David H. Slater
Sophia University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Faculty Member
- Sophia University, Institute of Comparative Culture, Department MemberSophia University, Japanese Studies, Graduate School of Global Studies, Faculty Memberadd
- Social Media, Education, Gender, Cultural Theory, Marxism, Urban Studies, and 18 moreYouth Culture, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology of Japan, Media Anthropology, Disaster Studies, Community Resilience, Disaster risk reduction, Participatory Decision Making, Disaster Culture, Fukushima nuclear disaster, Precarious Employment, Precarious Workers, Immaterial Labour, Precarious work, Precarity, Social Movements, Youth activism, and Social Classedit
- My current project is on refugees and migrants in Tokyo. I teach and do research on capitalism, youth, labor, semioti... moreMy current project is on refugees and migrants in Tokyo. I teach and do research on capitalism, youth, labor, semiotics and urban studies, and more recently, 3.11 Tohoku disasters. If you are interested in coming to Sophia for graduate work (as a degree student to pursue an MA or in a non-degree status, when you are doing dissertation fieldwork for a Ph.D. program at another university), feel free to contact me. We have a good collection of cooperative and serious scholars here at Sophia U.! dhslater@gmail.com.edit
Recently, young people have been out on the Tokyo streets and in the mass media in opposition to Prime Minister Abe’s efforts to pass the State Secrecy Acts, the “reinterpretation” of Article 9 of the Constitutions and the Security Bills.... more
Recently, young people have been out on the Tokyo streets and in the mass media in opposition to Prime Minister Abe’s efforts to pass the State Secrecy Acts, the “reinterpretation” of Article 9 of the Constitutions and the Security Bills. None have garnered more interest or exerted more influence than SEALDs, Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy. They are worthy of attention for various reasons, but we should note at the start they are the first college-based social movement in 50 years to have drawn such attention in their efforts to directly address the Japanese government’s policy. They are speaking out in favor of constitutional democracy, due process and respect for popular opinion; for peace in Asia and social equality within Japan.
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http://tohokukaranokoe.org/ This is a course website from our on-going research project that collects oral narratives from the individuals and communities affected by the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan. We have collected more than... more
http://tohokukaranokoe.org/
This is a course website from our on-going research project that collects oral narratives from the individuals and communities affected by the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan. We have collected more than 500 hours of narration, all transcribed in Japanese, from which we have selected short clips for easy viewing. So far, it is just in Japanese but we are working on the English. We are always interesting in collaborators who wish to use this full archive so please contact me if you are interested.
This is a course website from our on-going research project that collects oral narratives from the individuals and communities affected by the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan. We have collected more than 500 hours of narration, all transcribed in Japanese, from which we have selected short clips for easy viewing. So far, it is just in Japanese but we are working on the English. We are always interesting in collaborators who wish to use this full archive so please contact me if you are interested.
Research Interests:
Postwar Japan was often held up as the model example of the first mature industrial society outside the Western economy, and the first examples of "middlemass" society. Today, and since the bursting of the economic bubble in the 1990s,... more
Postwar Japan was often held up as the model example of the first mature industrial society outside the Western economy, and the first examples of "middlemass" society. Today, and since the bursting of the economic bubble in the 1990s, the promises of Japan, Inc., seem far away. Social Class in Contemporary Japan is the first single volume that traces the dynamics of social structure, institutional socialization and class culture through this turbulent period, all the way into the contemporary neoliberal moment. In an innovative multidisciplinary approach that includes top scholars working on quantitative class structure, policy development, and ethnographic analysis, this volume highlights the centrality of class formation to our understanding of the many levels of Japanese society. The chapters each address a different aspect of class formation and transformation which stand on their own. Taken together, they document the advantages of putting Japan in the broad comparative framework of class analysis and the enduring importance of social class to the analysis of industrial and post-industrial societies. Written by a team of contributors from Japan, the US and Europe this book will be invaluable to students and scholars of Japanese society and culture, as well as those interested in cultural anthropology and social class alike.
