Why is the Hollywood blockbuster about the “father of the atomic bomb” not scheduled for release in Japan? Azuma Hiroki, critic and author   This August 2023, I spent eight days in Washington, D.C. for some coverage. I took time out of my schedule to watch Oppenheimer, the most talked-about movie of the summer. Unfortunately, it has not yet been released in Japan, and some people seem to think it is a controversial work. As someone who has seen almost all of director Christopher Nolan’s films, I’m very curious about this. I would like to share with you a little bit about what I thought after actually watching this film. Oppenheimer, a movie depicting the life of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–67), known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” was released in the United States on July 21, 2023. The ... ... [Read more]

This article is no longer available for viewing as the posting permission has expired. Society, No.78  Oct. 4, 2023 Interview with Professor Yonekura Ritsu: Japan’s Self-portrait Reflected in “August Journalism” – Asking Ourselves Why Is This Passed On? YONEKURA Ritsu, Professor, Department of Journalism, Nihon University YONEKURA Ritsu Professor, Department of Journalism, Nihon University Born in 1968 in Ehime Prefecture. Member of the Broadcasting Ethics Verification Committee of Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO). Specializes in video journalism and media history. Served as a director of NHK News Bureau and as a senior researcher at NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute before assuming his current position. His publications include ‘Hachigatsu janarizumu’ to Sengo Nihon (‘August Journalism’ and Postwar Japan), co-editor of Shin hosoron (New broadcasting theory) and Rokaru terebi no 60 nen (Sixty Years of Local Television).   Keywords Yonekura Ritsu Department of Journalism Nihon ... ... [Read more]

  Furuichi Masako, Associate Professor, Peking University Her Books Become Book of the Year Sociologist and feminist Ueno Chizuko (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo) is currently enjoying charismatic popularity in China. Ofuku shokan: Genkai kara hajimaru (Correspondences: Starting at the Edge), which was co-authored with author Suzuki Suzumi and translated into Chinese in September 2022, was not only selected as book of the year on Douban, the largest book review social networking service in China, but ranked third in the weekly ranking in the middle of May as of the writing of this article. Topping the best seller list in 2022 at a Peking University campus bookshop was Ueno’s Onnagirai (Misogyny) published in 2015. Feminism sections have been established at bookstores in the city and Ueno’s books line the shelves. In September 2022, the Japanese language and culture of the School of Foreign Language at ... ... [Read more]

  Tonami Aki, Associate Professor, Tsukuba University Recently, argumentative and cynical influencers have been enjoying increasing popularity in Japan. “Argumentative” generally refers to arguing and seeking to defeat an opponent in an argument. In this context, it refers to a manner of speech used by influencers active on social media. It is considered a debate technique[1] that finds fault and seeks to corner an opponent through the manipulation of information. “Cynical” refers to mocking something, and in social media, it is the act of making fun of someone by looking down on them.[2] Being “cynical” is characterized by the intersection of relationships of power between the online and the real world, whereby so-called “weak” people in the real world treat men and women who are “strong” in the real world with contempt online. So why has support for these argumentative and cynical styles come ... ... [Read more]

  Honda Yuki, Professor, Graduate school of Education, University of Tokyo What is condensed into the University of Tokyo? The University of Tokyo. Needless to say, it is the oldest university in Japan and one of the top universities in Japanese higher education with a clear hierarchical structure such as difficulty of admission and prestige. Tokyo University is often held up as the embodiment of the so-called “meritocracy” (often translated as “merit-based system” or “abilityism” in Japanese) through various means such as television talk shows, quiz programs, and its track record of students having advanced to high schools and preparatory schools. However, reconsideration of the meritocracy itself is also progressing. In April 2019, Ueno Chizuko [Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, chief director of the NPO Women’s Action Network (WAN)] drew attention with her words at the matriculation ceremony of the University of ... ... [Read more]

  Shimizu Yuichiro, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University   We have finally emerged from a very long tunnel. For effectively three years, people’s mobility between Japan and the rest of the world was severely restricted. The fact that goods and information suffered few disruptions is fortunate, but the field of research exchanges, which places an importance on building in-person relationships, was forced into stagnation. Of course, it was not a complete blackout. Various international conferences were held in online formats thanks to the dedicated efforts of those involved. But while those approaches maintained existing connections, they made it difficult to forge new ones for the future. We were reminded of the complex perceptions that face-to-face interactions produce, and of how having extra time during these interactions is important in the way it expands possibilities. The desire for connections seems to have increased ... ... [Read more]

Yamaguchi Ryutaro, Associate Professor, Ohtsuki City College   How do young people living in rural areas make a living? We think about how to best formulate policies to encourage young people to migrate to and settle in rural areas based on interviews with young people who know the reality of this way of life, including daily life, work, and connections with the local community. Introduction One of the goals of the reshuffled second Abe Cabinet, established in 2014, was to overcome population decline and vitalize local economies in the so-called regional revitalization project, seeking to rectify the unbalanced population concentration in the Tokyo metropolitan area as well as to revitalize and curb population decline in rural areas with a decreasing birthrate and aging population. This has been promoted through regional revitalization promotion grants, the transfer of government organizations to rural areas, the creation of ... ... [Read more]

Kariya Takehiko, Professor, Oxford University Arrival (December 20, 2021) At 15:40, the London to Tokyo direct flight touched down at Haneda Airport after a flight of a little less than twelve hours. When I booked the flight in October 2021, arrivals who had been double-vaccinated were exempt from quarantine at a facility. By December omicron variant infections were spreading in South Africa and there were also signs of the virus in Britain (53,945 confirmed infections on December 2, 2021). So, regardless of whether you were vaccinated or not, arrivals from Britain were required to spend six days in quarantine. Still, I was optimistic that I would clear quarantine in six days. After arrival, we were asked to wait in the cabin for thirty minutes for reasons of coordinating the barrage of formalities about to start. I was a little tense after leaving the plane ... ... [Read more]

Kawai Kaori, Nonfiction writer   Nakane Chie Born in 1926, Nakane Chie was a social anthropologist. She was highly acclaimed for her analysis of Japanese society through her experience of fieldwork around the world. She continued her research after she became the first woman appointed to a professorship at the University of Tokyo in 1970. Nakane died of old age on October 12, 2021. She was 94. Her publications include Mikai no kao bunmei no kao (The uncivilized, the civilized; Winner of the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award), Tate shakai no ningen kankei (Personal relations in a vertical society). Photo: Japan Academy/Creative Commons     About ten years ago, an old lady in her 80s carrying a Boston bag arrived unannounced at a temple stood among the buildings in the Tokyo metropolitan area. She said that she wanted to buy a burial place at the ... ... [Read more]

Toishiba Shiho, Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science What were ancient Japanese tombs like? All sorts of funerals have been held in Japan since ancient times, so the traditional Japanese funeral is difficult to define. One great king built a huge “kofun” burial mound. Another emperor wanted his ashes to be scattered. Before dying, Shinran (1173–1263), founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, said his remains should be thrown into the Kamo River in Kyoto for the fish to eat. But contrary to his dying wish, his remains are still respectfully enshrined in the Otani Mausoleum. It is thought that aerial sepulture (wind burial) was the norm for the graves and funerals of common people, at least until around the 12th Century. Very few examples of cemeteries for ordinary people have been excavated from Nara and Heian period (8th–12th centuries) ... ... [Read more]