01

About EPOK Research Project

EPOK リサーチプロジェクトは、岡山大学の交換留学 EPOK 生の個別研究です。日本の社会や文化を探求する視野から自由に個々の課題を設定し、実践的なフィールドワークを念頭にリサーチを行い、その成果をエッセイにまとめました。研究テーマは、日本の社会構造や日本人の思考から科学や環境など、自由かつ多岐に広がり、「日本」を学ぶという地域
研究の豊かな学際的学びと学生たちの取組みがよく表れています。この文集には、それらを Japan’s nature, environment, & science / Japan and the international mobility / Japanesementality / How Japan/Japanese are viewed のセクションに分けて、11 のリサーチプロジ
ェクトを掲載しています。
2021 年度春期の EPOK リサーチは、コロナ禍で来日が適わず、遠く日本を想いながら調査をすることになりました。本来のフィールドワークができない中、オンラインでのアン
ケートやインタビューなどを多くの学生が採り入れ、工夫しました。このエッセイ集は、各々のテーマにおける発見のみならず個々の不屈の探求心と真摯な取り組みの軌跡でもあります。
In the course of EPOK Research Project EPOK the 11 students worked on the individual
research theme in relation to their interest in Japanese culture and society in the spring of 2021. The
compilation of the research essay shows the final product of their exploration and discovery. The
EPOK research essay collection displays a good variety of their interest, including Japan’s social
issues, culture and life of the Japanese people, the environment and science. The essays can be foundin the corresponding categories such as Japan’s nature, environment, & science / Japan and theinternational mobility / Japanese mentality / How Japan/Japanese are viewed.
In the spring of 2021, the students were forced to pursue the research on Japan virtually
under the unusual circumstance of the covid-19. Despite the difficulty of searching the theme on aplace and its people without fieldwork, the students endeavored to get connected with Japan andpeople for instance through questionnaires and interviews. This collection demonstrates theirvigorous interest and sincere contribution in exploring the topics remotely. May this be a token of
their discovery, presence and endeavor in the spring of 2021 at Okayama University, Japan.
2021 年 8 月

Obayashi Junko 大林純子
EPOK advisor
Institute of Global Human Resource Development
Okayama University

2Japan’s nature, environment, & science
1. KAM Sean Chuan Shen (University of Malaya)Umi-hotaru, Japan’s blue marvels
2. NEUMANN Ramon (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences)
The characteristics and challenges of Japanese agriculture
3. JIMENEZ Daniela (University of East Anglia)
Urgent needed action to combat Climate Change. An insight from
Okayama Prefecture.
4. ARIBAH, Dzikra Ridha Dwi (University of Malaya）
Responds to Robots in Japan: The Uncanny Valley
Japan and the international mobility
5. ABDI Ridwan (University of East Anglia)
An investigation into the use of mutual aid projects during
the pandemic in Japan
6. KOBLIK Mikhail (Leibniz Universitat Hannover)Main Factors Affecting the Decision of Foreigners to Migrate toJapan for Academic or Professional Purposes
Japanese mentality
7. GENCO Mattia (Ca' Foscari University of Venice)Mental issues caused by the Covid-19 on Japanese university
students, and possible repercussion on the society in the future
8. HUIJZER Jacqueline (RotterdamUniversity ofApplied Sciences)
The difference in behaviours and social views between
Japan and The Netherlands towards Hikikomori
9. MAHMUD Muhammad Farrhan Bin (University of Malaya)
Honne & Tatemae: Communication across Japanese society
How Japan/Japanese are viewed
10. VAN ASTEN Tycho Floris (Rotterdam UniversityofApplied Sciences)
There are more things to do in Japan, apart from eating sushi
11. GIRALDI Diletta (Ca' Foscari University of Venice)An insight on the Western and Japanese view ofJapanese Culture through the analysis of the public’s
opinion on movies

3

Umi-hotaru, Japan’s blue marvels.
ウミホタル～日本の青い奇跡～
Sean KAM Chuan Shen カム、ショーンチュアンシェン
University of Malaya (Malaysia)

Summary:

ウミホタルは、美しくユニークな海洋甲殻類です。本研究では、ウミホタルについての知識、直面している脅威、保護するためのアイデアを明らかにすることを目的としています。調査は、オンラインフォームを使用しました。調査の結果、ほとんどの回答者が、これまでにウミホタルについて聞いたことがないことがわかりました。ウミホタルの認知度は日本人の方が外国人よりも高く、21‐40 歳までの年齢層では、ウミホタルの認知度が低いことがわかりました。ウミホタルが直面している最大の脅威は、汚染、海ゴミ、生息地の喪失です。一方、保護のための最良の方法は、認知度の向上、環境保護、汚染の軽減であると示唆されました。

Thesis Statement
The purpose of this project is to determine the familiarity and opinions of Japanesepeople and the international community about umi-hotaru (Vargula hilgendorfii). This project
also intends to determine the threats faced by umi-hotaru, raising awareness of them in theprocess. Besides that, ideas and suggestions from the survey respondents are collected andpresented in a concise manner for any interested authorities to implement for the conservationof umi-hotaru. Lastly, a brief description of umi-hotaru is prepared to increase understanding of
this relatively unknown species.
Umi-hotaru is a unique, beautiful creature found only in Japan. According to Thompson
et al. (1989), umi-hotaru was much more common in the past, and it is currently suffering froma population decrease. Unfortunately, most people are not aware of its existence. This lack ofawareness coupled with global and localized environmental changes could lead to further
population decreases and even extinction. With this project, I hope to raise awareness andpossible contribute to preventing the extinction of this beautiful and unique species.
Literature Review
Not to be confused with the similarly named Umihotaru rest stop in the middle of theTokyo Wan Aqua-Line Expressway, or the well-known hotaru-ika (firefly squid) which is eaten
by many Japanese people, the lesser-known umi-hotaru (sea-firefly) is a species of ostracod