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This book is the first collection of ethnographies in English on the Japanese communities affected by the giant Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 and the ensuing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It brings together... more
This book is the first collection of ethnographies in English on the Japanese communities affected by the giant Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
of 11 March 2011 and the ensuing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It brings together studies by experienced researchers of Japan
from field sites around the disaster zone. The contributors present the survivors’ struggles in their own words: from enduring life in shelters and
temporary housing, through re-creating the fishing industry, to rebuilding life-ways and relationships bruised by bereavement. They contrast
the sudden brutal loss of life from the tsunami with the protracted anxiety about exposure to radiation and study the battle to protect children,
family and a way of life from the effects of destruction, displacement and discrimination. The local communities’ encounters with volunteers
and journalists who poured into Tohoku after the disaster and the campaign to win compensation from the state and nuclear industry are also
explored. This volume offers insights into the social fabric of rural communities in north-eastern Japan and suggests how the human response to
disaster may be improved in the future.
of 11 March 2011 and the ensuing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It brings together studies by experienced researchers of Japan
from field sites around the disaster zone. The contributors present the survivors’ struggles in their own words: from enduring life in shelters and
temporary housing, through re-creating the fishing industry, to rebuilding life-ways and relationships bruised by bereavement. They contrast
the sudden brutal loss of life from the tsunami with the protracted anxiety about exposure to radiation and study the battle to protect children,
family and a way of life from the effects of destruction, displacement and discrimination. The local communities’ encounters with volunteers
and journalists who poured into Tohoku after the disaster and the campaign to win compensation from the state and nuclear industry are also
explored. This volume offers insights into the social fabric of rural communities in north-eastern Japan and suggests how the human response to
disaster may be improved in the future.
Research Interests:
""ボランティアやジャーナリストを感嘆させ戸惑わせた礼儀正しさと支援拒否の態度はどこからくるのか、放射能という見えない被害を受けとめ伝える思惑は何か、そして大震災という非常事態のなかで人々はどのように日常を取り戻そうとしているのか。そこに、大災害を乗り越える東北の文化的伝統あるいは革新的変化の兆しを見出すことができる。長年日本に住み研究に携わってきた著者らが、現在進行形の災害を生き抜く人々の姿を描く「被災地」の民族誌。 3・11は終わっていない。... more
""ボランティアやジャーナリストを感嘆させ戸惑わせた礼儀正しさと支援拒否の態度はどこからくるのか、放射能という見えない被害を受けとめ伝える思惑は何か、そして大震災という非常事態のなかで人々はどのように日常を取り戻そうとしているのか。そこに、大災害を乗り越える東北の文化的伝統あるいは革新的変化の兆しを見出すことができる。長年日本に住み研究に携わってきた著者らが、現在進行形の災害を生き抜く人々の姿を描く「被災地」の民族誌。
3・11は終わっていない。 「被災地」となった東北地方を目の当たりにした人類学者、社会学者、ルポライターの国際チームが、現地での徹底したフィールドワークを基に書いた渾身のエスノグラフィー。""
3・11は終わっていない。 「被災地」となった東北地方を目の当たりにした人類学者、社会学者、ルポライターの国際チームが、現地での徹底したフィールドワークを基に書いた渾身のエスノグラフィー。""
Through examination of contemporary Japanese society, this book demonstrates that the analysis of class formation is fundamental for a clear understanding of institutions and collective identity such as family, school work, gender and... more
Through examination of contemporary Japanese society, this book demonstrates that the analysis of class formation is fundamental for a clear understanding of institutions and collective identity such as family, school work, gender and ethnicity.
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This is a collection of original articles on diverse vulnerable populations in Japan in the wake of the new coronavirus pandemic The effects of COVID-19 are felt differently, with some among us at much greater risk of infection due to... more
This is a collection of original articles on diverse vulnerable populations in Japan in the wake of the new coronavirus pandemic The effects of COVID-19 are felt differently, with some among us at much greater risk of infection due to preexisting health and welfare conditions For others, perhaps more than the risk of infection, it is the precautions taken to mitigate the risk for the whole population, such as lockdowns and business closures, that have pulled away the already fragile safety net of state and civil society organization (CSO) support, leading to increased marginalization and social exclusion The goal of this set of papers is to document the conditions of those that have been most directly affected by the virus and to provide background on the conditions that made them vulnerable in the first place, notably chronic conditions that are brought into more obvious relief in light of emergency measures Each of the authors had a pre-established relationship with those affected...
