More than 95%. This is the highly alarming number of incidents of sexual violence in Japan that are not reported to the police according to a study from 2018.1 In fact, in Japan, sexual crimes...Show moreMore than 95%. This is the highly alarming number of incidents of sexual violence in Japan that are not reported to the police according to a study from 2018.1 In fact, in Japan, sexual crimes continue to carry a heavy stigma and society’s approach to it remains sexist and archaic.2 From 2017, #MeToo, a hashtag constituted of two simple but powerful words has travelled around the world enabling women to voice their allegations of sex crimes. This movement could have been the opportunity to break the silence about sexual violence in Japan, nonetheless, it did not seem to take root in the country. This thesis aims to shed light on the struggle endured by victims of sexual violence in Japan who dared to speak up in a society unwilling to understand their pain. This thesis intends to dive into this matter and analyse how the adverse reactions to allegations of sex crimes reflect Japanese society’s stance toward the #MeToo movement.Show less
This thesis examines the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (ETAT) and the Setouchi Triennale (ST), two of the largest and best-known Art Triennale in (and outside) Japan, and considers how these art...Show moreThis thesis examines the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (ETAT) and the Setouchi Triennale (ST), two of the largest and best-known Art Triennale in (and outside) Japan, and considers how these art festivals intend to provide a solution to the continuing ageing population and declining birthrate in Japanese rural areas. Japan contains the largest proportion of elderly people in the world and its population continues to decline since 2004. Yet, this decrease is especially severe in rural areas because the majority of the population consist of elderly people. The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (ETAT) and the Setouchi Triennale (ST), have been established as strategies to tackle Japan’s increasingly ageing population. The former was established by Kitagawa Fram (1946-present) whereas the latter was co-founded in 2010 by Kitagawa Fram and Fukutake Sōichirō (1945/46-present). The common aim of the ETAT and ST initially seems to be the restoration of these economically declining rural areas through contemporary art projects. Yet, this thesis claims that Kitagawa’s and Fukutake’s idealistic views about the countryside and ‘traditional’ countryside lifestyles resulted into their attempt to reshape Japanese society by reidentifying neglected rural areas through contemporary art. This is because both men’s strong partnership and their active involvement in both Triennale shape these art festivals according to their own convictions and objectives. Therefore, this thesis demonstrates that the ETAT and ST’s purpose exceeds rural revitalization and is actually about the creation of a ‘new’ society which is brought together by the art festivals.Show less
This thesis is an exploratory research that analysis Japan’s current Taiwan position. This was done by examining four themes: 1. The evolving place of Taiwan in Japan’s security policy and...Show moreThis thesis is an exploratory research that analysis Japan’s current Taiwan position. This was done by examining four themes: 1. The evolving place of Taiwan in Japan’s security policy and political discourse. 2. The development of Japan’s security policy and the turn towards a more sovereign security policy of Japan. 3. The development and strengthening of the U.S.-Japan alliance. And, 4. the introduction of the FOIP strategy. These themes were extracted from the literature. However, the literature in this field is quickly outdated. Besides no author in the literature did examine the four themes together with regard to Japan’s Taiwan position. Research was done through text analysis and comparative analysis. All themes show that Japan increasingly promotes values like: democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and a capitalist economy, which it shares with the U.S. and Taiwan. Although, by now, Japan more openly supports Taiwan as a democracy, no costly signalling towards Taiwan was done since no explicit cost was attached to the signals. Instead, I argued that Japan did send a costly signal to the U.S. by explicitly stating that the alliance is unwavering and that Japan and the U.S. together are increasingly promoting their shared (universal) values. The value politics that Japan and the U.S. envision can be seen in a broader spectrum of countries and alliances promoting values. China, for example, promotes its own values. Values that clash with the shared values that the U.S. and Japan promote. Since value’s legitimize actions to protect those value and two different value systems vie for their influence on Taiwan and both see the other as an infringement on their own value system, the Taiwan issue is cause for serious concern.Show less
In dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de...Show moreIn dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de geschiedenis van animatie en het ontstaan van homoseksualiteit in geanimeerde series en films.Show less