4

crustacean. According to Thompson et al. (1989), Umi-hotaru is a small animal around 3mm inlength, with a nocturnal habit. It lives in the sand in shallow waters, and feeds actively at night.
When it is disturbed, it secretes luciferin and luciferase into the sea water, which reacts andproduces a bright blue luminous cloud. As stated by Katsunori Ogoh & Yoshihiro Ohmiya(2005), umi-hotaru has a poor swimming ability which limits the extent of which they can spread.
Their breeding season is between spring to autumn in the coastal waters of the major Japaneseislands. According to their research, umi-hotaru is distributed by the Japan Current. However,
due to their poor swimming ability, they are unable to survive in areas where the current is toostrong and rough. Besides that, they are also not found in the northeast region of Japan due to
low water temperatures.

Figure 1. Distribution of umi-hotaru. (Source: Katsunori Ogoh & Yoshihiro Ohmiya, 2005)

5

Figure 2. A photograph of a male umi-hotaru. The scale bar is 1mm. (Source: Katsunori Ogoh
& Yoshihiro Ohmiya, 2005)
Methodology
The main method used to gather data for this research project is using an online survey
form via Google Forms. This method ensures a fresh data supply, which is the best solution forfieldwork during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey form consists of 13 questions. Among the
13 questions, 4 are regarding demography, 4 regarding umi-hotaru identification, and 5
regarding umi-hotaru threats and conservation. Most of the data gathered by the survey form isquantitative data. However, there was also some qualitative data collected in the form of openended opinion/suggestion questions. This research project was also supposed to involve field
trips to the beaches of the Seto Inland Sea to collect and observe umi-hotaru specimens fromthe wild. Unfortunately, I was unable to travel to Japan during this term thus the field trips wereunable to be carried out.

Discussion
In total, there were 40 responses to my survey form. In terms of age, 14 (35%)
respondents are between 1 to 20 years old, 21 (52.5%) are between 21 to 40 years old, and 5(12.5%) are between 41 to 60 years old. Out of the 40 respondents, 22 (55%) does not live inJapan while 18 (45%) lives in Japan. Among the 18 respondents who lives in Japan, 9 (50%)
lives in the Chugoku region, 4 (22.2%) lives in the Kansai region, 1 (5.6%) lives in the Kanto
region, and 1 (5.6%) lives in the Shikoku region. 3 (16.6%) respondents who live In Japan did
not provide an answer to the hometown region question. Among the 22 respondents who do notlive in Japan, 18 (81.8%) lives in Asia, 3 (13.6%) lives in Europe while 1 (4.6%) lives in Africa.
When presented with a close-up picture of 4 marine organisms and asked which picture
represents umi-hotaru, 35 (87.5%) respondents answered correctly, while 5 (12.5%) picked thewrong picture. This indicates that most of the respondents have an idea of how umi-hotaru looks
like.
When presented with 3 pictures, showing green, blue and red bio-colouration, 27(67.5%) respondents chose blue, which is the correct colour representing umi-hotaru’s

6bioluminescence.

On the other hand, 11 (27.5%) choose green while 2 (5%) choose red. This

indicates that a majority of the respondents are aware of umi-hotaru’s bioluminescent colour,
however there are still quite a few who are unaware of its bioluminescent colour.
When presented with the question “have you heard of umi-hotaru before this survey?”,26 (65%) respondents answered “no” while 14 (35%) answered “yes”. This shows that most of
the respondents have not heard of umi-hotaru before attempting my survey. Based on thisfinding, there is evidence to prove my inference that umi-hotaru is an organism that is not wellknown. Some further analysis was made to see if there is a relationship between age of
respondents and knowledge of umi-hotaru, as well as between location of residence andknowledge of umi-hotaru.
Among the 14 respondents between 1 to 20 years old, 8 (57.1%) answered “yes” while
6 (42.9%) answered “no”. Among the 21 respondents between 21 to 40 years old, only 2 (9.5%)
answered “yes” while 19 (90.5%) answered “no”. Among the 5 respondents between 41 to 60
years old, 4 (80%) answered “yes” while 1 (20%) answered “no”. Based on the data obtained,
it can be summarised that a slight majority (57.1%) of people between 1 to 20 years old areaware of umi-hotaru. On the other hand, a large majority (90.5%) of people between the age of
21 to 40 years old are unaware of the existence of umi-hotaru. The trend reversed again when it
came to those aged between 41 to 60 years old, as a large majority (80%) are aware of umihotaru. This is a very interesting finding, that there appears to be a lack of awareness of umihotaru particularly among those aged between 21 to 40 years old. Further investigation could be
carried out by an interested party as the sample size is small at only 40 respondents, thus aconclusive statement with sufficient evidence is unable to be made.
Among the 22 respondents who do not live in Japan, only 3 (13.6%) answered “yes”
while 19 (84.6%) answered “no”. This indicates that most people who do not live in Japan are
not aware of the existence of umi-hotaru. The 3 respondents who answered “yes” all happen to
be from Asia. However, with only 4 respondents who live in continents other than Asia out of
the total of 22, no conclusive statement can be made on a relationship between continent ofresidence and knowledge of umi-hotaru.
Among the 18 respondents who live in Japan, 11 (61.1%) answered “yes” while 7(38.9%) answered “no”. This indicates that there is a majority of people who live in Japan thatare aware of the existence of umi-hotaru. 7 (77.8%) out of the 9 respondents from the Chugoku
region answered “yes”, while 3 (75%) out of the 4 respondents from the Kanto region answered“yes”. This indicates that there is a possibility that there is a link between the geographical7location of a respondent’s hometown with the distribution of umi-hotaru (as shown in Figure 1
above), as their hometown region coincides with the region where umi-hotaru is found. Thereis insufficient data from respondents from other regions to come to a wider conclusion.
When asked about their opinion on umi-hotaru, 33/40 (82.5%) of respondents found it
to be beautiful, 18/40 (45%) of respondents found it to be amazing and 9/40 (22.5%) of
respondents found it to be cute. Conversely, 3/40 (7.5%) of respondents found it to be weird.
Therefore, it can be summarised that most of the respondents have a favourable opinion of umihotaru.
When asked about the threats that umi-hotaru are facing, the largest threat faced by umihotaru according to the respondents is pollution, with 36/40 (90%) of the respondents thinking
as such. Following pollution is garbage being thrown into the sea at 30/40 (75%), and habitat
loss at 27/40 (67.5%). Global warming and sea acidification are both tied at 23/40 (57.5%).
Lastly there is radiation at 13/40 (32.5%) and overfishing at 11/40 (27.5%). Therefore, based on
the data from this survey, the most important threats to umi-hotaru that needs to be focused on
is pollution, garbage being thrown into the sea and habitat loss.
When asked if they feel that umi-hotaru should be protected, a huge majority of 39/40(97.5%) of the respondents answered “yes”, while only a single respondent (2.5%) answered“no”. There is a clear conclusion that most of the respondents want umi-hotaru to be protected.
Delving deeper, the 39 respondents provided reasons why they think umi-hotaru should beprotected. Since there are a wide variety of reasons, it will be displayed in the form of a pie chartfor ease of reading (Figure 3). From Figure 3, it can be observed that the biggest reason to protect
umi-hotaru is to preserve them for future generations, followed by safeguarding Japan’s natural
heritage. On the other hand, the respondent who felt that umi-hotaru should not be protectedgave the reasoning that it is because umi-hotaru are insignificant creatures.