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In the context of the global increase in displaced people, spiking to nearly 80 million in these corona times, Japan has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications for refugee asylum since 2010 Despite increasing numbers... more
In the context of the global increase in displaced people, spiking to nearly 80 million in these corona times, Japan has also seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications for refugee asylum since 2010 Despite increasing numbers of applications, Japan has not increased its refugee recognition rate Unable to return home to sure persecution when rejected, many refugees end up in Japanese detention centers once their visa expires Like jails, hospitals and detention centers everywhere, detention centers in Japan are crowded and dangerous and unable to protect the detainees inside Japan has been slower than many other countries to take precautions, including temporary release This paper outlines some of the policy shifts that have led to this dangerous situation, the conditions of anxiety inside the detention centers themselves in Tokyo and Ibaraki and the problematic situation of "provisional release" of some detainees into a corona-infested Japan without any safety n...
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What are we talking about when we talk about “crisis”? Sometimes we think of it as disequilibrium, an unbalance that leads to insecurity, and maybe disintegration. But a real crisis has to be more than that—it has to be a systemic... more
What are we talking about when we talk about “crisis”? Sometimes we think of it as disequilibrium, an unbalance that leads to insecurity, and maybe disintegration. But a real crisis has to be more than that—it has to be a systemic failure, a collapse of functionality, a breaking apart of the structures of order and authority, control and efficacy themselves. It is a shock to a complex system, a moment when the different pieces and dynamics have fallen out of sync to such an extent that it is impossible to continue in the way things have gone before. In both the 1995 Kōbe (Hanshin-Awaji) Earthquake and the 3.11 triple disasters of 2011, this is what we saw.
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１ 被災地の内と外（支援を拒む人々—被災地支援の障壁と文化的背景；ボランティア支援における倫理—贈り物と返礼の組み合わせ；３．１１と日本の若者たち—学生ボランティアの新しい仕組みと体験談） ２ 見えない被害と向き合う（彼ら対我ら—福島原発危機にかんする日本と国際メディアの報道；「汚染」と「安全」—原発事故後のリスク概念の構築と福島復興の力；場所と人の関係が絶たれるとき—福島第一原発事故と「故郷」の意味；立ち上がる母—受身の大衆とマヒした政府の間で戦う女性たち） ３... more
１ 被災地の内と外（支援を拒む人々—被災地支援の障壁と文化的背景；ボランティア支援における倫理—贈り物と返礼の組み合わせ；３．１１と日本の若者たち—学生ボランティアの新しい仕組みと体験談） ２ 見えない被害と向き合う（彼ら対我ら—福島原発危機にかんする日本と国際メディアの報道；「汚染」と「安全」—原発事故後のリスク概念の構築と福島復興の力；場所と人の関係が絶たれるとき—福島第一原発事故と「故郷」の意味；立ち上がる母—受身の大衆とマヒした政府の間で戦う女性たち） ３ 被災者たちの日常（「皆一緒だから」—岩手県山田町の津波避難所における連帯感；がれきの中の祭壇—大震災を経験した岩手県での信仰習慣の順応；家も、船も、いかだもなくなった—大震災後の宮城県沿岸地域の人々）
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Research Interests: History, Social Movements, Japanese Studies, Disaster Studies, Online Communities, and 13 moreVirtual Communities, Political Science, East Asia, Politics, Social Media, Virtual Ethnography, Counterpublics, Japan, Affect (Cultural Theory), Political Subjectivity, Pacific Rim, Online ethnography, and Fukushima nuclear disaster
Tomo was a first-year and Keiko a third-year student at Musashino Metropolitan High School,1 a working-class high school in western Tokyo. I have known them since the early 1990's, when I began working at their school. Two snapshots... more
Tomo was a first-year and Keiko a third-year student at Musashino Metropolitan High School,1 a working-class high school in western Tokyo. I have known them since the early 1990's, when I began working at their school. Two snapshots from those first years illustrate some features of family background, survival strategies, and career trajectories. These are features that they share with many working-class youth all over Japan, especially in the urban areas where public schools are more finely ranked and the labor market is larger, but also more unstable and precarious. Part I of sketches how class and culture are interrelated within the context of Japanese secondary education. Part II focuses on the ways different class groups navigate the transition from middle to high school. Part III focuses on the sorts of orientations, goals, and strategies that characterize school culture at Musashino High, a place where working-class culture takes institutionalized form through practice. The final part traces these young people's trajectories into the bottom rungs of the service labor market and into their new status as "freeter."
