〈「日本」の再想像／創造―越境する若者の経験〉を再そうぞうする

抄録

The author was a discussant of the special theme session at the 2020 Annual Conference of the Intercultural Education Society of Japan. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is also to re-read the theme of “Re-Imagining/Re-Creating ‘Japan’: The Experiences of Border-Crossing Youths” and provide comments.

The bold theme of “Re-Imagining/Re-Creating ‘Japan’” provides various images to those who receive it. However, to simplify the aim of this theme, it does not attempt to criticize the current situation or provide policy recommendations, but it is a call for each person to “freely” imagine and create a multicultural co-existence society (tabunka kyosei shakai),“a society where diverse lives can co-exist,” which is the goal of this association. A unique feature of the special theme session is that it took three different approaches by examining the “experiences of border-crossing youth.”

If “Japan” that is assumed when one claims loudly from a particular position or criticizes the status quo, is the capitalized single “Japan,” then “Japan” that is re-imagined and re-created by “border-crossing youths,” who are seemingly positioned outside and at the margin of “Japan,” is the lower-case plural “japan” created through their voices. It is not only a resistance to the status quo, but is also what Ghassan Hage describes as alter-politics. People do not only live their lives by strongly resisting unjust reality but also by re-imagining and re-creating “humane lives” for individuals in their daily lives.

However, the researchers’ mission will not be achieved by simply listening to individuals and collecting their voices. Researchers also re-imagine and re-create “Japan” through listening to the voices and crafting research, which requires them to continuously develop critical imaginations.