8

Why umi-hotaru should be protected
10%

3% 3%

15%

46%

23%

To preserve them for future generations to see

Because they are unique to Japan
Because they are beautiful
To protect biodiversity
Because they are good for tourism
For the simple fact that they are living creatures

Figure 3. Reasons why umi-hotaru should be protected.
Lastly, suggestions were collected from the respondents on what they think should bedone to protect umi-hotaru. The suggestions are summarised and displayed in Table 1 below.

Suggestion

Frequency

Raise awareness of umi-hotaru, its beauty and its environment

8Protect the environment and maintain its cleanliness6

Control and reduce pollution

6

Avoid throwing garbage into the oceans and coastal areas

3

Voluntary cleaning of coastal areas

3

Protect the habitat of umi-hotaru

3

Prevent overfishing2

Introduce new legal regulations to protect umi-hotaru

2

Increase recycling efforts

1

Table 1. Suggestions by the respondents to protect umi-hotaru.
Conclusion

9

In conclusion, the purposes of this research project were fulfilled. This research
project found that most people are not familiar with umi-hotaru. Generally, those who live inJapan has a higher probability of knowing about umi-hotaru than those who do not live inJapan. An interesting finding is that there is a lack of awareness of umi-hotaru especiallyamong those in the age range of 21 to 40 years old. Besides that, threats faced by umi-hotaru,
and suggestions to protect umi-hotaru have also been collected.

References

Katsunori Ogoh, Yoshihiro Ohmiya, Biogeography of Luminous Marine Ostracod Driven Irreversibly by the Japan
Current, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 22, Issue 7, July 2005, Pages 1543–1545,
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msi155
Thompson, E. M., Nagata, S., & Tsuji, F. I. (1989). Cloning and expression of cDNA for the luciferase from themarine ostracod Vargula hilgendorfii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 86(17), 6567–6571. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.86.17.6567

10Characteristics and challenges of Japanese Agriculture
日本の農業の特徴と諸問題
Ramon Neumann / ノイマン‐ラモン
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands)

Summary:

この研究は日本の農業の特徴と諸問題を明らかにする。日本の農業は、主に露地栽培が特徴だ。日本農業で特徴的なのは棚田に見れれる傾斜地の農地だ。日本の農業の中でいろいろな難題がある。まず、農家の数が減っている。また、エンバイロンメントの難題がある。そして、解決策がある。たとえば、農家の数を増やすために AI と ICT を紹介するようにして農業の魅力を高めることができる。エンバイロンメントの解決策もある。しかしながら、将来、日本は世界市場よりも国内市場を重視する可能性が高いことが分かった。

Introduction & methodology
The research question of this paper is:“What are the developments in the agricultural sector in Japan?”
To answer the research question, sub-questions have been formulated as the following:
1. What are the characteristics of the agriculture in Japan?
2. Which are the challenges Japanese new and existing farmers are facing in Japanese
agriculture?
3. What are the environmental challenges of Japanese Agriculture?
4. What are the solutions to these challenges?

