Perception Of Japan Research Articles

The impact of China under the ruling of Ming dynasty (1368-1644) upon the formation of ritual and customs of the early Ōbaku-shū and its perception in Japan

The Ōbaku-shū (Ōbaku School) is a new trend of the Japanese Zen Buddhism, which was brought to Japan by the Chinese monks who arrived the islands during the Edo period (1603-1868). The Ōbaku teaching of Chinese origin was an absolute novelty for Japan with its policy of isolationism from the outside world, which at the initial stages led to surge in its popularity. This article examines some peculiarities of the ritual practice and routine of the Ōbaku-shū, which most vividly characterize its connection with the mainland and sparks particular interest of the Japanese population of Edo period.  The scientific novelty is substantiated by the absence of special research in the Russian Japanese studies dedicated to the Ōbaku School, therefore, special attention is given to the English-languae and Japanese-language sources. The conclusion is made that despite the fact that the Ōbaku School eventually did not succeed in revolutionizing the Buddhist community of Japan, it still saw some level of success on the islands. The popularity of the new teaching in many ways was justified by its “otherness”, and “Chinese flavor”. The foreign origin and cultural peculiarities attracted people to the Ōbaku temples. The external decor and exoticism: musical instruments, colorful rituals, Chinese garments, hairstyles, monastery food, etc. formed a peculiar image of the school in the minds of Japanese people, and led to surge in its popularity in the new land.

Unpacking the Intellectual Basis of China’s Policy toward Japan: Chinese Strategic Thought Spectrum and Strategic Perceptions of Japan since 2000

ABSTRACT Although Sino–Japanese relations have been on a recovery course, the deterioration of ties in the first one and a half decades since 2000 should not be forgotten. This article aims to unpack China’s perception formation mechanism toward Japan during these turbulent fifteen years by introducing the perspective of strategic perception. Because China’s strategic perception toward Japan is largely derived from its overall perceptions of the international system, this article focuses on China’s strategic elites to systemically trace the evolution of China’s perception of Japan and its policy implications, and to provide a new perception equilibrium that reduced the US factor in the formation of a mutual Sino–Japanese perception.

Factors associated with the recruitment of foreign nurses in Japan: a nationwide study of hospitals

BackgroundNurse migration under bilateral agreements is a recent global trend, although lack of consultation with the health industries has led to challenges in the recruitment of foreign nurses by hospitals. To analyze the prevailing perception of hospitals on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), under which Japan opened the doors to foreign nurses, we surveyed hospitals that are yet to employ foreign nurses.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was developed and distributed to eligible hospitals; it assessed managers’ perception of Japan’s policy on the recruitment of foreign nurses and their intentions to hire foreign nurses under the EPA (hereafter called EPA nurses). We randomly selected 1879 hospitals, or 22% of the hospitals in Japan (n = 8540), with more than 20 beds. We used descriptive statistics, a Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis to identify the predictors and developed a model to predict the likelihood of their intention to recruit EPA nurses in the future.ResultsIn total, 432 hospitals were eligible for further analysis (response rate: 22.9%). Half (50%) of the hospital managers were considerably interested in Japan’s policy on recruiting EPA nurses, although only 20% intended to recruit EPA nurses in the future. Willingness to recruit EPA nurses was associated with the degree of interest in the policy (OR 9.38; 95% CI 4.42–19.90) and managers’ perception of EPA nurses (OR 5.32, 95% CI 2.38–11.89).ConclusionsTo attract more hospitals to recruit foreign nurses, it is essential for the Japanese government and the sending countries to review their EPA systems. Utilizing returning nurses to assist language acquisition by the forthcoming EPA nurses could be a provisional solution. For a more fundamental solution, long-term provision, from prior to their migration until their return migration, is needed to encourage brain circulation, as opposed to brain drain, between sending and receiving countries.

