significance in the Histories of Christianity and English Studies in Japan

Rev. Henry Wood, Chaplain of U. S. flag-ship “Powhatan”, taught English and some other subjects to nine interpreters at Nagasaki for 2 whole months of September and October, 1858. His teaching was a success: the students, who had already had certain knowledge of English, made proficiency in the studies. In the course of the teaching activities, Rev. Wood was able to find opportunities of telling his students about Christianity. The series of his letters to New York Journal of Commerce, quoted in Spirit of Missions, describe his experiences in detail, which are quite rare, valuable and interesting specimens of English teaching and learning at dawn in Japan.The sincere efforts made by Key. Wood in teaching English secured the confidence of the Governor of Nagasaki as well as the confidence, respect and affection of his students. This led Rev. Wood to believe that it would be possible for a missionary, who would come to Japan as a teacher of English, to transmit the truth of Christianity to the Japanese even under its prohibition. This was actually a confirmation of the statement on introducing Christianity to Japan made by Capt. A. H. Foote of U. S. ship “Portsmouth”, who visited Shimoda and Hakodate in 1857.Dr. S. W. Williams, a Presbyterian, and Rev. E. W. Syle of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who visited Nagasaki at that time on U. S. ship “Minnesota” with the aim of ascertaining the possibility of implanting Christianity in Japan, heard from Rev. Wood about his teaching experiences, and wrote to the Mission Boards suggesting early establishment of mission stations in Japan.The friendly feelings of the Governor and the authorities at Nagasaki toward Americans created by Rev. Wood's labors worked favorably for the first missionaries to come to Nagasaki.Teaching English to the Japanese became one of the major activities of the early missionaries, whose great contribution to the civilization of Japan has been highly appreciated.

Marriage and Labor Market Discrimination in Japan

"Many Japanese firms have engaged in the practice of compulsory retirement upon a female employee's marriage. In 1966, this practice was ruled as being contrary to provisions in Japan's Civil Code. [The authors] have specified and estimated a model of the economic determinants of age at marriage in order to analyze the effect that this discrimination has had on nuptiality in Japan. [The] results indicate that on average, after accounting for an upward trend, women who married after the 1966 court decision married about one year younger than women who married before 1966." It is also found that age at marriage is influenced by several socioeconomic variables, including wife's wage and educational level, husband's income and educational level, and wife's family background. Data are from a 1975 survey of women aged 20-59 who were living in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

KOJI IIZUKA'S PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL AFFAIRS AND HIS STUDIES BEFORE AND DURING WORLD WAR II, 1931-1945

Koji Iizuka (1906_??_1970) is a Japanese geographer, who introduced French school of geography to Japan, attempting to bring about a revolution in human geography in Japan. He continued to make various comparative studies on culture, being deeply conscious of his country's fluctuating situations. After World War II he played an important and leading role in the development of democratic principles in Japan. In this paper the writer reviewed Iizuka's research activities from 1930 to 1945. The writer divided this period into six parts, and described how Iizuka did his research activities under different circumstances. I. Just before and during his study in France (April, 1930 December, 1934) Iizuka appreciated that P. Vidal de la Blache's “Principes de Geographie Humaine” was based on bionomical method. Being attracted by this book, he decided to study, in France, geography as social science. In France he had a new understanding of cultures of Europe and Japan. Moreover, he clearly understood the position of Japan in the world just after the Manchurian Incident. II. Just after his return to Japan (January, 1935_??_March, 1938) Although he was much concerned about critical conditions inside and outside our country, he devoted himself to writing the results of his study in France and published two writings “79 Degrees North” and “Problems in the History of Human Geography.” III. During the China Incident (April, 1938_??_March, 1941). He felt that the war between China and Japan was essentially the Japanese invasion. So, he decided to go on with his work, trying not to be swayed by the situation. For that reason, he chose the work of translating Vidal de la Blache's “Principes de Geographie. Humaine” and L. Febvre's “La Terre et l'Evolution Humaine” into Japanese. IV. Just before and after the outbreak of the Greater East Asia War (April, 1941-March, 1942) He changed his attitude, and began to participate in the situation because he felt a critical moment that the United States with overwhelming economic power and Japan were confronted each other. He supported the outbreak of the war because he thought that the war was actually between Japan and the United States which was a imperialistic country, and that Japan had marked a period of exultant aggression at the beginning of the war. He thought that the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere must be realized. Therefore, he proposed that it was necessary for Japan to be more industrialized, and for the Sphere to be reorganized, making use of the actual circumstances in this Sphere. V. In the middle of the Greater East Asia War (Summer, 1942_??_Spring, 1943) While he supported the formation' of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, his studies were away from the main current of the time. Among his studies were criticism on geopolitics, the history of contacts between different cultures, and the progress of geographical theories and the change in world view. VI. In the latter half of the Greater East Asia War (Summer, 1943_??_Summer, 1945) He anticipated the defeat of Japan. It was appeared in the following points. 1) He made it clear, by studying a comparison of civilizations, that Japan had not reached modern civilization. 2) He criticized theoritical studies of geography in Japan. 3) He criticized the irrational administration systems and the feudalistic moral civilization of Japan. However, he made these remarks while supporting the formation of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. He did not expect a social reform after the war. It can be said that his way of participation in the situations is characterized as follows 1) He did not resist the internal order. Even if he sometimes criticized the administration, it was done within the limits of the order. 2) He tended to make the situations objects of study.

The Ancient Civilization of Japan.

The Ancient Civilization of Japan.

The Economic Aspects of the History of the Civilization of Japan. Edited by Yosoburo Takekoshi. Volumes One, Two, Three. London:Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1967. Three volumes—$50.00.

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The Infiltration of European Civilization in Japan During the 18th Century.

The Infiltration of European Civilization in Japan During the 18th Century.

The Infiltration of European Civilization in Japan During the 18th Century.

The Infiltration of European Civilization in Japan During the 18th Century.