The main cause of birth-rate decline, in any country as well as China, is due to natural changes in socio-economic factors, such as the labour market, prospects of financial stability, the housing...Show moreThe main cause of birth-rate decline, in any country as well as China, is due to natural changes in socio-economic factors, such as the labour market, prospects of financial stability, the housing market, the marriage market, a work-life balance, urbanization, affordable childcare and education of both men and women. The one-child policy might have assisted a fast-track through the stages of demographic transition, but the main reason for the current continuation of low fertility is caused by these socio-economic factors. To prove the legitimacy of this argument, even though there were no birth control policies set in place in Japan since the end of the Second World War, fertility still declined due to similar socio-economic circumstances as in China today. However, after Japanese policy makers started addressing some of the socio-economic factors, birth rates did ever so slightly improve since the low in 2005, further showing evidence of the importance of these determining factors. The argument that will be used in this paper to answer the research question “Why did Chinese policymakers drop the one-child policy and how effective is this policy move in reversing the demographic trends?” is as follows: The one-child policy was fully dropped as policy makers finally realized, while too late due to the opaqueness of the Chinese government, that the fertility rates were socially and economically unsustainable. The effect of the implemented policies in reversing the demographic trend is weak because the socio-economic factors which determine continuous low fertility are not addressed.Show less
After 2020, Japan-Taiwan relations have seen an accelerated change from an informal, ambiguous relationship towards a relationship based on Japan’s support for Taiwan’s de facto independence. This...Show moreAfter 2020, Japan-Taiwan relations have seen an accelerated change from an informal, ambiguous relationship towards a relationship based on Japan’s support for Taiwan’s de facto independence. This thesis argues that the drivers behind the accelerated shift challenge the paradigm that Japan’s Prime Ministerial executive office (the Kantei) exerts unchallenged control over Japan’s foreign policymaking (Mulgan 2017). Namely, influential LDP nationalist right-wing politicians have utilized the Hong Kong protests, 2021 LDP presidential elections and Russia’s attack on Ukraine to make unprecedented pro-Taiwan statements. These statements have called upon the Kantei to more explicitly demonstrate its support for Taiwan’s position, which is in line with the preference of nationalist right-wing politicians for a strong Japan in the international order and their desire to maintain political influence over Japan’s policymaking. Through these statements, LDP nationalist right-wing politicians have more or less ‘hijacked’ Japan’s foreign policymaking. As this undermined the Kantei’s leading role in Japan’s policymaking, the paradigm that Japan is a Kantei-led state in foreign policy needs to be reviewed in order to accommodate the influence of the LDP’s nationalist right-wing.Show less
This thesis investigates the absence of FTAs between Japan and China. It does this by putting the focus on two particular trade agreements. The first of which is the recently signed Regional...Show moreThis thesis investigates the absence of FTAs between Japan and China. It does this by putting the focus on two particular trade agreements. The first of which is the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP), an FTA with fifteen participating countries. The second is an agreement that has yet to become a reality; the China, Japan, South-Korea, China agreement.Show less
Japan is het meest vergrijsde land ter wereld met 28,2% bevolking boven de 65 jaar in 2020. Ten gevolge van het vruchtbaarheidscijfer dat sinds 2013 reeds onder het vervangingsniveau ligt, en de...Show moreJapan is het meest vergrijsde land ter wereld met 28,2% bevolking boven de 65 jaar in 2020. Ten gevolge van het vruchtbaarheidscijfer dat sinds 2013 reeds onder het vervangingsniveau ligt, en de Japanse bevolking de hoogste levensverwachting ter wereld heeft, dreigt de vergrijzing verder toe te nemen. Hetzelfde geldt voor de Japanse gevangenispopulatie. In 1989 was slecht 2,4% van alle tot detentie berechte personen 65 jaar of ouder. In 2018 was dit percentage 12,2%, oftewel een toename van ruim 900 procent in bijna 30 jaar. In de White Paper of Crime 2008 gaf het Japanse Ministerie van Justitie reeds aan dat de ontwikkelingen omtrent de criminele betrokkenheid van ouderen redenen zijn voor verontrusting. Zo wordt er vermeld dat onderzoek naar oudere delinquenten noodzakelijk is en de werkelijke oorzaak van de toename in kaart moet worden gebracht, aangezien de toename namelijk niet aangeschreven kan worden door de verouderende maatschappij. In deze studie wordt dan ook getracht de factoren te identificeren die bijdragen tot de vergrijzing van de Japanse gevangenispopulatie.Show less
