Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
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Volume 64, Issue 4
Displaying 1-16 of 16 articles from this issue
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Special Issue
  • [title in Japanese]
    [in Japanese], [in Japanese], [in Japanese]
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 530-532
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.530
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • The Logic of Global Family Change in Transforming Modernity
    Focusing on Asia and Europe
    Emiko OCHIAI
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 533-552
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.533
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This essay employs modern family theories developed by Japanese sociologists since the 1980s, to capture the logic of family change in transforming modernity all around the world, particularly in Asia and Europe. To begin with, a theoretical framework that combines demographic transitions and gender changes to define family and social changes is proposed. According to this framework, the first demographic transition and housewifization of women formed the first modernity, with the modern family as the unit of society. Similarly, the second demographic transition and de-housewifization started the second modernity characterized by diversification of family forms and individualization.
    Modernity in East Asia is understood as compressed modernity, with Japan as an exception that experienced semi-compressed modernity. Compressed and semicompressed modernity tend to involve “individualization without individualism” or “familialist individualization” to prevent risks related to family. They are also likely to lead to inadequate political decisions through misunderstanding of the results of favorable demographic conditions as being derived from cultural advantages. Particularly, the “traditionalization of modernity” is likely to occur due to self-Orientalism. The compressed modernity of Asian countries other than Japan has resulted in the rapid globalization of the family by combining and mobilizing the elements of tradition, first and second modernity and globalization.
    In Europe, on the other hand, second modernity can be understood as a phenomenon in societies with relatively declining status in the world system. In other words, second modernity could be the name of the emerging social system adjusted to an aged society with slower economic development, which is the destiny of human societies that have once enjoyed prosperity in the modern world system.
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  • Feminism and Modern Family
    Yumiko EHARA
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 553-571
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.553
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The subject of this paper is an examination of the relationship between contemporary feminism and the family. First, it summarizes the main questions in contemporary feminism concerning the family. Rather than denying the family, contemporary feminism argues for changing the family structure of gender-based division of labor. This is because a family structure of gender-based division of labor makes the economic independence of women difficult due to excessive roles assigned to women in the household. Second, this paper summarizes questions concerning the norms on separation between public and private spheres in family theory in contemporary feminism as follows: Contemporary feminism is critical of the norms on separation between public and private spheres in modern society that define the family domain as a private domain separate from other social domains and considers the family domain to be a domain that is related to other social domains. In addition, women positioned in the family domain in the modern family are considered to have an essential family-based nature and have not been recognized to have the right of freedom of their own bodies. Looking at the pattern of the modern family from these two points of view, the modern family can be considered to be a family pattern that includes some pre-modern elements from prior to the establishment of women's rights. Lastly, in connection with the questions identified from contemporary feminism's criticism of the norms on separation between public and private spheres, this paper ascertains the primary causes of changes in the family at the habitus level and at the level of social systems and considers the family of the future from the perspective of gender order theory.
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  • Future of Intimacy and Couple Relationships
    Junya TSUTSUI
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 572-588
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.572
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper is an inquiry about exclusive intimate relationships in the era of postindustrialized society based on relevant empirical studies in the field. After the age of societies of male-breadwinner model, we are witnessing an ongoing remobilization of female labor. Although a variety within advanced countries exists, women's income level has been gradually increased. So far the women's economic independence, however, has not have an effect to weaken our inclination to form couple relations. Nevertheless, couple relations are suffering serious changes as seen in the increase of cohabitation. This paper poses three questions pertaining the transformation of couple relations: are the relationship getting free from external factors such as social status?; are the continuous, committed relationships declining?; is exclusivity of relationship waning? Those questions are answered mainly using results of empirical investigations about the cohabitation and marriage. Further, this paper poses a question whether a relationships or satisfaction from it is more often understood as a result of voluntary choice once economic conditions for autonomous lives both for men and women is achieved. I argue that it does not necessarily the case and whether a person can find a satisfactory intimate relationship is never understood as personal responsibility. I also argue that unlike the public redress for accidental loss of economic life conditions, loss by the lack of successful relationships will never be considered as an object of pubic aid. Those questions about voluntary intimate relationships, however, do not have strong relevance in Japanese society where practice of intimacy is still constrained by different life chances by gender.
