Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
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Volume 65, Issue 3
Displaying 1-16 of 16 articles from this issue
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Special Issue
  • The Review of the Yokohama World Congress of Sociology:
    The Processes, the Conclusions and the Next Challenges
    Koichi HASEGAWA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 308-316
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.308
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The success of the 18th World Congress of Sociology (WCS) in Yokohama raised several questions. From the point of view of the Chair of the Japanese local organizing committee (JLOC), the author would like to discuss: first, why the Japan Sociological Society decided to host the 2014 WCS; second, why was Yokohama selected as the venue; third, how were members of the JLOC selected and organized; fourth, what were main features of the Yokohama Congress in contrast with other recent world congresses; fifth, what major tasks and challenges were JLOC and the Chair of JLOC facing; six, what were the results and the meanings of the Yokohama Congress. Now is the time to think about the next challenges, to take another step beyond Yokohama and to make the results of Japanese Sociologists more visible to world audiences.
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  • Five Meanings of 18th World Congress of Sociology:
    From Historical Perspective
    Shujiro YAZAWA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 317-326
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.317
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    This article tries to point out meanings of success of 18th World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama by examining history of International Sociological Association, the Japan Sociological Society and the relationship between International Sociological Association and the Japan Sociological Society. The author defines them as following 5 meanings. First, The Congress got the record number of participants in history of World Congress of Sociology. Second, The Congress was to be able to change a characteristic of International Sociological Association, that is, so-called European Club. Third, The Congress was to succeed in glocalization of World Congress of Sociology. Fourth, The Congress was to accelerate internationalization of sociology in Japan. Fifth, The Congress is to try to evaluate 18th Congress by organizers themselves. In the final section of the article, author suggests several tasks of International Sociological Association and Japan Sociological Society in order to develop them further.
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  • Bright and Dark Sides of Transnational Joint Research:
    Internationalization Viewed from Research Committee
    Daishiro NOMIYA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 327-335
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.327
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    There has been an increasing tendency among Japanese scholars to participate in the conferences and academic meetings organized by the International Sociological Association (ISA). This paper aims to explore ways for individual researchers to make use of ISA research committees as a platform on which to nurture transnational academic collaborations. As an academic organization, research committees have distinctive characteristics. I will first clarify these characteristics through comparison of research committee with other types of academic organizations, and then point out some of the strategies and attitudes, including cautions, individual researchers can employ when entering into transnational collaborative relationship within the confines of ISA research committee.
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  • China Day:
    Toward a New Dialogue with Chinese Sociologists
    Toshikazu SHUTO, Kazuhisa NISHIHARA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 336-343
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.336
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    As a so-called side-event of XVIII World Congress of Sociology, an international conference “China Day” was held in Yokohama at 15th of July, 2014. This was coorganized by Chinese Sociological Association, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Japan Sociological Society, and Japan-China Sociological Society. Main topic was “China's Reform and Social Transformation,” and there were three sub-topics, China's Reform and Social Governance, Social Transformation and Structural Change, and Social Transformation and Social Mobility. After a keynote speech on East Asian Sociology by Shujiro Yazawa, twelve Chinese sociologists presented their own researches. The problems of governance, inequality, population, urbanization, women, intergenerational difference, mobility in contemporary China were discussed.
    In this conference, as a Japanese discussant, Toshikazu Shuto, suggested, largely discussed ‘public’ issues were sociologically analyzed and audience could easily understand both what the important issues were and what the tasks of Chinese sociology were. The problematic issues such as diversity, ethnicity and religion, however, were not mentioned deeply in this time, which also must be decisively important for Chinese society and sociology.
    Nevertheless, we can evaluate this conference itself was successfully over, because Japanese and Chinese sociologists could collaborate and create a public space for sociological knowledge. A new combination of global level and local or regional level of East Asia will contribute to the transnational exchanges and cooperation. However, if Japanese sociologists could have chances to read their papers, and if there were many Japanese sociologists attending this conference, new transnational dialogues would be further activated. Going beyond the nationalistic or domestic frame of knowledge, which often turns easily to the alienation or exclusion of the others, is now required for sociology. Of course, this postulate is not really carried out with no sweat, so it goes without saying that this reality itself also should be investigated in sociological circles.
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  • The Opportunity and Challenge for East Asian Sociology:
    From ISA 2014 Yokohama
    Lixing CHEN
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 344-350
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.344
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    This paper tries to point out the significance of the 18th World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama. This congress will become the great opportunity for the construction of the East Asia sociology, which will lead a challenge to global sociology in the 21st century.