A Victorian Lady in the Land of the Rising Sun:
 the Image of Japan in Isabella Bird’s «Unbeaten Tracks in Japan»

The article is devoted to the image of Japan and the Japanese in the book «Unbeaten Tracks in Japan» by Isabella Bird, a famous British traveler, a member of the Royal Geographical Society, an author of a number of works written during her many travels. In April, 1878 the Victorian woman arrived in
 the Land of the Rising Sun. In the search for the «real» Japan, she made her way through the countryside, in places where no European had ever set foot. The traveler, accompanied by a guide, visited many places untouched by foreigners, including Yozo (Hokkaido). The writer reflected the results of her impressions,
 observations and research in letters to her sister. They became the basis of her work «Unbeaten Tracks in Japan», which was created later. Throughout the XIX century, the British Empire expanded its borders,
 seized new territories and sought to strengthen its influence in other countries. For Japan, it was a period of political, economic and cultural upheavals. It was the time of an active clash with a foreign culture and rapid development. The
 Land of the Rising Sun entered the arena of international relations that, of
 course, attracted the Europeans’ attention.
 This article primarily examines Miss Bird’s perception of Japan, her assessment of culture, politics, art, the Japanese’s life, their characters. An important factor is the comparison of the image of «fabulous» Japan, which was created outside Japan, and the real Japan, where the writer traveled.

Enlightened education: growth, the garden, and Japan perceptions of Constantijn Huygens

ABSTRACT Child education and accompanying discourse in the seventeenth-century circles of Constantijn Huygens are thoroughly researched. But while children grow up, parents also learn and not only through their siblings. Some remarks about experiences that Huygens had outside the regular discourse on education can be made. Huygens’ correspondence and his garden poem Hofwijck show that Japan played a significant role in his understanding of uncontrolled growth of plants in garden wilderness where ideas on vegetal growth extend to raising children. A major informant on the Far East in Huygens’ family circles was François Caron, who reported in detail on children growing up in Japan. Relative success of their children in society shows that their educational approaches apparently worked. A novel understanding of processes of growth and limitations to influence such processes in the garden denied Renaissance reasoning; combined with insights from Japan it strengthened Huygens in promoting his enlightened ideas on individual talent of children.

DENIAL OF HISTORY? YASUKUNI VISITS AS SIGNALING

AbstractUnder what conditions would Japanese leaders visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and why? Previous studies have focused primarily on the domestic benefits and effects of such visits, claiming that leaders employ visits to follow their own conservative ideology and gain domestic political support. Given the harsh international criticism that tends to ensue, however, political leaders should also consider the cost and international effects of such visits. This study proposes three necessary conditions for such visits: a conservative ruling party, a government enjoying high popularity, and Japan's perception of a Chinese threat. With regard to the latter, a security threat from China has allowed Japan to use these visits as a credible signal of its resolve against China. Comparative analyses of Japanese cabinets after the mid-1980s support this argument.

오윤겸(吳允謙)의 일본사행과 대일인식

이 글은 선조～인조대 활약했던 오윤겸이 일본을 어떤 시각으로 바라보았는지를 구명한 것이다. 오윤겸은 1592년 일본이 조선을 침략했을 때 정철의 종사관으로 활약했고, 평강현감을 지냈다. 전쟁 경험은 그에게 일본에 대해 부정적 이미지를 심어주었을 가능성이 높다.BR 1609년 7월～1610년 9월 오윤겸은 동래부사를 지냈다. 이때 그는 대일외교 현안을 해결하면서, 일본 사신의 접대와 관련된 규정들을 만들어 나갔던 것 같다. 1617년 오윤겸은 회답사의 정사로 임명되었다. 사행 전 그는 사행단의 밀무역 금지, 일본에서 돌아온 피로인의 사행금지 등을 주장했다. 또 일본이 조선 사신을 인도해야 함을 강조했다. 이러한 모습들은 일본을 의심하면서, 조선이 일본보다 우위에 있다는 그의 일본관의 한 단면을 보여주는 것이다.BR 사행 중 오윤겸은 쓰시마를 조선의 번병으로 규정하여 상하관계를 분명히 하면서도, 적대감을 보이지는 않았다. 일본의 덴노와 정치체제에 대해 부정적 시각을 나타내기도 했지만, 일본의 음식과 숙소, 사신 접대 등에 만족감을 나타냈다. 일본의 경제적 번영에 대해서도 긍정적 시각을 보였다.BR 사행 후 이괄의 난이 발발하자 오윤겸은 왜관에 있던 일본인의 도움을 얻으려 했다. 1629년 쓰시마에서 보낸 사신은 상경을 요구했고, 상경 후에는 공무목의 추가지급을 요구했다. 이에 대해 그는 유연한 모습을 보이면서도, 조선의 국익을 우선시하였다. 야나가와 잇켄 이후 일본의 침략 가능성이 제기되었지만, 이를 부정하는 등 일본을 신뢰했다.BR 오윤겸은 사행을 계기로 일본에 대해 유연한 시각을 보인 반면, 여진족에 대해서는 적대감과 불신감을 나타냈다. 이는 북쪽의 여진족과 남쪽의 일본 모두를 상대해야 하는 당시 조선의 대외적 상황이 반영된 것이었다. 그러나 가장 중요한 것은 대일사행 경험이 그의 대일인식에 영향을 미쳤고, 사행후 그는 일본에 대한 경계심을 거두고 조선이 실리를 추구하는 방향에서 대일정책을 전개했다는 점이다.