The objective of the research is to identify and map the developments of Japanese
agriculture, identify areas of challenges within Japanese agriculture, and make anaccurate prediction of the future of Japanese agriculture based on the findings.
Specifically, the objectives of the research will be focused on the characteristics ofJapanese agriculture, the developments of agriculture in Japan, the challenges that Japan
faces when it comes to their agricultural environment, and other challenges that theJapanese agriculture might be facing.
For performance of the research, both field and desk research have been
performed. However, the primary source of information is from the field research. Desk

11

research has been performed to support the answers to sub-question 1. sub-questions 2,
3 and 4 are further supported by means of field research. The field research has been
performed through interviews with experts in Japanese agriculture.
This research is part of the EPOK program from Okayama University, Japan. During
the EPOK program, exchange students perform a research to learn more about Japanand deepen their knowledge of a specific subject. The student is free to choose theirresearch subject if it meets the educational interests of Okayama university. As a person
interested in global agriculture, and especially the technologies involved in modern day
agriculture, I have decided that my theme for the research will be directed towards
agriculture in Japan.
The desk research has been performed through credible sources that contain in-depth,
and up to date information about the Japanese agricultural sector. For example, reports
from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, market reports from credible
market researchers, and other statistical websites or entities specialised in Japanese
agriculture.
The objective of performing the field research was to obtain up to date and relevant
information of experts in the field, with the aim of answering the research questions. To
do so efficiently, a structure had been setup for a smooth interaction during theinterview:
1. Introduction phase: during this phase of the interview, the primary goal was toget know the interviewee. Questions that were covered in this phase were questions
such as what their position is.
2. Information phase: This phase did contain the critical information. This
information can be anything from the way the person in question gathers information
about new developments, ongoing developments they personally see, and challenges
they see or face in Japanese agriculture.
3. Closing phase: this phase did conclude the interview. During the closing of theinterview, the interviewee did get the chance to give final remarks, things they felt
like they had to share, and talk about the future of Japanese agriculture.
A total of 3 experts in the field of Japanese agriculture have been interviewed for thisresearch. These experts are as following:12

1. Fuminori Suzuki, young cucumber farmer in Okayama prefecture.
2. Tsutomu Harada and Mami Kondo, Okayama Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Department.
3. Professor Onaka, Okayama University Faculty of Agriculture.

Characteristics of Japanese agriculture & desk research discussion.
This chapter describes the Japanese agriculture market, segments the market, andexplains the general challenges that Japanese agriculture is facing. Agriculture can bedivided into 3 different main segments:
1. Outdoor farming
2. Indoor farming
3. Animal farmingThis research purely focusses on the scope of outdoor and indoor farming, with themain focus on outdoor farming as it makes up most of Japanese agriculture. Outdoor
and indoor farming together are segmented as followed:-

Cereals: 43.8%-

Vegetables: 26.8%-

Fruit: 16.8%-

Roots & tubers: 6.3%-

Sugar: 1.1%-

Oil crops: 0.8%-

Other: 4.3%

(Marketline, 2020, p. 12)Figure 1: Japan agricultural products market category segmentation: % share, by value, 2019 [Marketline, 2020]
From this total, around 29% of the vegetables and cereals are grown indoors. Most of
the fruit are also grown indoor, meaning that around 30% of all crops are grown indoors,
and the other 70% is grown outdoors. (Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Association,2017) Rice falls under the cereals category, which explains why cereals is a big portionof the Japanese agriculture. Rice is often grown on so called Tanada’s, which are Iconic
sights of Japanese agriculture. They are small rice fields usually on steep slopes. They
resemble “steps” of a staircase. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2021)
Below is shown how crops that are both grown indoor and outdoor are distributed
between indoor and outdoor farming:-

Tomatoes: 74% indoor, 26% outdoor-

Strawberries: 88% indoor, 12% outdoor

13-

Cucumbers: 61% indoor, 39% outdoor-

Spinach: 24% indoor, 76% outdoor(Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Association, 2017)
When compared to other countries such as the Netherlands, Japan’s increase ofindoor farming productivity and capacity has barely increased. To measure this, acomparison has been made of productivity per 10.0a., The Netherlands has 5 times moreproductivity per 10.0a than Japan. (Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Association, 2017)
Through desk-research environmental challenges within Japanese agriculture havebeen identified. The most important environmental challenge of Japan is abandonment
farmland. Japan has undergone an unprecedented increase of abandonment farmland.
(Su, Okahashi, & Chen, 2018)
The abandonment farmland causes serious environmental issues as well as socioeconomic issues for Japan. Biodiversity plays a key-roll in the stability of ecosystems.
When farmland gets abandoned, the ecosystem around the farmland changes, which candamage the biodiversity of an area. Sustainable farming and agriculture are essential for
Japan to preserve natural resources and maintain rural landscapes as well as ruralcommunities. (Su, Okahashi, & Chen, 2018, p. 1) At last, Japan has also seen an
increase in the use of chemical fertilizer usage. This causes the issue of groundwaterpollution, which can cause ground erosion and poison of local water sources which
wildlife depends on. (Department of Agriculture, School of Agriculture, Meiji
University, Kawasaki, Japan., 2020, p. 129)
Field research discussion
This chapter describes and interoperates the results of the field research. The fieldresearch has been performed through 3 sources. The first source is a Japanese cucumber
farmer. The second source is the Okayama Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Department. The last source is a professor of the Okayama University
Agriculture faculty.
After interviewing Fuminori Suzuki, age 36, multiple problems could be identified
in Japanese agriculture, that are especially visible among young farmers. First of all, Mr.
Suzuki from Kanagawa has been farming cucumbers for two years. As a new and young
farmer, he only possesses a small farm. He only cultivates and area of 20are. Most of
his work processes are done manually. This is due to the fact that his farm cannot provide
enough revenue to invest in machinery. The initial investment costs for new farmers are14high, which makes it difficult for new farmers to expand their farmland. This is also
backed up by professor Onaka from the Okayama University Faculty of Agriculture. He
said:“it is difficult to earn a high income through farming. Depending on thenature of the farming business, this is because the initial investment islarge, the risks are high, and the work is more demanding than in otherindustries.” (Onaka, 2021)
According to professor Onaka, the initial high investment costs and the difficulty to earna high income are the main reasons why young people do not want to become a farmer.
Fuminori Suzuki has said it is possible to obtain subsidiary from the government, but ingeneral if you start making more profit, you have to pay back the money, which makes
it potentially more expensive to buy machinery in the long-term. The machinery is still
too expensive to invest in. Professor Onaka has also said that agriculture is also seen has
highly intensive labor. This can linked to the fact that most of the agriculture is still doneby hand. This is because of the inaccessibility of machinery, making agriculture more
intensive than it has to be. Because of the intensive agriculture, young people are lessinterested in becoming a farmer. The aging population of Japan is also contributes
towards the general decline of farmers in Japan.
Through the interview with Fuminori Suzuki, I also learned that the main source of
information on potential interesting machinery is through agriculture exhibition, which
the biggest ones are in Tokyo every year. (Suzuki, 2021) Another source is the internet,
but this source is not as popular and in general farmers want to be able to see themachinery. This makes it difficult for farmers to find cheaper alternatives for machinery,
as it is not viable for all farmers to go to these exhibitions. Because most farmers cannot
invest in machinery, they spend most of their days on the farm which means they cannot
go to these exhibitions in Tokyo.
With help from the Okayama Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Department information was obtained about agriculture in the Okayama prefecture. The
prefecture decides what the farmer grows. The prefecture decides on general policies
for Okayama prefecture’s agriculture. These are usually revised every two or four years
depending on the policy. [Okayama Prefecture Agricuture Forestry and Fisheries
Department Agricultural extension unit] According to Tsutomu Harada and Mami
Kondo from the Okayama Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department, it
is usually difficult for family-owned farms to acquire more land. That is the reason why