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  • Emotionalization of Family and Norm of “Full-Time Mother”
    Comparison of Housewife Norms in Japan and China
    Yasuko MIYASAKA
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 589-603
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.589
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The aim of this paper is to firstly grasp the actual conditions of full-time housewives, who have been increasing in the urban middle class in China since the 1990s, and to clarify the characteristics of full-time housewife norms in China. Secondly, I will consider the mechanisms through which the differences in full-time housewife norms in China and Japan are formed. For this consideration I will draw on data from an interview survey conducted with nine full-time housewives in Dalian, Liaoning, China between October and November 2013.
    The first finding of this paper is that the full-time housewives emerging in the urban middle class in China are becoming “full-time mothers”. The survey respondents devoted themselves to caring for their children during the childrearing years, but they wanted to return to work after bringing up their children. Secondly, although the survey respondents affirmed becoming a “full-time mother” during the child-rearing years, the mothers did not take charge of child-rearing alone but carried out their roles as mothers while making good use of childcare support from relatives and the housekeeping services market.
    This norm of “full-time mother” differs substantially from Japan's “myth of the first three years”. The difference in the “full-time mother” norm in China and Japan results from the segmentation of who carries out which part of carework such as childcare and housework, and what meaning is assigned to those segmented actions. The choice between the two mechanisms of “emotionalization with marketization” and “emotionalization without marketization” is a huge point of divergence between China and Japan. Thus, even with the same phenomenon of emerging “full-time mothers”, emotional norms that determine which acts of childcare are seen as expressions of affection differ socially and culturally.
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  • Family Model Presumed by Care Policies
    Child-Rearing and Elderly Care after the 1970s in Japan
    Hiroko FUJISAKI
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 604-624
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.604
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    In the process to reconstruct the welfare state after the 1970s, care which used to be provided mainly within a private family relationship, has been positioned as a social problem, requiring unique political measures. However, progress of this process has not always been straightforward and smooth. The resistant force that tries to keep care within “families” continues to exist in changing forms particularly in the Japanese society rooted in strong familism. The purpose of this paper is to clarify transformation of the family model assumed or expected by policies in each age, by tracing the trend of care policies after the 1970s. This paper address child-rearing and elderly care policies, focusing on its support measures for “labor” and “costs”, and various political documents were examined as main materials for analysis. It was clarified in results of the analysis that political measures to support child-rearing and elderly care were adopted along with care measures assuming a family based on gender roles in the 1970s-80s, while the model branched off after the 1990s. The necessity of measures to support childrearing has been recognized, because of changing environment of labor market for males and females and resulting transformation of families, however “the male breadwinner model” cannot be fully abandoned under the current situation. On the other hand, elderly care policies, at least for the purpose of institutional design, “individual units” became the premise of political measures, because of diversification of the residence forms and care structure for the elderly. However, the discrepancy between the family model in care policies and the social reality of families is significant in both areas, leaving many tasks.
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  • Global Care Supply System and Family
    Wako ASATO
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 625-648
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.625
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The demand for care has facilitated international movement of persons. First is foreign domestic workers observed such as in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong which employs 700,000 domestic workers. Foreign domestic workers are from nearby developing countries to supplement domestic work. The demand was further accelerated by economic growth and increasing demand for elderly care due to ageing in receiving countries. The characteristics of segmented labor market from other labor market composed of local workers, “convenience” for employers due to domestic workers' flexibility and abundance of labor supply enabled stable labor market even with the constant growth of labor demand. However, this in turns made it difficult to decommodify/defamilialize family care. The familialism of care presupposes producing welfare within family. However, the increment of nonmarriage especially in the rural area, among elderly, the disabled and among lower income started to choose cross border marriage. This is also to produce family care by marriage. However, receiving government started to link between lower fertility, “the crisis of family” and cross border marriage, which is the start of multicultural policy especially in Taiwan and Korea. Through integration policy, marriage migrants are given citizenship on condition of forming “good family”. However, the notion of integration into good family has a range of meaning between gender equality and traditionally conservative and patriarchal ones. The active integration policy is succeeded even after political regime change except Japan, which does not enact basic law regardless of ruling party. However, the legitimacy security of care through the two major international movement of persons, the policy covers the vulnerability of foreign domestic worker without application of labor laws and covers vulnerability of marriage migrants often brought by brokers through cash transaction which is the cause of docility of marriage migrants.