20대 대학생들의 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도 결정요인 연구 -불매운동 미디어 노출, 일본 인식, 불매운동 효능감 인식, 계획행동이론을 중심으로-

과연 일본 관광불매 의도는 어떠한 맥락에서 발생하고 있는 것인가. 이 연구는 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도 결정요인을 확인함으로써 이 문제에 대한 하나의 해답을 얻고자 했다. 선행연구 검토를 통해 일본 불매운동 노출(방송, 유튜브, SNS), 일본 이미지(관광지로서 일본 인식, 적대감인식). 역사/사회적 인식(피해자 동일시, 지각된 악의성), 불매운동 효능감 인식, 계획행동이론 변인을 독립변인으로 설정했다. 이 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다.<BR> 첫째, 방송을 통한 일본 불매운동 노출이 많을수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 둘째, 관광지로서 일본에 대한 이미지가 부정적일수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 셋째, 일본에 대한 국가적 적대감 인식이 높을수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 넷째, 일제의 위안부, 강제징용에 대한 피해자 동일시 정도가 높을수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 다섯째, 불매운동의 효능감 인식이 높을 수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 여섯째, 일본 관광 불매에 대해 긍정적 인식을 가지고 있을수록, 자신의 일본 관광 불매를 주변인들이 긍정적으로 평가할 것이라는 인식이 높을수록 지속적 일본 관광불매 의도가 높아졌다. 이 연구는 연구결과를 기반으로 일본 관광 불매를 해결할 수 있는 제언을 수행했다.

The Title of the Collection of Yu Dafu «沉论》(1921) as an Image of Perception and Self-perception

The relevance of the research is determined by the interest of modern literary criticism to the issues of reflection in the artistic word of the processes of perception of each other by ethnic groups. The novelty of the work is defined by the appeal to the previously unpublished in Russia and not studied text of the collection by Yu Dafu Chen Lun as a source of reconstruction of the image of Japan's perception by the Chinese intelligentsia of the 1920s-1940s and self-perception. The problem of the research is to reconstruct the semantic content of the Chinese lexeme 沉 论 （Chen Lun) as an artistic concept of the image of Japan's perception and self-perception of the Chinese living there. The purpose of the work is to explicate the ideological and psychological mechanisms of creating images of perception and self-perception of the Chinese in the prose of Yu Dafu as a representative of the Left Wing of Chinese literature in the 1920s-1940s. The methodology of the work is based on a comparative analysis of the ideological and thematic content of the book and the semantics of the title of the collection, translations of these titles into Russian and English in different historical periods. The author uses historical-literary, comparative-historical methods, lexical-semantic analysis, comparative analysis of translation and translations with the original, conceptual analysis. On the basis of a comparative analysis of Russian and English translations of story titles (〇mut - Whirlpool), a lexical and semantic analysis of the word 沉论， key concepts and ideas of the collection, the author proposes another version of the translation into Russian as Pogryazshie (Drowned). The heroes of the Yu Dafu collection are young reflective Chinese intellectuals who came to Japan in the mid-1910s, have ambivalent feelings: the desire to see in Japan and the Japanese a model for self-improvement, and at the same time - dislike for the “higher” culture in relation to China. This study helps to reconstruct with psychological certainty the image of perception of Japan and the Japanese by revolutionary-minded Chinese youth of the 1920s, to explicate their image of self-perception, ideas about their own ethnos and ways of development of the Chinese state and Chinese ethnicity in this historical period. Keywords: literary images of perception, poetics of translation, China, Japan