    This paper points out the theoretical limitation of European and American sociology towards the studies on the social changes in the process of modernization in Eastern Asian, as well as these limitations appears in the studies towards the phenomenon in the societies rushing into post-modern directly in the near future. Accordingly the 18th World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama has a great significance for the theoretical innovation to the East Asian sociology.
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  • Toward the Next Stage after ISA World Congress of Sociology in Yokohama:
    From the Perspective of an Early Career Researcher
    Mikito TERACHI
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 351-359
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.351
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    This article provides an overview of how East Asian Junior Sociologists Forum (EAJSF) was organized, and ran as a side event of the XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology, This article also aims to offer, based on the report, some tips which would help enhance young sociologists' involvement in planning and organizing future international academic events.
    The EAJSF Organizing Committee was a small group, and its members were homogeneous and close to each other in terms of research interests. This homogeneity and closeness of the Committee turned out to be advantageous for conducting the conference. However, if organizing this kind of event requires homogeneity and closeness among the organizing committee, we should deal with the following two challenges when we plan future ones. First, it's necessary to explore what kind of homogeneity and closeness are compatible with organizing and running international academic events. Second, by closely examining and sorting out the tasks so that we can figure out which tasks requires the homogeneity and closeness and which tasks do not, we should make various forms of commitment available to researchers who are interested in organizing international conferences and adequately divide the work among them.
    Through coping with these two challenges Japanese academic societies should accumulate know-hows regarding organizing international academic events and open up opportunities for early career researchers with international minds as one of the issues after the XVIII World Congress of Sociology in Japan.
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Articles
  • Innovation in Public Sphere Theory Perspectives:
    An Investigation of Alexander's “Civil Sphere” Theory
    Satoshi KANEKO
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 360-373
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.360
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    The purpose of this paper is to promote the theoretical development of public sphere theory through a detailed examination of JeffreyAlexander's “civil sphere” theory.
    Habermas, who has greatly influenced public sphere theory, defined it from a macro perspective as the sphere of public opinion making. However, since his communication model in the public sphere was that of direct deliberations, which are oriented toward a mutual understanding among citizens, theoretical difficulties ensued when he tried to link the decision-making of citizens with macro-level political processes.
    In contrast, Alexander proposed the concept of a “civil sphere.” He defined basic communication in the civil sphere as “performance,” which is a particular social process whereby actors seek recognition from their audiences in the form of emotional sympathy for comprehending a social situation together. Alexander's argument was that we need to reconsider communication in the public sphere as performance in the aforementioned sense in order to view the public sphere in democratic societies with the proper perspective.
    One may wonder whether Alexander was merely reaffirming the staging of a “spectacle” of communication in the public sphere. However, by taking Alexander's civil sphere theory into account, we can begin to explore anew the relationship between the public sphere and the integration of democratic society.
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  • Influences of Gender and Socioeconomic Status on the Educational Expectations of Japanese High School Students:
    A Test for the Mediation Effect of Students' Academic Self-Perception
    Shuji TOBISHIMA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 374-389
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.374
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    This article examined the extent to which Japanese high school students' academic self-perception mediated the effects of gender and socioeconomic status on their educational expectations. In this study, students' academic self-perception was defined as their subjective ability in an academic domain and was measured by gauging math self-concept and math self-efficacy. The main hypothesis of this study predicted that the effects of gender and socioeconomic status on the educational expectations of high school students were mediated by their academic self-perceptions.
    To test this and related hypotheses, the author analyzed Japanese data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted in 2003 by OECD. In statistical analyses, school-level heterogeneity was controlled using the fixed effects regression model. The results of regression analyses showed that: first, boys and students from privileged families were likely to have higher educational expectations, second, boys had higher math self-concepts and self-efficacies compared with girls, third, socioeconomic status was positively correlated with math self-efficacy, fourth, math self-efficacy had a statistically significant positive effect on educational expectations while math self-concept did not, and fifth, the results of the Sobel test showed that the effects of gender and socioeconomic status on educational expectations were partially (but not completely) mediated by math self-efficacy.
    The main hypothesis of this study was supported for math self-efficacy, which explained about 30% of the effect of gender and 5% of the effect of socioeconomic status on educational expectations. While the direct effects of gender and socioeconomic status remained significant even after taking into account the mediation effect of academic self-perception, academic self-efficacy partially explained the effects of gender and socioeconomic status on the educational expectations of Japanese high school students.