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  • The Future of the Family in Japan
    The Impact of the Social Transformation on the Family
    Masahiro YAMADA
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 649-662
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.649
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    ‘Modern Family’ had been formed as a system that include people economically and psychologically. In Japan from WW2 to 1980's most of people were able to form modern family. But at the peak of modern family, there occurred controverses that modern family norms were oppressive and movements of the emancipation form modern family.
    The change of economic system (ex. globalization) has destroyed the economic base of modern family system, and the acceleration of individualism has lowered the effectiveness of norms of modern family in developed countries after 1980's. As a result people who cannot form modern family have been increasing.
    In Janan, unmarried rate and divorce rate have been increasing after mid-1990's. As a result, people have being divided into two categories: people who can form modern family and people who cannot. But in Japan there are no models that supply economic and social inclusion except modern family, so people have a desire to form modern family.
    The divide will effect not only family studies but other empirical sociological studies.
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Articles
  • Conversation Analysis of Decision-Making Processes in Emergency Medicine
    An Example of Informed Consent in Practice
    Michie KAWASHIMA
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 663-678
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.663
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    In the decision-making process for emergency medicine, family members participate on behalf of patients and must make important decisions in a timely manner. During the process, doctors and family members rely on conversations to make treatment decisions. This study used conversation analysis to evaluate the initial encounters between doctors and family members in emergency medicine. By clarifying how the participants used interactional resources to establish their positioning toward the medical consensus, this study attempted to contribute to the discussion regarding appropriate use of informed consent in practice.
    As a result, this study found three major interactional resources that participants employed during the decision-making process: (1) the initial explanations by doctors are often designed as stories, allowing family members to gradually recognize the possibility of a patient's death; (2) doctors use sensational terms (look and feel etc.) when they explain patient's conditions to family members; such practices can transform an uncertain situation into a definite diagnosis; and (3) doctors make paradoxical suggestions repeatedly before reaching a final decision. When the final discussion is being made, the doctor's suggestions are designed to be very sensitive to family members' responses. These interactional resources are used to demonstrate consideration toward family members, thereby justifying the doctor's medical authority.
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  • The Forms and Formations of the American Frontier
    A Genealogical Analysis of the Rise of American Consumer Society
    Kenji AOYAMA
    2013 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 679-694
    Published: 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.64.679
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    This paper discusses the conditions that led to the emergence of the consumer society in the United States. A consumer society is, according to Rostow and Galbraith, the result of a large surplus of productive forces. However, such a surplus is not the only cause of mass consumption.
    A starting point for this analysis is the discourse on the unknown and unclaimed space in the American West. In the 1800s-30s, the expedition crews of the army, of merchants and hunters recorded their observations and measurements. Each record was made as if there had been a grand design to represent the whole West in the field of natural history. In the 1830s-40s, tall talks and adventure stories of trappers were merchandised in the East, leading to a plethora of exaggerated images of the West. In the 1840s, the guidebooks for emigrants were published. In them were juxtaposed records of natural history with adventure stories and advertisements, creating a semiologically operational space.
    In the mid-nineteenth century, financial markets and the railroad network developed rapidly. The frontier became located where the railway tracks stopped, creating sites where modern technologies encountered the primitive wilderness. Events happening on the frontiers were told, often using exaggerated images of “the Old West.” But unexpected, uncertain factors of western life were generated and swelled by market fluctuations and technological innovations, rather than found in the wilderness.
    As the West was claimed, it produced new rural farms and cities. By the 1870s, the frontier times were past in the Middle West, and at this point, mail-order catalogs began to appear. Mass-produced goods were listed on their pages, in which rural farmers found advertising displays and the ephemeral mode of cities. These catalogs transformed the distance between cities and farms into a semiologically operational space and fueled mass consumption.
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