Beverley Yamamoto

From structured invisibility to visibility: is Japan really going to accept multiethnic, multicultural identities?

Recent changes to immigration and registration laws represent a profound shift in official imaginings of the relationship between Japanese and non-Japanese residents point to the possibility of real change occuring in the way that with those with different nationalities/ethnicities live together in the same physical and cultural space here in Japan. In this paper, I focus on and offer an interpretation of these changes in the light of hitherto less inclusive positioning of ethnic minorities. I will consider their likely impact on the identities of both minorities and the majority Yamato Japanese. I will argue that in the context of a shift away from the dominant post-war discourse of homogeneous nation to multicultural coexistence society, a space is opening up for greater acceptance of, and thus freedom to express, difference in Japan. Yet there are also moves towards an ever harsher position on undocumented migrants and greater centralised control of all foreign residents.

Associations between childhood experiences of parental corporal punishment and neglectful parenting and undergraduate students’ endorsement of corporal punishment as an acceptable parenting strategy

This study evaluated the effects of childhood experiences of parental corporal punishment (CP) and neglectful parenting (NP) on Japanese university students’ endorsement of parental CP (EPP) to discipline children, in relation to subjective happiness (SH). A total of 536 undergraduate students who showed no physical symptoms completed anonymous paper-based questionnaires addressing demographic characteristics, undergraduate classes, and recent health conditions on SF-8 (PCS, MCS). It was found that the proportions of participants who experienced pervasive CP and NP were larger in men than in women (36.5% vs. 19.4% for CP; 22.1% vs. 9.7% for NP). Multiple regression analyses (n = 346) revealed that the CP score was associated with positive EPP (β = 0.310, p < 0.001). Further, students whose major was nursery education reported significantly lower level of EPP; however, neither SH nor good recent health conditions significantly reduced EPP. The NP score was inversely associated with the SH score (β = -0.253, p < 0.001) (n = 346). In conclusion, childhood experiences of parental CP may affect adolescents’ views related to their own parenting. Further investigation using internationally comparable methodologies, especially in prospective cohort studies, is warranted, not only in Japan but also in other Asian countries.

Introduction: Japanese Education in a Global Age

This introductory chapter clarifies the aims, framework, and outline of the book. The book aims to highlight the forefront of Japan’s education research through sociological and other related research approaches to historical developments and accomplishments provided mostly by members of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology (JSES). Japanese education exhibits unique dynamics among policy, demand, and supply. Sociologists and other social scientists in education in Japan have approached this issue mainly focusing on familial relationships, equity, and poverty. This chapter focuses on educational research phenomena which are possibly unique to Japan to many international readers. This includes global and regional policy and social trends such as neoliberalism, mobility, and the diffusion of ICT medias, while the reactions of researchers and society against these trends have often been different from other countries. It is hoped that this collection will contribute to the international debate on education and help sociologists and a wider range of social scientists outside of Japan gain a precise comprehension of ongoing changes in education in Japan as well as its historical and structural contexts.

The Internationalization of Japanese Higher Education: Incremental Change in a Dynamic Global Environment

It is noteworthy that “internationalization” has not been treated systematically in the sociology of education literature in Japan. It has been largely dealt with by researchers working in comparative and international education. This being the case, this chapter explores the rhetoric and practice of internationalization in higher education in Japan paying attention to power dynamics and inequities. Drawing on research, official documentation and policy statements on the one hand, and situated practice as the director of one undergraduate English-taught program (ETP) and international faculty member on the other, the author seeks to explore internationalization policy and practice in the context of leading universities in Japan. This exploration will demonstrate that on the basis of a number of indicators, quantitative and qualitative, these leading institutions are becoming internationalized. Yet, with a number of Asian countries more aggressive in the global ratings game, Japanese HEIs are falling behind on a key indicator of world-class status. At the same time, the top-down nature of the dynamic for change and neoliberal evaluative processes that require numerical target-setting undermine loftier goals of embracing diversity. We will conclude that internationalization is happening but at a slow pace in a highly dynamic global environment.

Designing a safeguarding tool for Japanese professionals to identify, understand and respond to adolescent sexual behaviours

ObjectivesThis study sought to construct a developmental and context-sensitive framework that could be used to identify, understand and respond to adolescent sexual behaviours.MethodsWe reviewed work being conducted on adolescent sexual development, health and safety, interviewed UK-based professionals working on sexual health and child protection, and, having identified the Traffic Light Tool (TLT) designed by Family Planning Queensland and then developed by Brook in the UK, we conducted expert interviews. Finally, we reviewed in-house consultation, training and evaluation documentation provided by Brook.ResultsWe identified the Traffic Light Safeguarding Project as offering a framework for thinking about and responding to youth sexuality. The concept of safeguarding allows us to go beyond the narrower mandate of child protection, and link up the activities of different stakeholders working around child and adolescent sexual health. We were able to confirm that the TLT was functioning as an effective safeguarding tool to: (1) identify and respond to adolescent sexual behaviours, and (2) support professionals to communicate confidently with adolescents about sexuality and risk taking. We confirmed the possibilities for developing a Japanese version of the tool.ConclusionsA safeguarding perspective can help us to move away from a narrowly risk-based approach to child and adolescent sexuality. Development and dissemination of a Japanese version of the TLT can help professionals distinguish between healthy (normal) and unhealthy (risky) sexual behaviours at each developmental stage and more confidently respond to these behaviours.

A comparative study of experience and health impact of teen dating violence

 Freshmen are more likely to be victims than perpetrators, whereas juniors are more likely to be perpetrators. Perpetrator Victim Gender Male (N=113) 44% 46% Female (N=406) 43% 46% Age Groups 16 to 18 (N=67) 39% 43% 19 to 21 (N=359) 39% 42% 22 to 24 (N=90) 63% 64% 25 to 27 (N=4) 50% 50% University year Freshman (N=260) 34% 39% Sophomore (N=143) 46% 47% Junior (N=18) 44% 39% Senior (N=96) 64% 65% Total 43% 46% Typologies of victimization by gender: how 5 broad forms of victimization are linked?

In the Shadows: Sexuality, Pedagogy, and Gender among Japanese Teenagers (review)

for allegedly being “spendthrift.” “I earned this money,” a Justice Ministry report quotes him as saying, “What’s wrong with spending it as I please?” (pp. 169–70). There, one suspects, is the authentic voice of (not necessarily bad) youth. We need more of that. Though this book meticulously documents the debate on juvenile delinquency in Meiji to early Showa Japan, it never quite explains why middle-class reformers were so concerned with problems of youth. How much basis in reality was there for the periodic moral panics? A satisfactory answer to that question will require a closer look at historical sources relating directly to the people in question—a challenge I hope this talented historian will take up in future research.