Women’s empowerment is the pivot point of this paper; it investigates the contemporary Japanese women’s awareness of gender inequalities in the workplace and Womenomics. This thesis attempts to...Show moreWomen’s empowerment is the pivot point of this paper; it investigates the contemporary Japanese women’s awareness of gender inequalities in the workplace and Womenomics. This thesis attempts to suggest possible solutions to gender discrimination in the Japanese workplace. To accomplish this goal, this paper employs a quantitative method for data collection. The chosen sample consisted of Japanese women employed in Japanese companies alone. At a later stage, data analysis was done through a qualitative approach. Respondents’ feedback to the questionnaire was fundamental to draw this project’s conclusions. In this regard, Japanese women seem not to be aware of Womenomics’ contents and the majority of them consider these polices as useless in terms of women’s empowerment. By contrast, they are well aware of gender inequalities at their workplace, and they offered valuable solutions to solve the problem. A prospective awareness-raising intervention is considered essential because it would help to sensitize people to the problem and to faster gender equality’s fulfillment. Moreover, if people were aware of the persistent gender gap in contemporary society, their perception would encourage leaders to take action for the creation of a gender-equal society. According to the majority of the questionnaire’s respondents, if people cooperate as individuals and not as men and women, it will possibly be a starting point for gender stereotypes’ elimination.Show less
The concept of Sustainable Development is increasingly used in development policies. Still, it remains questionable whether sustainable development is feasible in reality. Since a few years, China...Show moreThe concept of Sustainable Development is increasingly used in development policies. Still, it remains questionable whether sustainable development is feasible in reality. Since a few years, China aims to be leading in sustainable development. Their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could secure that leading role at a global scale. Nonetheless, many scholars argue that this project is far from sustainable. Others refute this criticism and state that the BRI has the most potential for sustainable development. This thesis aims to investigate this debate by answering the following question: To what extent is ecologically sustainable development implemented within the Chinese BRI Railroad projects in Sub-Saharan African Countries? A qualitative data analysis (small-N) will answer this question. The conditions of sustainable development will be compared to practice by studying three railroad projects. This thesis will view sustainable development through an ecological lens with a focus on Strong Sustainability. This thesis analyses how the projects relate to the criteria of Strong Sustainability: protecting and promoting biodiversity, sustainable water management and carbon emission reductions. The results show that the SGR projects do attribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. Still, they could have done more to make the project genuinely sustainable; a lot of environmental concerns remain unaddressed within the projects. Therefore, these projects cannot be labelled as ecologically sustainable under the criteria of Strong Sustainability.Show less
In Japan since the 1980s, after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the bubble economy, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) implemented a series of neoliberal policies in order to increase...Show moreIn Japan since the 1980s, after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the bubble economy, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) implemented a series of neoliberal policies in order to increase the flexibility of the Japanese labour market and make the labour market more competitive at global level. Due to neoliberalism and deregulation, it became more complicated for young people to find a full-time job and young unemployment has risen drastically since the 1990s to present time.Furthermore, in this period “freeters” began to be new figures in the labour market in Japan.Show less
Recently both in academia and media the phenomenon of 'overtourism' has surfaced, a development where tourism negatively affects a destination. In Japan, this issue is called ‘kankou kougai’ (観光公害)...Show moreRecently both in academia and media the phenomenon of 'overtourism' has surfaced, a development where tourism negatively affects a destination. In Japan, this issue is called ‘kankou kougai’ (観光公害) or 'tourism pollution'. This thesis examines how impacts of ‘overtourism’ have developed in Japan throughout the years 2013-2018, including the role of involved actors (citizens, public and private sectors). Overtourism is predominantly a subjective concept based on perceptions of citizens, and it is thus difficult to exactly measure. Based on an event data analysis of several Japanese newspapers and case study of Nara City, the results reveal that the frequency of negative tourism impacts (economic, socio-cultural and environmental) generally increased alongside the increase in number of inbound tourists.Show less
Being a super-ageing society brings a plethora of problems: social, political and economic. This thesis will limit itself to the economic problems and their political implications due to its...Show moreBeing a super-ageing society brings a plethora of problems: social, political and economic. This thesis will limit itself to the economic problems and their political implications due to its limited scope. The most common mentioned problems associated with an ageing society are the pressure on 1) the healthcare system, 2) the pension system, and 3) the labour market. Yet, the current situation is that most elderly workers above 65 are not welcome in the workforce, despite all the relief they can offer. The conclusion of this thesis is that the resistance is due to ageism and archaic employment systems. In order to create a more accommodating employment situation for the elderly, a salary system revision is necessary. The existing literature, however, lacks concrete plans in regards to revising such system. Based on a case study at a company that was in the midst of introducing a salary system revision, this thesis tries to explain the measures that are needed to realise this revision successfully. The most important elements of realising this system are basing salary on performance and only giving promotions if there are vacancies. This will create a system where salaries are equal to production, as opposed to tenure.Show less
The Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during...Show moreThe Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during the end of the last decade and the start of the current decade, Japanese video games experienced a huge dip in their sales. Japan has been attempting to use the ‘Soft Power’, the concept of influence generated by its popular culture overseas, to its advantage. The link between the Japanese video game industry and the concept of Soft Power have not been sufficiently examined as of now, hence why it was the focus of this study. The aim of this study was to come to an understanding of why these fluctuations in the market occurred, as well as look for the potential influence of Japanese video games and their popularity overseas on Japan’s Soft Power. By asking questions, in the form of a survey, to experts from the Dutch video game industry, the objective was to come to new insights on the matter and open up possibilities for further research. Results from the survey showed that previously underrepresented factors contributed to the fall in popularity of Japanese video games in the West. Elements like ease of use, lingual nuances, as well as intrinsic differences in preferences of the Japanese domestic audience and the Western audience, were identified. The link between the performance of Japanese video games overseas and Japan’s Soft Power was also confirmed. Respondents acknowledge the capability of Japanese video games to influence the consumer’s image of Japan, albeit not always in a purely positive way. Arguments were also raised that the Japan portrayed in video games is often not the real Japan. This holds true, but in order to make a target audience think more positively about Japan, the ‘real’ Japan does not need to be represented accurately. Thus, it can be argued that popularity of Japanese video games overseas does indeed correlate to an increase in Japan’s Soft Power.Show less
This study examines to what extent local governments in Japan make use of their official websites to facilitate the social integration of their foreign residents through online multilingual...Show moreThis study examines to what extent local governments in Japan make use of their official websites to facilitate the social integration of their foreign residents through online multilingual provisions. A comparative analysis of the official websites of various kinds of cities, towns and villages not only serves to highlight some of the stark and surprising differences in their online integration efforts. A consideration of specific factors in the analysis, such as economic power, administrative authority, relative migrant population size and City Network membership, also allows for a more in depth exploration of some of the underlying social, political and economic reasons as to why some localities provide substantially better online multilingual provisions than others.Show less
Economic and bureaucratic reforms have shaped China's political economic framework since 1978. Although these reforms made long periods of economic growth possible, new challenges arose in the form...Show moreEconomic and bureaucratic reforms have shaped China's political economic framework since 1978. Although these reforms made long periods of economic growth possible, new challenges arose in the form of often collusive corruption. This dissertation will explore the relationship between economic and bureaucratic reforms and shifting types of corruption in China between 1992 - presentShow less
In postwar economic development, Japan has chosen a different way to neoliberalism. The government did not “step back” from the market or rely on the action of the “invisible hand”; it played an...Show moreIn postwar economic development, Japan has chosen a different way to neoliberalism. The government did not “step back” from the market or rely on the action of the “invisible hand”; it played an important role itself in economic development. Under the guidance and intervention of the state, Japan became an economic miracle and the most successful industrialized economy in the world, then experienced a collapse followed by great stagnation. Simultaneously, while Japan used to have the role of driver and leader of the regional economy before the collapse, it lost its advantageous position when it became stuck in great stagnation. Japan’s economic status changed drastically accompanied with its changing economic power. For an economy like Japan that cooperated highly with the state, the capacity of the state would have a huge impact on the economy, on both economic power and economic status. Japan’s changing economic power and status in the region became a mirror to reflect the changing state capacity in Japan.Show less
Dungen, Boudewijn Sebastiaan Thibault van den 2016
The Japanese population and its healthcare system is under pressure. The population is declining drastically; the amount of elderly is increasing heavily and with the costs to take care of them...Show moreThe Japanese population and its healthcare system is under pressure. The population is declining drastically; the amount of elderly is increasing heavily and with the costs to take care of them will be heavy. Their increasingly chasing population structure is a major concern for politicians and companies alike. Too often Japanese politicians keep this status quo alive, on one hand they agree that Japan needs to introduce pro-immigration policies but on the other hand, when it comes to implement real and viable policies they ignore it. Japanese politicians are hesitant to call for increased immigration, due to fear from the public. These fears often stem from some underbelly feeling, which also fueled by the Media. The introduction of the Foreign nurses and caretakers was a first step into the right direction. Sadly, the outcome was insignificant and had practically no influence. This program shows the weakness of the Japanese immigration policies. It lacks flexibility, practicality and long-term vision.Show less
An overview and analysis of the Small and Medium Enterprise policies of the Japanese government during the period 2006-2013 and of the effect of the 2008 global financial crisis on these policies.