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ABSTRACT The triple disasters of 11 March 2011 in northeastern Japan have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones all over the Tohoku region. In Fukushima, the fear of radiation has been compounded by the perception of... more
ABSTRACT The triple disasters of 11 March 2011 in northeastern Japan have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones all over the Tohoku region. In Fukushima, the fear of radiation has been compounded by the perception of the state's failure to provide timely and relevant information to local residents. This lack of information has particularly affected one of the most vulnerable segments of the population, young mothers with children, forcing many to make impossible choices between supporting the economic rebuilding of their communities and protecting their children from the threat of radiation. Based on detailed ethnography and interviews conducted from just weeks after the disaster, this article discusses the ongoing struggle of women to find a place of safety and a voice of protest in the face of local and national efforts to silence their fears. The women in this area, I do not think that they really want to get organized. Especially the younger women, they do not have the background or independence that we used to. They are more timid. They need to fight harder if they want real change.—A labor organizer from Fukushima, female, late sixties Sometimes I look up to Fukushima, all of those people pushed off their land by radiation, and especially the mothers with babies, and I think, “If this does not make them active, nothing will.” I mean, it is only so long we can keep marching down here if they do not join us.—An organizer of the protests in Tokyo, male, late twenties Critical Asian Studies
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Contents: Tom Gill/Brigitte Steger/David H. Slater: The 3.11 Disasters - David H. Slater: Urgent Ethnography - Brigitte Steger: Solidarity and Distinction through Practices of Cleanliness in Tsunami Evacuation Shelters in Yamada, Iwate... more
Contents: Tom Gill/Brigitte Steger/David H. Slater: The 3.11 Disasters - David H. Slater: Urgent Ethnography - Brigitte Steger: Solidarity and Distinction through Practices of Cleanliness in Tsunami Evacuation Shelters in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture - Nathan J. Peterson: Adapting Religious Practice in Response to Disaster in Iwate Prefecture - Johannes Wilhelm/Alyne Delaney: No Homes, No Boats, No Rafts: Miyagi Coastal People in the Aftermath of Disaster - David McNeill: Them versus Us: Japanese and International Reporting of the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis - Ikeda Yoko: The Construction of Risk and the Resilience of Fukushima in the Aftermath of the Nuclear Power Plant Accident - Morioka Rika: Mother Courage: Women as Activists between a Passive Populace and a Paralyzed Government - Tom Gill: This Spoiled Soil: Place, People and Community in an Irradiated Village in Fukushima Prefecture - Tuukka Toivonen: Youth for 3.11 and the Challenge of Dispatching Young Urban Volunteers to North-eastern Japan - David H. Slater: Moralities of Volunteer Aid: The Permutations of Gifts and their Reciprocals.
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Of the many populations at risk in these corona times, the homeless are among the most vulnerable Without shelter, having to do without personal protective equipment, often without health insurance and unable to limit contact with... more
Of the many populations at risk in these corona times, the homeless are among the most vulnerable Without shelter, having to do without personal protective equipment, often without health insurance and unable to limit contact with strangers, the risk of infection is very high The emergency measures taken by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government included the closure of many public spaces, indoors and out, depriving them of access to the few spaces of survival This ethnographic article outlines how an older group of homeless men responded to the risk of infection and inconsistent government efforts to address this issue Finally, we examine the response of civil society organizations to compensate for weakness of the government's response
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Oguma Eiji, a sociologist from Keio University, has emerged as one of the most astute commentators on the shifts that have occurred since the 3.11 cr ises. As an engaged intellectual with a respected history of solid scholarship, he has... more
Oguma Eiji, a sociologist from Keio University, has emerged as one of the most astute commentators on the shifts that have occurred since the 3.11 cr ises. As an engaged intellectual with a respected history of solid scholarship, he has repeatedly done two things few others have: link the events since 3.11 to larger patterns of political and economic transformation in post-war Japan, and situate this moment in Japan in relation to similar moments of political crisis beyond Japan.