15family farms usually turn themselves into companies, so that it is easier for the Okayama
prefecture to invest in them. Usually, a new farmers and existing farmers have to be able
to show to the prefecture that they can be profitable as a farmer. According to the
Okayama prefecture representatives, they have not seen an increase of new farmers orland expansion.
In Okayama the growing methods differ from the rest of Japan. Okayama’s farmers
specialise in peach farming. In Okayama, the entire peach farming process is done
manually, which makes the peaches the most beautiful and highest quality peaches of
the country. (Harada & Kondo, 2021) Because of the lack of new farmers, thiscraftmanship tradition of farming high quality peaches cannot be passed on to future
generations. At last, according to the representatives of Okayama Prefecture Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries Department, usually in Japan the post-harvesting processing ishighly automated. This is usually the packing and transportation stage. This is aninteresting fact since the farming methods themselves are not automated. They said thatusually processing facilities are close to the farmlands.
According to professor Onaka from Okayama University Faculty of Agriculture,
there are some solutions towards the challenges in Japanese agriculture. First of all, themost important challenge that Japanese agriculture is facing, namely the decreasing
number of farmers because of the population aging and urbanisation. This challenge canbe solved by promoting agriculture through introducing new technologies and AI into
Japanese agriculture. This reduces the amount of physical labor that seems difficult foryounger and new farmers, and makes it higher skilled labor which is more attracting foryoung people. It is also a good idea to find methods to increase profit margins for young
farmers. It is often thought that farmers cannot make a lot of money. According toprofessor Onaka, there are currently no measures taken towards the decreasing
agricultural product prices. The government can increase profit margins for domestic
farmers by putting import tariffs on foreign products, whilst supporting the productionof products that are short in demand. By doing so, the farmers will make a larger profit.
Not only does that make farming more attracting for young people, but it also supports
existing farmers by means of extra investment opportunities.
The environmental challenges can be solved by exploring new agricultural methods.
First of all, new cultivation methods that do not rely on chemical fertilizers can prevent
further degradation of agricultural land through using fertilizers and pesticides that are

16

not damaging to the soil. Nowadays there are plenty of those available. The abandoned
farmlands also have to be taken care of. Often after these lands are left behind, thesurrounding ecosystem changes, which can be devastating for wildlife and plants that
relied on these farmlands. The main issue with abandoned farmland is that they areabandoned because there are no succeeders for these farmlands. If the issue of
decreasing farmers can be solved through the methods mentioned in the paragraph above,
this issue might partly solve itself. For the land that does not get taken over, othermethods have to be found. Professor Onaka did not provide any possible ideas for that.
At last, this research looks at the future of Agriculture in Japan. Mr. Suzuki predicts
that in the future, Japanese agriculture will be more mechanised, however, it will havea slow pace, as the farmers in Japan cannot afford machinery. On top of that, there is asense of craftmanship in the Japanese agriculture culture, causing farmers wanting to do
manual labor to deliver high quality products. According to professor Onaka, In the
future the Japanese agricultural production will most likely focus on domestic
production and not play an important role in the global food market. However, Japan
will play an important role in supporting developing countries through providing
technology. If Japan properly manages the challenges they face in their agriculture,mainly tackling the decreasing number of farmers by increasing the number of new
farmers through promoting ICT and AI technologies in agriculture, the Japanese
domestic food market will become more profitable. This can potentially makeagriculture more interesting for new and young farmers, as well as help solve
environmental issues that come with abandonment farmlands by putting them to use
again. Professor Onaka said that the decrease of farmers due to aging population andyoung people not wanting to become farmers is Japan’s biggest issue.
Conclusion
The Japanese agriculture can be characterised by mostly outdoor farming, which canbe represented by around 70% of outdoor farming and 30% of indoor farming. Japan’s
biggest output is cereal, mainly rice. They are often grown on Tanada’s, which are an
iconic sight in Japanese agriculture. Japan faces environmental challenges in their
Agriculture. The two most important ones are the abandonment farmlands and use ofchemical fertilizer that can damage the ground. Outside of the environmental challenges,
Japan also faces the issue of a decreasing number of farmers. This is due to the aging
population of Japan, as well as young people not being interested in becoming a farmer.
It is often difficult to become a farmer in Japan because of the high initial investment
costs, which makes it difficult to buy farmland. Japanese agriculture is also considered17highly intensive labor. This is due to the fact that a lot of the agriculture is still done byhand due to the importance of craftmanship in Japan. This also makes it less attracting
for young people to become a farmer. Investing in machinery is difficult due to the low
profit margin and the high prices of machinery, which is a problem for both existing andnew farmers. This can be solved by increasing profit margins for farmers, such as
imposing import tariffs on foreign agricultural products. At last, in the future theJapanese agricultural market will most likely be focusing on satisfying their domestic
market, rather than becoming important on global scale. However, Japan will have a
global role through technology. The main issue that Japan has to focus on is solving thedecreasing number of farmers through making farming more attracting for young people
and recruiting foreign workforce from abroad.
Bibliography
Department of Agriculture, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Japan. (2020). Effect ofOrganic and Chemical Fertilizer Application on Growth, Yield, and Quality of Small-Sized
Tomatoes. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment, 121-133.
Harada, T., & Kondo, M. (2021, 6 29). Interview EPOK essay: Characteristics and Challenges of Japanese
agriculture. (I. Takao, & R. Neumann, Interviewers)
Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Association. (2017). Current State and Challenges of Greenhouse
Horticulture in Japan. Tokyo: Japan Greenhouse Horticulture Association. Retrieved fromJapan and the Netherlands.
Marketline. (2020). Agricultural Products in Japan. London: Marketline. Retrieved 6 2, 2021
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. (2021). https://web-japan.org/. Retrieved 6 1, 2021, from Web
Japan: https://web-japan.org/trends/11_food/jfd202008_rice-terraces.html
Okayama Prefecture Agricuture Forestry and Fisheries Department Agricultural extension unit. (n.d.). 21