Governing Japan: The Perception, Influence and Theoretical Interpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and What It Means for Its Security Policy in the 21&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;st&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; Century, If Revised

This paper explores the perception, influence and theoretical interpretation of the Japanese Article 9 “Peace Constitution” enacted in the Japanese Constitution, and what it means for its Security Policy in the 21st Century, if revised. The Japanese Constitution of 1947, drafted by the United States of America while Japan was under their occupation, is one that the Japanese society over the past few years has been struggling with, that is, the stipulation of a timeframe for the revision of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Analytically, the impact of a potential transformation of the Japanese Constitution Article 9 since its enactment might exacerbate the perception of Japan in East Asia and the international system, thus increasing and emphasizing various concerns bringing to the forefront the effects of a revised Security Policy in the 21st Century. The question of whether Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution should be amended, and if amended, how it should be revised to allow Japan to form armed forces for self-defense is an issue that has garnered numerous concerns over the years.

Joint Declaration of Korea-Japan Partnership and Security Cooperation

1998년 성립된 김대중 정부의 새로운 대일 정책은 김대중 대통령 자신의 대일 인식과 북한 핵위기로 촉발된 한반도 정세의 변화, 그리고 탈냉전 이후 미국의 동북아 안보정책의 변화가 종합적으로 반영된 결과물이다. 특히 탈냉전 이후에도 국민 감정상 일본과의 안보협력이 어려웠던 상황에서 북한 위협은 한일 양국의 안보 관련 정책결정자 및 전문가들에게 한일 안보협력의 필요성을 느끼게 만들었다. 1998년 김대중 정부 출범 이후 한일 안보협력의 필요성을 전략적인 관점에서 바라보고 있던 김대중 대통령은 ‘한일 파트너십 공동선언’에 한일 안보협력 분야를 포함시켰다. 한일 파트너십 공동선언에서 안보협력 분야에서 나타난 가장 큰 특징은 한일 간 안보협력을 위한 ‘신뢰’ 구축과 이에 기반한 한일 협력의 ‘제도화’ 추구였다. 또한 한일 간 안보분야에서의 다자주의와 비전통 안보, 국제협력은 한일 양국 간에 한국의 대일감정과 일본의 평화헌법이라는 국내제약 요인을 감안하여 실질적으로 진행 가능한 분야를 선택했다는 점에서 의의를 찾을 수 있다. 향후 한국의 대일 안보 협력은 ‘한일 파트너십 공동선언’의 정신을 계승하면서 다음과 같은 방향으로 진행되어야 한다. 첫째, 한일 안보협력의 신뢰 구축과 제도화가 필요하다. 둘째, 다자주의 안보 협력을 추구해야 한다. 셋째, 비전통 안보 분야 등 국제협력에 중점을 둬야 한다.The Kim Dae-Jung government’s policy towards Japan, inaugurated in 1998, reflected collectively his perception of Japan, and changes both in the political situation on the Korean peninsula triggered by North Korea’s nuclear crisis and in U.S. security policy towards Northeast Asia after the Cold War. In a situation where security cooperation with Japan was difficult because of strong resentment, the North’s threat made security-related decision-makers and experts feel the urgent need for security cooperation between South korea and Japan. Since the inauguration of Kim Dae-Jung, he has sought security cooperation between Korea and Japan from a strategic perspective to cover security cooperation in the Joint Declaration of a New Korea-Japan Partnership for the 21st Century. The key features for security cooperation in the partnership are ‘trust-building’ between Korea and Japan and the ‘institutionalization’ of bilateral cooperation based on trust. Considering Korea’s resentment towards Japan and the constraints of Japan’s pacifist Constitution, it is worthwhile that the partnership has been focused on the practically applicable fields of multilateralism, non-traditional security and international cooperation. The Korean government should pursue security cooperation with Japan while upholding the partnership as follows. First, it is necessary to build trust and institutionalize for security cooperation between Korea and Japan. Second, multilateral security cooperation should be pursued. Third, international cooperation such as non-traditional security should be focused on.