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Our chapter is about the new roles that media plays in the representation of politics and popular culture in Japan in the post 3.11 period. Combining ethnography, interviews, and detailed examination of key media moments, we outline the... more
Our chapter is about the new roles that media plays in the representation of politics and popular culture in Japan in the post 3.11 period. Combining ethnography, interviews, and detailed examination of key media moments, we outline the Student Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy’s (SEALDs) sophisticated use of the mass media that led to legitimation and unprecedented levels of mobilization at demonstrations against controversial security legislation from May 2015 until August 2016. In contrast to much of the existing literature on these movements around the world, we show how social media has not replaced mass media but how SEALDs used social media in a more complicated way to insinuate themselves into the mass media flow through social media. Theoretically, this case allows us to challenge the view of the relationship between social and mainstream media found in other studies, arguing for a co-constitutive view, rather than a sequential view of social media supplanting mass med...
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While human rights activists take advantage of social media, so do their opponents with xenophobic, racist, and sexist tropes.
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Fulco, Flavia; Slater, David H.; O’Day, Robin. (2019) “リアルタイムでのデジタル・ヒューマニティーズと災害の記録：東日本大震災と津波のオーラルナラティブ・アーカイブ.” 社会と調査, 第 23号, 15-23. (In Japanese). Fulco, Flavia; Slater, David H.; O’Day, Robin. (2019). “Digital Humanities and the... more
Fulco, Flavia; Slater, David H.; O’Day, Robin. (2019) “リアルタイムでのデジタル・ヒューマニティーズと災害の記録：東日本大震災と津波のオーラルナラティブ・アーカイブ.” 社会と調査, 第 23号, 15-23. (In Japanese).
Fulco, Flavia; Slater, David H.; O’Day, Robin. (2019). “Digital Humanities and the Documentation of Disaster in Real Time: An Oral Narrative Archive of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami” in Advances in Social Research. 23: 15-23 (English Reference)
はじめに
近年までデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念は，図書館のデジタル化と主に文書に基づくアーカイブ資料として解釈されてきたが（Schreibmanほか 2016; Berry 2012），現代史における重大な事象の生存者によるオーラルナラティブの証言など，“生きる資料”をはじめとした様々なアーカイブ研究を含むことで，この10年間でデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念はさらなる広がりを見せている．したがってデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念は，デジタル社会科学（Spiro 2014； Quinell 2012）やオーラル・ヒストリー（Boyd and Larson 2014），その他のアート形態のもの(Travis and von Lünen 2016)に分類できる研究が含まれるようになり，広く解釈されるようになった．類似した方法論による新たな応用の可能性で，はるかに広範囲な現象も研究することができる．これは、出来事が起きている最中でも調査対象者が研究の成果にアクセスできることも意味する．研究サイクルの時間短縮により，研究者は従来よりも早く事象と調査対象者に関われるようになり、同様に研究者の政治的，民族的なポジショナリティ（立場性）も変化した．この変化により，調査対象者（subjects）と研究内での表象（representation）との関係性だけでなく，データ収集とアーカイブ実践の再考が求められるようになった．デジタル・ヒューマニティーズは誕生したばかりの分野だが，アイデンティティの課題とその機会，そしてベスト・プラクティス（模範的実践事例）への再考プロセスを始めるための前段階である．