世紀おかやま農業経営基本方針. Retrieved from pref.okayama.jp/.
Onaka. (2021, 7 26). (I. Takao, & R. Neumann, Interviewers)
Su, G., Okahashi, H., & Chen, L. (2018). Spatial Pattern of Farmland Abandonment in Japan: in
Sustainability, 1.
Suzuki, F. (2021, 6 24). Interview EPOK essay: Characteristics and Challanges of Japanese agriculture.
(I. Takao, & R. Neumann, Interviewers)

18

Urgent needed action to combat climate change. An insight from Okayama
Prefecture.
Daniela Jiménez Fernández
University of East Anglia (United Kingdom)
他の多くの国と同様に、日本も気候変動の影響に直面しています。気候変動は、その名前が示すように変化し続けていますが、私たちはどのように対処したらいいでしょうか。岡山大学では、緊急に気候変動に対処するという必要性と目標のために、いくつかの SDGs
プロジェクトとモジュールを通じて、学生が自然環境の保全と再生に取り組んでいます。この調査から、教育により学生たちに将来について考え、活動をさせることが持続可能な社会を実現するための鍵であり、私たちにはその力があることを認識しました。
Introduction

Climate change is a long-term change that has cohabitated with humans for a long time. As
NASA describes it: “Climate change is also a change in Earth's climate”, (NASA, 2014).Thosechanges are products of affairs like pollution, contamination, the fishing and meat industries,
an increase of natural disasters, sea levels rising, etcetera. This research paper explores theissue of how climate change is affecting the Japanese nation.
This paper focuses on the needed action required to adapt and build resilience towards
climate change. It aims to show how the Japanese prefecture of Okayama is dealing withthe challenge of climate change through the power of education. This research project will
give an in-depth analysis and perspective on how Okayama University uses the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) as its leading tool to create awareness regarding climate change.
Additionally, it will provide insight into how locals and students work together on several
projects.
The final goal of this project is to create awareness of how climate change is affecting us
and how, can restore our Earth, our planet.

An Overview of Japan’s Climate Change situation

19

Climate change is an issue that requires immediate actions by the international
community. Based on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
adopted in 1992, the Conference of Parties (COP) has been a pivot for active
discussions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the global level every year since
several years ago. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has actively participatedin the negotiations on climate change in coordination with other government offices
such as the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic, Trade andIndustries to enhance its national interest in this urgent matter.
Moreover, our efforts as an International Community are not enough to bring thisissue to a better situation. As the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
states, over 700,000 people have lost their lives, over 1.4 million have been injured,and approximately 23 million have been made homeless as a result of natural
disasters. On the other hand, The Bank’s Shock Waves highlights that climatechange threatens to push an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty by
2030 due to extreme weather events.
Extreme weather events are one of the main visible effects in the Japaneselandscape due to climate change. An example of this phenomenon is back in July of
2018. A devastating downpour in the Western side of Japan forced 2 million people
to evacuate their homes. This deluge flooded hundreds of thousands of homes and,
unfortunately, claimed over 200 lives. “In the aftermath of the event, experts agreed
that the intensity of this storm was fueled by our changing climate”,(The Climate
Reality Project, 2019).
An assessment done by the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (IPCC) has
shown that global service temperatures have been increasing- This got recognisedfor various reasons like the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases causedby human activities like the burning of fossil fuel and deforestation (Mintzer, 129).

Therefore, we can say that “island nations around the globe face some of the most
severe impacts of our changing climate — and Japan is no exception” (The Climate
Reality Project, 2019). Examples of how it threatens the Japanese nation is coastal
threats, floodings and rising temperatures or, food security like the case of the rice
planting. However, Japan has recently gone through great efforts to protect its nationand the world from the massive effects of climate change.

20

The lastest goal for the Pacific nation is to be a decarbonised society by 2050. This
strategy makes explicit current challenges and future actions by prioritising fields
and formulating action plans. The strategy aims to cover comprehensive policies
such as budgets, taxes, regulation reforms and standardisation, international
collaboration like the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stated.