‘He is Our Opponent, Not Our Enemy’: Two Rugby Tours and Australasian Perceptions of Japan during the 1930s

This paper explores aspects of the Australian (1934) and New Zealand (1936) universities rugby union tours of Japan. These were conducted at a time when Australasian understandings of Japan were very limited – notwithstanding a number of very positive Japanese sporting excursions to Australia from the late 1920s. Equally this was a period when a rapidly modernizing and expansionist Japan was engendering contrasting reactions from the international community. On one hand it was a friend with whom sport provided opportunities for peace and understanding. On the other it was a threat to stability in Asia and the Pacific. Elements of this duality can be seen in both the on- and off-field conduct of the rugby tours. The unpublished private diary of one of the New Zealand players also reveals significant disjuncture with the public narrative of sportsmanship and internationalism that characterized press accounts of these and other tours.

Japanese Attitudes Toward China and the United States: A Sociological Analysis

As China and the United States have a great impact on Japan, Japanese attitudes toward China and the United States have been the focus of debate. This study uses nationally representative longitudinal data from Japan to investigate how the economic and political threats are relevant to Japanese attitudes toward China and the United States. Empirical analyses find that: first, socioeconomic status (SES) is significantly associated with individuals’ attitudes toward the United States but not China. Second, individuals’ perceptions of Japan’s economic situation influence their attitudes toward China and the United States; that is, an optimistic assessment of Japan’s economy increases the Japanese people’s positive attitudes toward both China and the United States. Finally, the political threats have contrasting effects on Japanese attitudes toward China and the United States. Concerns over political threats increase Japan’s favorable attitudes toward the United States while deteriorating the positive attitudes toward China.

Japanese revisionists and the ‘Korea threat’: insights from ontological security

This article contributes to the debate on Japanese security. Drawing on insights from ontological security, it challenges conventional understandings that China and North Korea are Japan’s main security threats. It argues that South Korea poses a powerful threat to the Japanese right-wing revisionists’ perception of Japan. The revisionists have attempted to secure Japan’s identity from the ‘Korea threat’ by labelling South Korea a ‘non-democracy’, and this tactic has been taken up by the Japanese government as well. The article concludes by pointing out that such moves could unwittingly result in the emergence of security dilemmas between the two main democracies in Northeast Asia.

『扶桑紀行』의 특징과 鄭后僑의 일본 인식

This study examines the characteristics of Record of a Journey to Japan (扶桑紀行, Pusang kihaeng) written during the 1719 embassy and the perception of Japan by its author, Chŏng Hukyo. Chŏng was recognized as a prominent poet among Noron literati such as Kim Chang-hŭp and Sin Chŏng-ha during the reign of King Sukjong. As a soldier of the 1719 mission to vice envoy Hwang Sŏn, he was responsible for exchanging poetry with the Japanese along with the embassy’s clerks and secretaries. Joining the mission to Japan was a form of leisure for him, and this is apparent from how his emissary record focuses on detailed such sightseeing experiences rather than on information. The record mainly focuses on sensory descriptions of scenery and unique sights as well as recreating the exchange of diaries and poetry in written conversations with Japanese literati. In particular, it is noteworthy for its vivid descriptions of diverse experiences such as whale hunting and sites of poetry exchange not found in other emissary records. Moreover, Chŏng’s perception of Japan can be analyzed from three aspects. The first of these is approval of Japan’s legal system and national strength. The second is a sensitive reappraisal of Japanese character and customs from a sympathetic viewpoint. The third is a new understanding of Japan’s civilization through an adaptation of the discourse of Sino-barbarian dichotomy (華夷論, hwa-yi-ron). The last is particularly interesting in its adaptation, or roundabout modifying, of the premises of an existing concept among Chosŏn intellectuals to produce a new understanding. The above investigation of Record of a Journey to Japan demonstrates several important points for analysis in research on emissary records. A comparison with records from the same or different time periods will broaden the scope of the study.