本稿は，こうしたプロジェクトのひとつ，2011年3月11日に日本の東北地方の海岸を直撃した東北地方太平洋沖地震と津波（以降3.11）の被災者のオーラルナラティブを収集した，オーラルナラティブ・アーカイブ｢東北からの声(“Voices from Tohoku”)｣の誕生と開発について説明するものである．日本でこれまでに記録された中で最も強い地震が東北地方を襲い，それによって引き起こされた津波で被災地は大破，2万人以上の犠牲者が出た（この数字には発見されなかった人数も含まれる）．危機の時代における研究者の役割について批判的に考える必要性から，そして，社会に，特に震災の影響を受けたコミュニティへ利益をもたらすことのできる方法で行動する必要性から｢東北からの声｣は生まれた．危機の時代に，研究者としてはっきりと求められていること、社会に貢献できることはあるだろうか。本プロジェクトの調査法はこの目的を果たせるのだろうか。私たちの学問は現代社会とどのくらい関連があるのだろうか。以下で説明する方法論的・技術的なシフトは，こうした質問に対して部分的に答えるものとして開発された（本稿で特に注目すべき点は，このプロジェクトが学部生のためのサービスラーニングの科目の一部であるということである。したがって，他の大学が独自のデジタル社会科学調査のプログラムを開催し得る方法を下記の記述のいくつかが指し示していることを願う．）
Fulco, Flavia; Slater, David H.; O’Day, Robin. (2019). “Digital Humanities and the Documentation of Disaster in Real Time: An Oral Narrative Archive of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami” in Advances in Social Research. 23: 15-23 (English Reference)
はじめに
近年までデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念は，図書館のデジタル化と主に文書に基づくアーカイブ資料として解釈されてきたが（Schreibmanほか 2016; Berry 2012），現代史における重大な事象の生存者によるオーラルナラティブの証言など，“生きる資料”をはじめとした様々なアーカイブ研究を含むことで，この10年間でデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念はさらなる広がりを見せている．したがってデジタル・ヒューマニティーズの概念は，デジタル社会科学（Spiro 2014； Quinell 2012）やオーラル・ヒストリー（Boyd and Larson 2014），その他のアート形態のもの(Travis and von Lünen 2016)に分類できる研究が含まれるようになり，広く解釈されるようになった．類似した方法論による新たな応用の可能性で，はるかに広範囲な現象も研究することができる．これは、出来事が起きている最中でも調査対象者が研究の成果にアクセスできることも意味する．研究サイクルの時間短縮により，研究者は従来よりも早く事象と調査対象者に関われるようになり、同様に研究者の政治的，民族的なポジショナリティ（立場性）も変化した．この変化により，調査対象者（subjects）と研究内での表象（representation）との関係性だけでなく，データ収集とアーカイブ実践の再考が求められるようになった．デジタル・ヒューマニティーズは誕生したばかりの分野だが，アイデンティティの課題とその機会，そしてベスト・プラクティス（模範的実践事例）への再考プロセスを始めるための前段階である．
本稿は，こうしたプロジェクトのひとつ，2011年3月11日に日本の東北地方の海岸を直撃した東北地方太平洋沖地震と津波（以降3.11）の被災者のオーラルナラティブを収集した，オーラルナラティブ・アーカイブ｢東北からの声(“Voices from Tohoku”)｣の誕生と開発について説明するものである．日本でこれまでに記録された中で最も強い地震が東北地方を襲い，それによって引き起こされた津波で被災地は大破，2万人以上の犠牲者が出た（この数字には発見されなかった人数も含まれる）．危機の時代における研究者の役割について批判的に考える必要性から，そして，社会に，特に震災の影響を受けたコミュニティへ利益をもたらすことのできる方法で行動する必要性から｢東北からの声｣は生まれた．危機の時代に，研究者としてはっきりと求められていること、社会に貢献できることはあるだろうか。本プロジェクトの調査法はこの目的を果たせるのだろうか。私たちの学問は現代社会とどのくらい関連があるのだろうか。以下で説明する方法論的・技術的なシフトは，こうした質問に対して部分的に答えるものとして開発された（本稿で特に注目すべき点は，このプロジェクトが学部生のためのサービスラーニングの科目の一部であるということである。したがって，他の大学が独自のデジタル社会科学調査のプログラムを開催し得る方法を下記の記述のいくつかが指し示していることを願う．）
Research Interests: Japanese Studies, Applied, engaged, and public anthropology, Disaster Studies, Community Engagement & Participation, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and 8 moreService Learning, Oral history, Modern and Contemporary Japan, Digital Archives, Cultural Anthropology, Digital methods, Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction, and Youth Japan 3.11 volunteering social entrepreneurship empowerment
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Oguma Eiji, a sociologist from Keio University, has emerged as one of the most astute commentators on the shifts that have occurred since the 3.11 crises. As an engaged intellectual with a respected history of solid scholarship, he has... more
Oguma Eiji, a sociologist from Keio University, has emerged as one of the most astute commentators on the shifts that have occurred since the 3.11 crises. As an engaged intellectual with a respected history of solid scholarship, he has repeatedly done two things few others have: link the events since 3.11 to larger patterns of political and economic transformation in post-war Japan, and situate this moment in Japan in relation to similar moments of political crisis beyond Japan.