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  • The Relationship between Equality of Opportunity and Perfect Mobility in the Study of Social Stratification:
    A Methodological Inquiry Based on Conceptual Analysis
    Jun NAITO
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 390-408
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.390
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Equality of opportunity (EOP) is a significant normative principle underlying the workings of modern society. In the study of social stratification, it has been interpreted as “perfect mobility” (PM), which means that people's social statuses are statistically independent of their parents'. However, this interpretation has recently been criticized for its lack of theoretical relevance. Critics posit that the intergenerational association of statuses does not imply inequality of opportunity because association can be the consequence of people's own choices based on their own preferences formed under equal opportunities. This criticism is persuasive because it rightly points out that PM ignores the significance of individual responsibility, which is a normative basis of egalitarianism. In this paper, I attempt to defend the traditional idea that PM can be used as a benchmark of EOP in the study of social stratification, by reconsidering the theoretical relationship between the concepts of EOP, equality of outcome, and PM.
    Analyses based on a simple theoretical model produce the following results. First, a society that gives people equal opportunities must meet the condition that people's social statuses are determined not by their parents' statuses but by personal factors (e.g., preferences, efforts, choices) for which they themselves are responsible. Second, while EOP implies PM, PM does not imply EOP because PM ignores the significance of individual responsibility. Third, the conventional view that simply identifies EOP with PM cannot avoid the criticism mentioned above. However, if the concept of “social stratification” is defined more appropriately, and if this definition is adequately applied to empirical research, the debate can be resolved because the assumption about preference formation that critics made will then no longer hold. Finally, some implications of these findings for future empirical and theoretical research are suggested.
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  • The Birth and Transformation of an Idea of Solidarity and Recognition:
    Ulrich Beck's Idea of Bürgerarbeit
    Midori ITO
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 409-425
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.409
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Ulrich Beck proposed the policy of “Bürgerarbeit” in the latter half of the 1990's in order to build a system of solidarity and recognition on a local level. This paper aims to explore the transformation of Bürgerarbeit and examine the system of solidarity and recognition that has been built in Germany, including how it has influenced society.
    The following findings are worth mentioning: Some elements of Beck's policy of Bürgerarbeit were adopted in civic engagement and by the republican model project that named Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy. Currently, civic engagement and Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy have taken over some functions of intermediate groups and the welfare state, respectively. The existence of civic engagement and Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy created fluid boundaries between housework, civic engagement (voluntary work), and care work, although labor (paid work) boundaries remained solid.
    When Beck proposed the policy of Bürgerarbeit he aimed to reform society by establishing fluid boundaries between labor, civic engagement, housework, and care work in order to create an activitywhich included them all. That is, he aimed to transform the meaning of “work.” We must conclude that the term Bürgerarbeit serves as a republican workfare policy which as matters stand, enforces work upon the jobless, whereas Beck designed the idea as a criticism against paid work hegemony. On the other hand, some elements of his policy idea remain alive and have been utilized in civic engagement.
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  • Gain of Social Spaces by Young People Suffering from Hikikomori (Social Withdrawal):
    Diversity and Contrast of Support Spaces
    Minoru KAWAKITA
    2014 Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 426-442
    Published: 2014
    Released on J-STAGE: December 31, 2015
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.65.426
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    We examine the creation of spaces that facilitate the social participation of isolated young people. Since the emergence of hikikomori (social withdrawal), support groups for young people have formed to address this issue. Previous research on support groups for people with hikikomori highlighted the development of programs intended to facilitate positive identity formation or work experience for support. However, in focusing on programs within those spaces, earlier research overlooked how young people lost and gained social space. In this study, we present data from fieldwork on support spaces for young people struggling with hikikomori. We describe the purpose of support groups in developing such spaces, and document the experiences of people who participate in them. We conclude that these support spaces facilitate the social inclusion of young people.
    Support groups have developed various support spaces aimed at families, young people, and job trainees. Through separation and unification, such spaces are arranged to encourage the gradual participation of young people. Young people recognize the diversity of human relations and experiences within these spaces, and they can compare their experiences inside and outside various spaces. In doing so, they ease their feelings of self-blame, take on new social roles, learn to cope with problems, and gain self-understanding. By considering young people's experiences in support spaces, we obtained significant information on the social inclusion of people who have declined social participation.
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