DIPLOMASI GEISHA JEPANG DAN DAMPAKNYA PADA PERSEPSI ANGGOTA-ANGGOTA LVRI (LEGIUN VETERAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA) KOTA MALANG TERHADAP JEPANG

Japanese Geisha Diplomacy is an important effort of the Japanese government in changing the international community's perception of Japan in treating women. This article seeks to analyze the Geisha Diplomacy in the context of the impact it has on the perceptions of members of the Republic of Indonesia Veterans Legion (LVRI) towards Japan. The analysis in this paper uses the concepts of cultural diplomacy, women's diplomacy and perception theory. Analysis of the perceptions of members of the Republic of Indonesia Veterans Legion (LVRI) shows that their perception of Japan is increasingly positive, especially after the emergence of Geisha Diplomacy by Japan.

Rivalry in the Middle East? Japan’s CEAPAD initiative and China’s rise

Ever since the so-called rise of China has started, Sino-Japanese relations have been increasingly described as a rivalry between both states. For the most part, this assumed rivalry has been analyzed on the global level or within the boundaries of the East Asian region, while the consequences of this rivalry for other world regions, such as the Middle East, have been largely neglected in the literature. In order to fill this gap, this article investigates how China’s growing presence in the Middle East, and in particular regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, influences Japan’s own foreign policy in this troubled region. It utilizes a modified concept of the strategic rivalry approach, called ‘asymmetric rivalry’, which challenges the widespread notion that rivalry needs to be mutually perceived by both sides and thus analyzes the assumed Sino-Japanese rivalry in the Middle East from a Japanese perspective. By focusing on the case of Japan’s CEAPAD initiative, which aims at coordinating East Asian countries’ developmental assistance towards the Palestinian Authority while deliberately excluding China, the present article shows that the perception of Japan’s foreign policy elite of China as a rival decisively influences how Japan’s foreign policy is shaped in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Intervention or Occupation”: The Perception of Japan in the West Siberian Press (November 1918 — December 1919)

“Intervention or Occupation”: The Perception of Japan in the West Siberian Press (November 1918 — December 1919)

Gender Image of Japan in Russia and the USSR: From the Country of Women to the Country of Samurai (from the End of the 19th Century to the Second World War)

The word “samurai” firmly rooted in the modern Russian language, along with Fujiyama, geisha and sakura. Though obviously this was not always the case. This article traces the initial process of perceiving the concept of samurai in pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union: from the 1890s, from the first military victories of rapidly modernizing Japan, to the RussoJapanese War and further to the beginning of the Second World War. Initially endowed with features of “childishness” or “femininity,” gentleness and grace, the image of Japan is gradually becoming “masculine” and is increasingly associated with the concept of “samurai.” At first, this concept is related to such qualities as belligerence and cruelty but also loyalty to lord and “knightly” honor. Often, following Nitobe Inazo, the best qualities of the Japanese are generally traced back to the samurai tradition. Later, the Japanese appear in an increasingly caricature form, as greedy but powerless aggressors. At first, this image is not associated with the concept of “samurai” but by the 1930s fused with it. At the same time, Soviet authors criticize the “feminine” perception of Japan – they describe both the ruling exploiter and the exploited worker with “masculine” traits. The article examines the early Japanese borrowings in Russian dictionaries of foreign words, the images of the Japanese in the writings of Russian and Soviet writers, the characteristics of the country and its inhabitants in popular editions devoted to Japan as well as in propaganda texts and pictures.

Evaluation of an EFL Teacher Training Program in Japan

This article presents a study undertaken to evaluate how effectively an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) training program helps Japanese EFL teacher trainees prepare for their future positions. Data were collected via both interviews and surveys. Interviews were first conducted with Japanese teacher trainees enrolled in the program to identify concerns related to their EFL learning and teacher training. Since the interviews revealed potential areas for a new direction in the EFL curricula, surveys were later conducted to focus on the teacher trainees’ perceptions of Japan’s diversity. This article discusses the findings from interviews and surveys, and offers recommendations for further improvement to the Japanese EFL program.