Process In Japan Research Articles

From red light district to art district: Creative city projects in Yokohama’s Kogane-cho neighborhood

This article examines how a creative city project in Yokohama regenerated urban spaces before and during the 2008 financial crisis. Japanese cases can broaden our view of post-crash effects and policies. Japan avoided financial entanglements that plague the US and much of Europe. However, its export-oriented economy, which never recovered from a long period of stagnation, now suffers because of the declining purchasing power of its Western trading partners. Moreover, the direct role of the state in urban policy suggests a different context than that theorized in Western accounts of urban entrepreneurialism (or neo-liberalism): the latter stresses the role of municipal governments and developers in using creative city policies to create sanitized forms of urban redevelopment. To address the gap in knowledge about this sort of process in Japan, I use strategic informants, observations and secondary data to examine how creative city projects helped transform Yokohama’s Kogane-cho neighborhood from an enclave of brothels to an art district. In contrast to Western cases which feature local government and development interests, I show how creative city policies also were influenced by the interactions of neighborhood groups, provincial police and a national economic development policy encouraging quality of life measures, including crime control in entertainment districts. National stimulus funds have sustained the quality of life initiatives, but the art district’s homogeneity raises doubts about its status as a creative milieu.

ChemInform Abstract: Development of Biocatalytic Processes in Japan and Germany: From Research Synergies to Industrial Applications

AbstractReview: 130 refs.

On A Few Innovations of Chlor-alkali Membrane Process in Japan

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Comparative Study on Moderate Scale Management of Agricultural Land in China and Japan

Abstract: The safety of Chinese agricultural land resources has already influenced the whole world’s food security. “Food Security” has become a vital issue affecting social stability. However, the current condition of Chinese agricultural land is not good. Therefore, agricultural land revolution, moderate scale management of agricultural land, and improvement of land utilization efficiency is urgently needed in China to protect the basic life line of human beings. There are lots of common places as well as unique features between Japan after World War II and China after the reform and open policy in rural land management. By analyzing these familiarities and differences, focusing on the process of Japan's revolution, and learning from Japan's successful experience in agricultural land moderate scale management, this paper wishes to be of some help in improving Chinese agricultural land moderate scale management. Key words: Agricultural land in China and Japan; Moderate Scale; Circulation; Management; Comparative study

Development of Biocatalytic Processes in Japan and Germany: From Research Synergies to Industrial Applications

Development of Biocatalytic Processes in Japan and Germany: From Research Synergies to Industrial Applications

Determination of an acceptable assimilable organic carbon (AOC) level for biological stability in water distribution systems with minimized chlorine residual

There is considerable interest in minimizing the chlorine residual in Japan because of increasing complaints about a chlorinous odor in drinking water. However, minimizing the chlorine residual causes the microbiological water quality to deteriorate, and stricter control of biodegradable organics in finished water is thus needed to maintain biological stability during water distribution. In this investigation, an acceptable level of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) for biologically stable water with minimized chlorine residual was determined based on the relationship between AOC, the chlorine residual, and bacterial regrowth. In order to prepare water samples containing lower AOC, the fractions of AOC and biodegradable organic matter (BOM) in tap water samples were reduced by converting into biomass after thermal hydrolysis of BOM at alkaline conditions. The batch-mode incubations at different conditions of AOC and chlorine residual were carried out at 20 °C, and the presence or absence of bacterial regrowth was determined. The determined curve for biologically stable water indicated that the acceptable AOC was 10.9 μg C/L at a minimized chlorine residual (0.05 mg Cl(2)/L). This result indicated that AOC removal during current water treatment processes in Japan should be significantly enhanced prior to minimization of the chlorine residual in water distribution.

Secularization, Deprivatization, and the Reappearance of ‘Public Religion’ in Japanese Society

Abstract Sociological theories about the fate of religion in modern societies originated in Europe and were initially based on the history of Western Christianity. Whether or not these theoretical perspectives are useful for the analysis of other religious traditions in non-Western regions of the world has been the focus of considerable debate for decades. This article engages some of the familiar theories of secularization in light of major developments in Japanese religion and society over the past two centuries. While it has been widely assumed that modernization inevitably brings with it a decline in religion, the first phase of this process in Japan was accompanied by the creation of a powerful new form of religion—State Shintō—that served to unite the nation around a common set of symbols and institutions for half a century. This was followed by the rapid and forced secularization of Shintō during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952), which essentially privatized or removed it from public institutions. Since the end of the Occupation, however, there has been an ongoing movement to restore the special status of Shintō and its role in the public sphere. Even though recent case studies and survey research indicate that individual religiosity and organized religions are facing serious decline today, the reappearance of religion in public life and institutions represented by this restoration movement also needs to be taken into account in our assessment of secularization in contemporary Japan.

