There is excellent English-language work available on the years leading up to Japan's Meiji Restoration—and specifically how and why a certain domain, Chōshū (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), played such a prominent role in the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Still, questions remain. What enabled the radical reformers of Chōshū to come to power, and allowed them to achieve victory over an enormous punitive force dispatched to chastise them? Why did Chōshū succeed when so many other domains stood on the sidelines or, like Mito, fell apart too early to play a revolutionary role? Part one of this article seeks to answer these questions. Part two, however, is devoted to a troubling historiographical issue: a single English-language work, namely Albert Craig’s Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration (published over fifty years ago), appears to have “won” the debates over Chōshū's exceptionalism. Worse yet, even mild challenge to Craig’s interpretation was met with a blistering rebuke, effectively shutting down debate, or even questions, about Craig’s admittedly quite persuasive position. But should scholarship rely so completely on a single book, to the point of rather harshly criticizing those who might disagree? This article seeks not only to answer these historiographical questions but also to provide a detailed yet accessible account of Chōshū in the years before the Meiji Restoration, intervening in the stalled historiographic debates to suggest a view that synthesizes the strengths of each. This is a critically important task, because understanding the root causes of Chōshū's strength is a vital step towards understanding how the Meiji Restoration unfolded in the way it did—and unlocking the secrets of the Meiji Restoration is fundamental to making sense of all subsequent Japanese history.

View full abstract

Studies have assessed the ability of exercise interventions to create a stronger coupling between energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE). The present study compared the effects of 4-week exercise and diet intervention programs. Three males and nine females (mean age 35 ± 9yr, mean height (cm) 170.42 ± 9.68, mean weight (kg) 72.77 ± 13.23, mean BMI 25.0 ± 3.8 kg/m2) participated in either the exercise (n=7) or diet (n=5) intervention. The exercise and diet interventions comprised of a 500 kcal/d increase in EE for 5 days/wk and a 500 kcal/d energy restriction respectively, for 5 days/wk for 4 weeks. Energy compensation response to the two interventions was assessed by comparing ad libitum energy intake responses to high-energy (HE) (556 kcal) and low-energy (LE) (239 kcal) pre-load breakfasts administered at baseline and at the end of the interventions. Visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to assess subjective appetite sensations. No significant improvement in compensation sensitivity was observed in the exercise group. However, there was a trend towards a decrease in test meal intake after the HE pre-load at week 4. The diet group did not change intake in response to the varied energy content of the preloads. However, a lack of compensation resulted at week 4 with the HE preload. This study did not statistically support previous findings of the effect exercise and diet interventions have on appetite and compensatory responses; exercise improves appetite control by coupling EI and EE and dieting leads to a dis-regulation of appetite control.

View full abstract

The project explored the nature and current practices of offender rehabilitation in Akita, and analyzed possible barriers against implementation of arts and culture-based offender rehabilitation practices in Akita. The data were collected through focus groups and interviews, conducting semi-structured conversations with the foci of: general functions of the institutions or the group/individuals; characteristics of offenders and perceived challenges faced by stakeholders; and potentials and challenges of art-based interventions. This paper reports the findings on the community-based rehabilitation initiatives.

The findings of the research includes: The opportunities for arts and cultural activities during non-custodial treatment is limited or has become more limited than in the past. Identified issues, concerning the principle of arts-based rehabilitation and community inclusion, are: stronger focus on accountability, punishment and control affecting individual rehabilitation; and distance with the community at different levels. The results are discussed from the 'systems' and the ‘community’ perspectives, focusing on the impact of recent changes in legislation of rehabilitation practices reflected in the stakeholder observation, and also the characteristics of 'community', possibly affecting the environment for offender rehabilitation in Japan.
This project has been funded by the Institute for Asian Studies and Regional Collaboration (IASRC), Akita International University.

View full abstract

This paper seeks to enhance our understanding of the complexities entwined with carrying economic liberalization by focusing on the politics of development, liberalization, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea. The first section identifies key political, economic, and ideological components of Park Chung Hee’s developmental system and demonstrates that it entailed political and social mechanisms far beyond its notable economic institutions. This analysis is then employed to develop an enriched understanding of the contentious politics surrounding FDI liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s during the presidencies of Chun Doo Hwan and Kim Young Sam. These sections demonstrate that both societal and bureaucratic actors often rooted their resistance to reforms within the ideological milieu that underpinned the Park regime’s legitimacy. Particularly, that the fervent nationalist, autonomy-centered language deployed to support the developmental dictatorship served to delegitimize market reforms as well as those who supported them. Finally, the paper incorporates data collected during field research at several universities in South Korea during March 2016 to evaluate the efficacy of official efforts to alter public sentiments, as embodied by the socio-cultural component of Kim Young Sam’s segyehwa initiative. The data lends some credence to the notion that this generation of Koreans holds more positive attitudes towards globalization than their predecessors, but that this has done little to change their overriding negative assessment of major political and economic institutions.

View full abstract

This paper tests the heuristic power of Cultural Historical Activity System Theory (CHAT) to analyze the implementation of residential learning communities, known as Themed Houses, at an English medium of instruction liberal arts college in Japan. The study examines the practice of implementation from the point of view of administration, faculty supervisors and the student residents. It identifies contradictions arising from the dynamic activity systems that mediate the implementation of Themed Houses, examines how these contradictions have been or could be resolved, and then develops generalizable findings that can be used by other colleges that may be considering similar initiatives.

View full abstract