Japan also showed its concern about climate change before in 2015 when signing
the Paris Agreement at COP21 in Paris as a new international framework forgreenhouse gas reductions in the post-2020 period. This agreement is fair andapplicable to all Parties, which is why Japan had advocated following the adoption of
the Kyoto Protocol with the Doha Amendment to come years later. Japan aims towork with other countries to develop guidelines for the Paris Agreement to achieveeffective greenhouse gas reductions by all Parties. However, even after all thesepolicies, collaborations and efforts, the current concentration of greenhouse gases(GHG) in the atmosphere is now the highest it has been for the past 500,000 years,
as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth assessment stated.
In 2019, Japan emitted 1212 Mt CO2eq (carbon dioxide), making it the 5th largest
producer of carbon emissions, as the International Energy Agency stated in its
analysis. Due to that, Japan was heavily criticised by the Paris Agreement countries.
But, that did not stop Japan and its fight against climate change. Especially in theregion of Okayama Prefecture

Methodology

The methodology used in this research project was through a primary source, an interview
with students from Okayama University. The interrogation aimed to see if students were
aware of how climate change and their projects were related to Okayama's university tool,
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the interview gave a deeper
insight on the “Hotaru Project”, “Lake Kojima Project” and how students view SDGs andclimate change.
To further seek information regarding the Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change
current situation in Japan and Okayama’s actions/programs towards achieving climate
neutrality, I created a six-question, interview as mentioned before. The following key
questions to my research are:

211) How would you describe the climate change situation in Japan?
2) What current restraints or methods are put to reduce climate change?
3) How would you say climate change is affecting us? Especially in the region of
Okayama and general Japan.
4) Are you aware of the fight for SDGs 13?
5) I heard all of you are doing quite a few projects to protect the ecosystem. Regarding
water, animals, etc. What is the " Hotaru Project" about? What's its purpose?
6) Is there enough awareness to this day that we can stop climate change straight
away? Or at least slow it down?

Through this methodology, my interview focused solely on people studying at Okayama
University, especially from the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology. OtherJapanese students would also be able to benefit from this research and interview’s answers
as the study is about increasing awareness and knowledge on the affair of climate change
and the SDGs through the interaction of two Okayama’s projects, Lake Kojima and theHotaru Project. The interview was conducted online due to the current situation of COVIDSARS and people being in different locations at the time to comply with the government’s
restrictions. It was conducted through a zoom meeting with professor Mohri as the language
supporter.
It resulted in answers from 10 participants. I carefully chose questions in a way that students
in this specific faculty can relate to broadening their minds and vision of climate change andSDGs.

Analysis and Evaluation

The survey had a small number of participants in which is not enough to represent every
individual’s view and knowledge regarding climate change and SDGs.
My hypothesis from the answers of the interview was that the participants would show
little knowledge towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, when talking aboutthe Hotaru Project, they were not aware they were defending several SDG causes like22

SDG 13, climate change or SDG 9 and 6 mentioned above. ,Furthermore, students did show a mixed interest in climate change and came out of their
comfort zone to answer my questions with their answers.
Before the interview and while conducting my research on Okayama, I did expect more
knowledge on the general matter of Climate Change and the fight of the SDGs since
they are a big impact on the nation’s decision-making and policy-making.
But through their answers, many participants mentioned some examples of how thegovernment is dealing with the situation of climate change that is established in thewhole nation. An example of these measurements is the actual “charging for plastic bags,
trying to conserve energy and the use the electric cars” as one student answered or the“reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through international conferences” as otherstudents stated.
Okayama University tackles the issue of the SDGs through education. Meaning thatthe modules and classes are focused and directed to address the different affairs that
SDGs support. Some of these modules are “Study of Japan A with SDGs” in which
Professor Obayashi gathers students to learn and deepen about sustainable lifestylethrough traditional Japanese culture (bizenyaki, Igusa Guesthouse), or the Model United
Nations module (JUEMUN) by Professor Fujishima and Professor Cowie. This year,
students had the opportunity to be a national delegates in the fight of SDG 9, SDG 11
and SDG3 13.
However, as one of my interviewees said, “We hear a lot of talk about the SDGs, but tobe honest, we do not have much awareness that we are working on the SDGs”.
The statement describes the situation of many people across the globe. SDGs have many
categories. For instance, SDG 14 addresses life below water or SDG 6 that tackle cleanwater and sanitation. These are just some examples of SDGs. But the issue is thatstudents lack knowledge of them when doing projects that involve them.
From my perspective and experience in both modules cited, I could see not many
students had as much knowledge regarding SDGs and climate change policies. They
were more focused on researching one-on-one SDGs as happened during the MUN
module since we had to gather all information available.
On the other hand, many of the students interviewed were aware that climate change isreal and we need to act now. One of the students talked about how “every year, thesummer is getting hotter, and how he feels global warming is progressing”.
Additionally, students acknowledged how the heat island phenomenon is increasing and23

progressing rapidly and how “individuals are less conscious of stopping climate change”.
These statements refer to the aforementioned introduction and overview paragraphs.
Another student also shared their experience with landslides caused by the rising waterand flooding caused by heavy rains in both Okayama and Hiroshima(another Japanese
Prefecture). These findings keep showing that Climate Change is an urgent matter that
affects wildlife, our environment and flora.
The last part of the interview was purely focused on the two main projects the students
were conducting. As mentioned before, these projects are The Hotaru Project and theLake Kojima Project.
When asked question 5, the students' interest peaked and were highly motivated to talkabout the importance of having clean waters for these creatures. However, what is themeaning behind the Japanese term ‘Hotaru’? The English term for this Japanese term is‘firefly’.
The Hotaru Project aims toward creating a new environmentally coexistent society. The
students at Okayama University who are undertaking this project explained that fireflies
were long cherished in Japan since old times. Upon researching why they are symbolic,I came across these phrases: “They are beloved – a metaphor for passionate love inpoetry since Man'you-shu (the 8th-century anthology). Their eerie lights are also
thought to be the altered form of the souls of soldiers who have died in war”, as Namiko
Abe expressed.
However, when asked why they joined thisproject, they all answered that because “itsounded fun”. Later on, after experiencing
the forest, many realised that they couldn’t
see them anymore and they wanted topreserve them with their actions. Fireflies
require a clean and safe environment but thelight pollution, the use of chemicals andresiduals are making their appearance decrease in numbers at a fast rate.