The Conceptual Formation of the Category “Religion” in Modern Japan: Religion, State, Shintō

Abstract The Japanese word shūkyō was originally a coined word occurring in Chinese Buddhist dictionaries, but it became used as the translation for the English word “religion” when the English word was transmitted to Japan from the West after the opening of the country at the end of the nineteenth century. At that time, a new kind of Japanese language treating Shintō and Buddhism as ‘religions’ was born, with Christianity forming the axis, but while still intertwined with Buddhism and Shintō. Bearing in mind the Protestant influence on acculturation processes in Japan at the beginning of the Meiji period, this paper aims to offer an overview of how the term “religion” became embedded in Japan and how the Meiji government dealt with the competition of Shintō against Christianity and Buddhism. In that context it touches upon crucial historical and social developments such as the clash between science and religion of the late 1870s and the opposition between the state and religion in the early 1890s, together with well-known incidents such as the Uchimura Kanzō affair. The paper focuses in particular on the period from the end of the early modern Edo regime through the end of the Meiji period and analyzes how views of religious issues underwent transition within Japan.

Development of disaster mental health guidelines through the Delphi process in Japan.

BackgroundThe mental health community in Japan had started reviewing the country’s disaster mental health guidelines before the Great East Japan Earthquake, aiming to revise them based on evidence and experience accumulated in the last decade. Given the wealth of experience and knowledge acquired in the field by many Japanese mental health professionals, we decided to develop the guidelines through systematic consensus building and selected the Delphi method.MethodsAfter a thorough literature review and focus group interviews, 96 items regarding disaster mental health were included in Delphi Round 1. Of 100 mental health professionals experienced in disaster response who were invited to participate, 97 agreed. The appropriateness of each statement was assessed by the participants using a Likert scale (1: extremely inappropriate, 9: very appropriate) and providing free comments in three rounds. Consensus by experts was defined as an average score of ≥7 for which ≥70% of participants assigned this score, and items reaching consensus were included in the final guidelines.ResultsOverall, of the 96 items (89 initially asked and 7 added items), 77 items were agreed on (46 items in Round 1, and 19 positive and 12 negative agreed on items in Round 2). In Round 2, three statements with which participants agreed most strongly were: 1) A protocol for emergency work structure and information flow should be prepared in normal times; 2) The mental health team should attend regular meetings on health and medicine to exchange information; and 3) Generally, it is recommended not to ask disaster survivors about psychological problems at the initial response but ask about their present worries and physical condition. Three statements with which the participants disagreed most strongly in this round were: 1) Individuals should be encouraged to provide detailed accounts of their experiences; 2) Individuals should be provided with education if they are interested in receiving it; and 3) Bad news should be withheld from distressed individuals for fear of causing more upset.ConclusionsMost items which achieved agreement in Round 1 were statements described in previous guidelines or publications, or statements regarding the basic attitude of human service providers. The revised guidelines were thus developed based on the collective wisdom drawn from Japanese practitioners’ experience while also considering the similarities and differences from the international standards.

Japan's reception of Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse

In Japan, Émile Durkheim's main work on the sociology of religion, Les Formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse (hereafter Les Formes élémentaires) had a major impact on not only the field of sociology, but also on the fields of anthropology and the study of religion (Shūkyōgaku). However, the detailed circumstances of this impact are not well known outside Japan, probably due to the language barrier. This article delineates the process of Japan's reception of Les Formes élémentaires, particularly before the Second World War, and considers the significance of the effect this publication had upon academic disciplines in Japan, especially the study of religion.

Reintegrative Shaming and Juvenile Delinquency in Japan

The Japanese juvenile justice system has been widely regarded as operating based on the principles of reintegrative shaming. Reintegrative shaming, as opposed to a stigmatizing form of shaming, communicates disapproval of wrongdoing with respect, and emphasizes rehabilitation, reintegration, and restoration. Central to reintegrative shaming at the initial contact point of the criminal justice system in Japan are apology and diversion by the local police. Citing juvenile delinquency cases reported in a major national newspaper in Japan, this study analyzes to what extent the community reacted to the delinquency upon its commission. This analysis helps clarify the juvenile justice process in Japan, and sheds light on the theory and practice of reintegrative shaming.

Post-Fordism: Production and the Labor Process in Japan

Post-Fordism: Production and the Labor Process in Japan

A new anatomy of the retirement process in Japan

In Japan, retirement is a gradual process that transpires over a particularly long period of time. Using large scale micro-level datasets from the Survey of Employment of the Elderly compiled by the Japanese government, we provide some stylized facts on the development of retirement behavior since the 1980s and explore factors affecting the individual retirement decision. First, we observed a general declining trend in the proportion of retired individuals aged 55–59 (especially females) while the proportion of retired individuals aged 65–69 (especially males) increased. Second, the survival analysis on actual retirement age shows that those who are more educated are more likely to retire earlier and those who experienced mandatory retirement are less likely. Third, the survival analysis on the expected retirement age shows that individuals who are satisfied with their job in terms of nonmonetary rewards are less likely to retire earlier.