Perhaps best known to English-speaking audiences is his volume on A Genealogy of Japanese Self-Images(Trans-Pacific Press) 単一民族神話の起源―「日本人」の自画像の系譜 (新曜社). Relevant here is also his two volume study of youth revolt. 1968: 叛乱の終焉とその遺産 (新曜社). Both of these works provide useful background to the events since 3.11, but especially to the broad shifts that led up to this moment.
Perhaps best known to English-speaking audiences is his volume on A Genealogy of Japanese Self-Images(Trans-Pacific Press) 単一民族神話の起源―「日本人」の自画像の系譜 (新曜社). Relevant here is also his two volume study of youth revolt. 1968: 叛乱の終焉とその遺産 (新曜社). Both of these works provide useful background to the events since 3.11, but especially to the broad shifts that led up to this moment.
Research Interests:
Our group of mud-diggers had been working for a couple of weeks in the spring of 2011 in Rikuzen Takata, one of the places on the east coast of Tohoku that was hit hardest by tsunami. The wreckage in this area was often overwhelming, with... more
Our group of mud-diggers had been working for a couple of weeks in the spring of 2011 in Rikuzen Takata, one of the places on the east coast of Tohoku that was hit hardest by tsunami. The wreckage in this area was often overwhelming, with the insides of whole houses washed away and toxic black sludge washed in from the giant wave. They were doing whatever they could to help—moving pieces of breaking down pieces of junk furniture, moving the back side of a car split in two out of the living room, and digging this mud, lots and lots of mud. These were various students from Sophia University, undergraduate and graduate, Japanese and foreigner, including David’s own seminar students, most of them up in Tohoku for the first time. Hardly the place to begin experimenting with new media forms.
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The triple disasters of 11 March 2011 in northeastern Japan have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones all over the Tohoku region. In Fukushima, the fear of radiation has been compounded by the perception of the... more
The triple disasters of 11 March 2011 in northeastern Japan have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones all over the Tohoku region. In Fukushima, the fear of radiation has been compounded by the perception of the state’s failure to provide timely and relevant information to local residents. This lack of information has particularly affected one of the most vulnerable segments of the population, young mothers with children, forcing many to make impossible choices between supporting the economic rebuilding of their communities and protecting their children from the threat of radiation. Based on detailed ethnography and interviews
conducted from just weeks after the disaster, this article discusses the ongoing struggle of women to find a place of safety and a voice of protest in the face of local and national efforts to silence their fears.
conducted from just weeks after the disaster, this article discusses the ongoing struggle of women to find a place of safety and a voice of protest in the face of local and national efforts to silence their fears.
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This paper charts chronologically the different phases since 3.11, showing how social media became involved in each. During the first crucial moments after disaster, individuals texting and tweeting information, and uploading videos,... more
This paper charts chronologically the different phases since 3.11, showing how social media became involved in each. During the first crucial moments after disaster, individuals texting and tweeting information, and uploading videos, generated huge amounts of first-hand information, from the size and epicenter of the quake to the arrival of the oncoming waters; the identification of dangerous and safe places, routes and contacts; those lost and alive, and those looking for them. What we see here is not only the nearly unprecedented act of appealing to strangers for help, but also the revealing of emotions that rarely if ever is shared in public discourse. Asking for help from strangers is a significant act of trust, maybe even more unusual in Japan than in other societies; offering help is a way to return that trust. In this way, one of the issues that this paper points to is the way that social media as deployed during and after 3.11 has made us rethink the nature and efficacy of the civic sphere in Japan.
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Women, and in particular, mothers, have been quite active in radiation measurement, calls for contaminated soil removal, and efforts to secure safe food since the early months of the crisis. Today, perhaps more than any other group, they... more
Women, and in particular, mothers, have been quite active in radiation measurement, calls for contaminated soil removal, and efforts to secure safe food since the early months of the crisis. Today, perhaps more than any other group, they have emerged as particularly effective anti-nuke spokespersons. Of course, there is nothing new in women being at the front of social shifts. But the movement of “Women from Fukushima Against Nukes” (Genptasu iranai Fukushima kara no onnatachi”) is positioned to express a range of issues that respond to and exploit this particular position.
