Japanese Sociological Review
Online ISSN : 1884-2755
Print ISSN : 0021-5414
ISSN-L : 0021-5414
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Volume 70, Issue 3
Displaying 1-22 of 22 articles from this issue
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Special Issue
  • [title in Japanese]
    [in Japanese], [in Japanese]
    2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 194-199
    Published: 2019
    Released on J-STAGE: February 16, 2021
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.70.194
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Redefining “Asia” and “Japan”
    Creating an Intellectual Foundation for Academic Collaboration within Asia
    Emiko OCHIAI
    2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 200-221
    Published: 2019
    Released on J-STAGE: February 16, 2021
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.70.200
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Today, as the global world order is being rearranged, Japan lacks both a map and a compass to redefine itself and find its future direction. The country’s selfdefinition and its definition in the world is based on its impressive success in modernization. In the framework of social sciences too, Japan has been named the only Asian country that has successfully modernized. Since Japan’s previous selfdefinitions were in relation to Asia, such as being called “the West” in Asia or “the leader of Asia,” there is a need to redefine Japan in the process of redefining Asia.
    This article proposes a new framework for placing Japan and Asia in a world that does not fall under the dichotomy of “East” vs. “West,” by directly learning from research results produced in the Asian countries. The argument in this article is based on the chapters to be included in a Major Work by SAGE on “Asian Families and Intimacies,” an outcome of our project on collecting and sharing key texts in Asian academia to construct a foundation for academic collaboration in the Asian region.
    The new framework emerging from this attempt allows us to move away from the dichotomy generated by the Western gaze and see clearly that Asia is not one single entity, nor a collection of several great civilizations, but a region of multilayered diversity. We also redefine Japan as a society that incorporates this multilayered Asian diversity.
    Furthermore, this article examines the concept and reality of “Asian familialism” as an example of “Asianist” self-definition, which is growing stronger in Asia today, and suggests that an “Asianist” framework might generate serious consequences in Asian societies by constructing inadequate social institutions. Collaboration with Asian neighbors will pave the way for Japan to gain a better understanding of its position.
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  • Investigating Social Security in Asia through the South Korean Prototype
    New Paths in the 21st Century
    Sung-won KIM
    2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 222-240
    Published: 2019
    Released on J-STAGE: February 16, 2021
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.70.222
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    In the late of 1990s, more than half a century after Japan and many Western European countries established their social security systems, South Korea founded its own. Approximately 20 years have passed since then, rendering the contemporary setting appropriate for an assessment of the system’s development. Because of the introduction of numerous, varied policies after establishing its system, the development of South Korea’s social security model has evaded concise description. However, when historically contextualized in comparison with the experiences of developed countries such as Japan and Western European countries, it can be observed that the South Korean system has advanced in a considerably different manner. This paper proposes that Fordism, an economic condition unique to the 20th century, made possible the historical experiences of developed countries, in particular the significant expansion of social security systems during the postwar “Golden Age of the Welfare State”（Flora 1986-87: xii）. Conversely, not having benefitted from Fordism, South Korea in the 21st century is being subjected to the pursuit of a new endeavor within a different policy context to that of the aforementioned developed countries. It is noteworthy here that the policy context South Korea is confronted with, and the new directions it is consequently pursuing, is identical to that experienced by other Asian countries as well. Thus, this paper aims to explore new paths not only for South Korea but also for other Asian countries in the 21st century ― through an analysis of the development of South Korea’s social security system.
    The structure of this paper is as follows. Section 1 explains how South Korea’s social security system is developing in an alternate direction to those historically pursued by developed countries. Section 2 presents a historical and theoretical consideration of Fordism and the welfare state, and describes South Korea’s policy context ― which differs from those that developed countries historically faced. Section 3 introduces and contextualizes South Korea’s new endeavor, following which it examines issues common to 21st-century Asia that South Korea’s situation highlights.
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  • Constructing Migrant Care Workers in East Asia
    Reiko OGAWA
    2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 241-263
    Published: 2019
    Released on J-STAGE: February 16, 2021
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.70.241
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The demographic challenge of population aging and low fertility rate resulted in an increasing number of migrants undertaking care work within the gendered labor market in East Asia. This paper discusses the construction of migrant care workers at the regional and national levels. First, it compares how migrant care workers are incorporated into the labor market in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea by introducing the concepts of migration regime and care regime. Migrant care workers are situated within the nexus of the two regimes, which are mutually reenforcing. East Asian welfare states are considered to be “familialist.” However, this paper reveals the differentiated construction of migrant care workers through the following nexus: 1）citizenship and quality of care, 2）working conditions and the position in the labor market, and 3）configuration within the global welfare state. Second, it examines the construction of migrant care workers to Japan by using the new institutionalism approach and discusses the processes by which migrants are turned into “others.” It demonstrates that the human rights issue that revolves around the Technical Internship Trainee Program（TITP）is not a deviation caused by fraudulent agencies and abusive employers but systemically produced through the interaction of public and private norms and institutions. To secure the future of care and care work what we have to do is to overcome the historically constructed orientalism towards Asian countries, create career paths in care work, and develop an equal partnership with Asian neighbors. We are at a historical juncture where we need to uphold both care work and the status of migrants.
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  • The Rise of China in the Eyes of Asians in Comparative Perspectives
    Shigeto SONODA
    2019 Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 264-283
    Published: 2019
    Released on J-STAGE: February 16, 2021
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.70.264
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    The rise of China has been observed by a variety of social scientists worldwide for more than a decade. Experts on international politics discuss China’s security policies and diplomatic strategies in terms of power transition from the United States and new types of regional cooperation, including the Belt and Road Initiative（BRI）. Scholars in international economics analyze new international trade structures and the restructuring of Foreign Direct Investment（FDI）to China. Between these two areas of research, however, there is a huge space for sociopsychological research.
    In fact, the biggest aporia is the fact that intellectual efforts still lack an understanding of how to reduce the gap between China and its neighboring countries’ perceptions and evaluations of its rise.
    Based on this observation, the author has been studying undergraduate students in top-tier universities in Asia to examine how they evaluate bilateral relations with foreign countries, particularly China. Our research revealed that（1）different frames on the rise of China have been coexisting in Asian countries, which makes it difficult to understand each country’s perceptions toward the rise of China; (2）a variety of domestic and international environments in each country are creating unique evaluations of China; and（3）Japan’s views toward China are more severe than those of the other Asian counterparts.
    Data from the annual Japan-China Joint Opinion Survey, conducted by The Genron NPO since 2005, tells us that Japan’s views toward China had not improved as of 2018, while China’s views toward Japan have been improving since 2013. All these findings pose a series of questions regarding why the Japanese view China thus.
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