일본 해안경관 형성과정의 메커니즘 분석

Coastal landscape is a collective setting of artificial or natural elements along the seaside. The approach method for the coastal landscape formation is different from that of urban landscape formation. This study analyzes the mechanism of coastal landscape formation process in Japan in the aspects of recognition phase, formation phase, and practice phase. The characteristics of coastal landscape formation process in Japan are construction of a survey system for integrating diverse landscape elements as a final coastal landscape, construction of a coherent evaluation system responding the local natural and spatial characters, and building a cooperative system responding the police of coastal landscape formation. This study suggest the implications both for the improvement of domestic local values and for the ways of the domestic coastal landscape formation.

To make "We the People": Constitutional founding in postwar Japan and South Korea

This article is a theoretically-informed comparative analysis of the constitution-making processes in Japan and South Korea after the end of the Second World War. Written under the hegemonic influence of the United States and against the backdrop of the dawning Cold War, both constitutions demonstrate the inadequacies of the conventional theoretical account of “We the People” as “constituent power.” We argue that the “constituent people” was forged in the course of a deep constitutional politics—rather than vice versa—in which the role of “externalities” and the resuscitation of “useable pasts” were intrinsically tied to the formation of new constitutional peoplehood in postwar Japan and postcolonial Korea. Going beyond the common presupposition that a well-defined constituent people exists prior to the constitutional moment with a unified political will and robust agency, we suggest that the Japanese and Korean “exception” may actually prove to be the rule for theorizing about constitutional democracy in the age of globalization.

A Comparative Study on Japan's Outward FDI to Korea and China

This paper addresses a comparative analysis of outward FDI to Korea and China by Japanese MNCs. The study aims to review the level of economic development of countries expanding overseas and the relativity of outward FDI patterns, and the change process of Japan's outward FDI from the standpoint of the Investment Development Path Theory. The result can be summarized as follows: First, as a result of examining the long-term changes of Japan's outward FDI, the development process can be mapped in the order of resource securing→entry into developed markets→production cost reduction→measurements to regional economic integration→establish international division of production→entry into developing countries for markets. In particular, the exchange rate factor called high Yen played a vital role in terms of production cost reduction. Second, as result of outward FDI compared with Korea and China, while the proportion of non-manufacturing industry is higher in the case of Korea, China still has a high proportion in the manufacturing industry. This implies that the investment towards Korea in Japan's outward FDI pattern is swaying toward developed countries. Third, since the 2000s, Japan's outward FDI to China began increasing tremendously, as a new phenomenon, by strategic asset seeking motivation, such as R&D base, rather than the traditional efficiency seeking or market seeking motivations. This explains that the strategic asset seeking motivation can be demonstrated both in South→North and North→South, which can exist in third or fourth phases of the IDP theory. It shows that, dynamics of different directions are also feasible within the strategic asset seeking motivation depending on technology levels.

Life-cycle assessment of domestic and transboundary recycling of post-consumer PET bottles

In recent years, besides being recycled domestically, a part of Japanese post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles have been exported to and recycled in mainland China. In this study, life-cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to compare domestic and transboundary recycling scenarios between Japan and China and disposal scenarios from the viewpoints of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and fossil resource consumption. The following 10 scenarios based on our field surveys were evaluated: Japanese post-consumer PET bottles are (i) recycled into polyester staple in Japan, (ii) recycled into polyester filaments in Japan, (iii) recycled into polyester clothes in Japan, (iv) chemically decomposed and recycled into bottle-grade PET resin in Japan, (v) chemically decomposed and recycled into polyester filaments in Japan, (vi)–(vii) recycled into polyester staple via two different flows in China, (viii) recycled into polyester clothes in China, (ix) incinerated and partly recovered as electricity in Japan, and (x) directly landfilled in Japan. In all the evaluated scenarios, the functional unit is the recycling or disposal of 1 kg of Japanese post-consumer PET bottles. The system boundaries range from waste collection by municipalities to the manufacture of recycled products that can be regarded as substitutes for virgin products, and a credit for the avoided production of equivalent virgin products is given to each scenario. The inventories of both foreground and background processes in Japan were quoted from published reports and databases. The actual conditions of PET bottle recycling that were obtained through field surveys in China were reflected to some inventories of foreground processes in China. The inventories of public electricity supplies in China were based on the national statistics, and the inventories of petroleum products, industrial water supply, and waste treatment are based on our field surveys in China. Other unknown inventories in China were substituted by corresponding inventories in Japan. The results showed that all the domestic and transboundary recycling scenarios had smaller GHG emissions and fossil resource consumptions than the incineration scenario and that the chemical recycling scenarios had larger GHG emissions and fossil resource consumptions than the other recycling scenarios. The landfilling scenario had the largest fossil resource consumption, while it was better than the incineration scenario and slightly better than the chemical recycling scenarios from the viewpoint of GHG emission. The robustness of the results was examined, and it was found that the differences in GHG emission and fossil resource consumption between the domestic and transboundary recycling scenarios, other than the scenarios including cloth-manufacturing processes in system boundaries, were sufficiently large to be robust against the variability of background parameters for electricity supplies. As for the variability against the substitutions between recycled products and virgin products, interchanging the producer countries of substituted virgin products decreases the GHG emissions and fossil resource consumptions of the domestic recycling scenarios, but increases those of the transboundary scenarios. When recycling systems between different countries are compared using LCA, it should be noted that the differences in background parameters have an impact on the environmental burdens of recycling and avoided manufacturing processes, and therefore, the result depends on the identification of the producer countries of the virgin products that are substituted by recycled products. However, it is practically impossible to identify in which country the manufacture of virgin products are avoided by recycling. Therefore, it is recommended that the results be presented according to the relationships between recycled and substituted virgin products as described in this paper.