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The horrific experience of natural crisis has been compounded by repeated political failures—to gather, analyze and release relevant information; to provide relief response for those victims in Tohoku in a timely and effective way; and to... more
The horrific experience of natural crisis has been compounded by repeated political failures—to gather, analyze and release relevant information; to provide relief response for those victims in Tohoku in a timely and effective way; and to insure that the danger of radiation containment and leakage has been accurately and fully represented. In fact, it has been the threat of radiation that has allowed many to mount the critique of the handling of earthquake and tsunami, to see the political expediency and the often grotesque protection of capitalism in the face of everyday needs of the people.
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This paper examines the media response to the slayings in Akihabara in 2008, particularly coverage of the perpetrator, Katō Tomohiro, as a way to understand the contradictions and anxieties of this moment of neoliberal capitalism, namely... more
This paper examines the media response to the slayings in Akihabara in 2008, particularly coverage of the perpetrator, Katō Tomohiro, as a way to understand the contradictions and anxieties of this moment of neoliberal capitalism, namely the dissolution of key components of the postwar Japan national project in an age of precarious labor and fractured gender identities. We trace representations of Katō in the blogosphere and mainstream media as a failed worker and failed man, his attempt to reestablish what could be called an "otaku masculinity" in an age of "love capitalism" and finally his extended struggle to find connections, digital and fantastic, in the period leading up to the "Akihabara Incident."
Research Interests:
Tomo was a first-year and Keiko a third-year student at Musashino Metropolitan High School,1 a working-class high school in western Tokyo. I have known them since the early 1990's, when I began working at their school. Two snapshots from... more
Tomo was a first-year and Keiko a third-year student at Musashino Metropolitan High School,1 a working-class high school in western Tokyo. I have known them since the early 1990's, when I began working at their school. Two snapshots from those first years illustrate some features of family background, survival strategies, and career trajectories. These are features that they share with many working-class youth all over Japan, especially in the urban areas where public schools are more finely ranked and the labor market is larger, but also more unstable and precarious. Part I of sketches how class and culture are interrelated within the context of Japanese secondary education. Part II focuses on the ways different class groups navigate the transition from middle to high school. Part III focuses on the sorts of orientations, goals, and strategies that characterize school culture at Musashino High, a place where working-class culture takes institutionalized form through practice. The final part traces these young people's trajectories into the bottom rungs of the service labor market and into their new status as "freeter."
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The question of reproduction within education must start with the identification of the means by which reproduction occurs. The self-evident answer is through the differential distribution of skills and opportunities. That is, a different... more
The question of reproduction within education must start with the identification of the means by which reproduction occurs. The self-evident answer is through the differential distribution of skills and opportunities. That is, a different set of skills is being taught at different schools depending on the types of opportunities made available upon leaving school. The different opportunities result in different eventual profiles of income and occupation. Thus, if you graduate from good schools, you have certain skills that enable to you to climb to the top of the highly stratified social ladder.
Until recently, many Japanologists have argued that these patterns of stratification were no more than the result of the natural range of differentially skilled individual students sorting themselves by virtue of a meritocratic examination system. Actually, as remarkable as it may seem to those who are not Japanologists, the reproduction of patterns of social difference, in the form of social indicators such as income, occupation and education, has only recently been demonstrated in the literature.
Until recently, many Japanologists have argued that these patterns of stratification were no more than the result of the natural range of differentially skilled individual students sorting themselves by virtue of a meritocratic examination system. Actually, as remarkable as it may seem to those who are not Japanologists, the reproduction of patterns of social difference, in the form of social indicators such as income, occupation and education, has only recently been demonstrated in the literature.
This is a course website from our on-going research project that collects oral narratives from the individuals and communities affected by the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan. We have collected more than 500 hours of narration, all... more
This is a course website from our on-going research project that collects oral narratives from the individuals and communities affected by the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan. We have collected more than 500 hours of narration, all transcribed in Japanese, from which we have selected short clips for easy viewing. So far, it is just in Japanese but we are working on the English. We are always interesting in collaborators who wish to use this full archive so please contact me if you are interested.