Urban regeneration through cultural creativity and social inclusion: Rethinking creative city theory through a Japanese case study

This paper aims to rethink creative city theory by analyzing urban regeneration processes in Japan through cultural creativity and social inclusion. The impact of Florida’s theory has led to the common misperception that cities prosper as people of the creative class, such as artists and gays, gather. However, attracting people of the creative class does not automatically make a creative city. Empirical analyses of Kanazawa City, clarify that the creative city needs a ‘culture-based production system’, a well-balanced system of cultural production and cultural consumption that takes advantage of accumulated cultural capital. This paper also examines Osaka City, where creative city policies failed to produce adequate results because they did not take root as a comprehensive urban strategy. However, in spite of these failures, a lively and inclusive grassroots movement has emerged around the creative city. This movement brings Osaka towards being a socially-inclusive creative city.

Japan Day by Day? William Henry Metcalf, Edward Sylvester Morse and Early Tourist Photography in Japan

Edward Sylvester Morse occupies a pre‐eminent position as one of the key proponents of Japanese studies in late nineteenth‐ and early twentieth‐century America. A prolific essayist and collector, Morse’s account of his first visit to Japan, published forty years after the event as Japan Day by Day, presented the author as an avid, albeit nascent observer of Japanese culture. A close examination of the original unpublished manuscript, however, reveals the presence of a compatriot traveller who accompanied him on his excursion to Nikkō. The Milwaukee businessman and amateur photographer William Henry Metcalf has received virtually no critical attention; an obscurity that stands in stark contrast to the copious scholarship devoted to his travel companion. This article explores his photographic activities during his four‐month visit to Japan, establishing his significance as a nineteenth‐century amateur photographer and the earliest to make extensive use of the dry‐plate process in Japan. By shifting the analysis to his visual and textual documents of Japan, and placing them in critical dialogue with those of his more renowned travel associate, this article intends to suggest the motivations that prompted his later excision from Japan Day by Day. This essay argues that the removal of the photographer’s presence from the published account is symptomatic of the marginal status of photography in Japanese visual studies. Morse’s removal of his travel companion from his account reflects a general discomfort with photography as a medium with close associations to tourism and sightseeing rather than the sombre image of the Japanese Area specialist.

Enduring an economic crisis: The effect of macroeconomic shocks on intragenerational mobility in Japan

After the burst of its “bubble” economy in 1989, Japan experienced an astonishingly long economic recession whose gravity surpassed any seen in the industrialized world since the 1930s. While this recession is likely to have important consequences on the well-known workplace arrangements and career mobility patterns in that country, systematic analyses of such consequences are nearly absent. This study examines changes in the rates and directions of job mobility in Japan using work history data collected in 2005 from a nationally representative sample of men and women. I find evidence that Japanese firms have largely retained the core elements of the permanent employment system. The norm that stresses men’s loyalty to their employers, however, appears to have weakened, resulting in higher voluntary job turnover among male workers. In addition, the gender gap in lifetime mobility processes has narrowed, but not because Japanese women have gained opportunities in the workplace. Rather, economic stagnation has led to greater fluctuations in employment and wages over men’s life course, thereby closing the gender gap. Beyond illustrating the changing stratification process in Japan, the findings have general implications for understanding how economic crises impact employment relations, institutional transformations, and social change in advanced industrialized countries.