(Figure 1. Fireflies in Okayama Prefecture by Tsuneaki Hiramatsu)

One of the participants also raised the issue that there is not enough awareness of thedisappearance of these marvellous light creatures. He explained that we should involve24

more people and spread the “Firefly Festival” tomake the neighbourhood more aware of thesituation.
The Hotaru Project is only one of the main works
students from this faculty are realising. Moreover,this project relates to the second project mentioned
above, Lake Kojima.
Lake Kojima is a reservoir which construction
finished in 1959. The purpose of building a lake into campus is for the students’ learningachievement and progress. However, ever since it was built, pollution has corrupted thewater and made all the wildlife and flora disturb the current ecosystem at the time.
The project aims to raise awareness and the “ADTPAC water environment specialists”.
See Figure 2 below for reference.The final objective of this project as researched andexplained by some fo my interviewees is to improve the water quality of the lake sowildlife, fauna and humans can keep cohabitating.
The program outline prepares students to carry the adequated practices and become
specialists who would be able to continue the fight of the SDGs ang global warming
through their knowledge and actions. To do so, they also require the cooperation of
locals living in the prefecture such as community organisations or other universities andcolleges.
(Figure 2. ADTPAC meaning)

Conclusion
Climate Change and SDGs are in a current fight in which individuals from different ages,
nationalities and ideologies are joining. Global warming does not discriminate or affectone type of ecosystem, it affects us all in different ways, could be a temperature rise,
pollution levels making us unable to breathe and make our waters dirty andcontaminated.
Climate change and SDGs aim for international and local cooperation as so does theLake Kojima Project by Okayama University.
This research project aimed to show how Japan is suffering from climate change effects

25

and how even a prefecture alone can support the cause by sharing knowledge, creatingawareness and cooperating between individuals. Climate Change is not a one-solution
matter, it will require perseverance, unity and changes.
During my research and interviews, I could see different aspects and views on climatechange and the existence of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, if we wantto achieve climate neutrality and end instability, we need to keep creating platforms
available for everyone just as Okayama University is doing with these projects to spreadthe knowledge and how we can help our ecosystem be the way it was. We depend on
the ecosystem and, the ecosystem depends on us.

References:-Abe, N., 2019. Why the Firefly (Hotaru) Is Important in Japan?. [online] ThoughtCo. Available at:<https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-of-the-firefly-2028102> [Accessed 2 August 2021].

-Climate

Reality.

2019. Howthe

ClimateCrisis

Impacts

Japan.

[online]Availableat:<https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-impacts-japan> [Accessed 1 August 2021].
-Hallegatte, S., Bangalore, M., Bonzanigo, L., Fay, M., Kane, T., Narloch, U., Rozenberg, J., Treguer, D. andVogt-Schilb, A., 2016. Shock waves. Washington, D.C: World Bank Grop.
-Energy Agency, I., 2018. Japan - Countries & Regions - IEA. [online] IEA. Available at:<https://www.iea.org/countries/japan> [Accessed 1 August 2021].
-Meti.go.jp. 2020. “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050” Formulated. [online]
Available at: <https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2020/1225_001.html> [Accessed 1 August 2021].
-Okayama-u.ac.jp.

2007.

[online]Availableat:<https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/user/est/gendaigpeng/eng.gendaigp_top/eng.objectives/objectives.html> [Accessed 2 August 2021].

-Stillman,

D. and Green, J., 2014. What Is Climate Change?. [online] NASA. Available at:<https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html>[Accessed 1 August 2021].

26

Responses to Robots in Japan: The Uncanny Valley
日本におけるロボットに対する反応：不気味の谷現象について
Dzikra Ridha Dwi ARIBAH ジクラ リダ ヅイ アリバ
University of Malaya (Malaysia)

Summary:
日本の自動化・ロボット化は、ロボットのデザインとともに進化しており、より人間に近いロボットがデザインされている。人間に近いデザインは、より親しみやすい印象を与えたり、社会にとっていくつかの利点をもたらします。しかし、日本のロボット工学の第一人者である森政弘氏は、「不気味の谷」という概念を提唱しました。これは、人型ロ
ボットをより人間に近づけると親近感を感じても、ある度合いに到達すると突然、不気味さを感じるという現象です。本研究では、日本におけるロボットに対する人々の反応を調査し、その結果をもとに不気味の谷の概念との関連性を考察した。

Introduction
Japan has been known to be one of the most advanced countries in the world,
especially in the expansion of Artificial Intelligence and robots. The use of robots has started to
become common in Japan. Based on the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2015, theJapanese government has set its sights on a 20-fold increase in the use of robots in the nonmanufacturing sector and a three-fold growth rate of labor productivity in the service sector,
both by 2020.
Robot's appearance types could be divided into two types based on the robot's
characteristics (Kwak et al., 2014): Human-oriented vs. Product-oriented. Human-oriented robot
appearance is designed to resemble a human's appearance while product-oriented robot
appearance is designed to maximize the dedicated functions of the robot. Human-oriented robots
are designed to look like humans for intuitive collaboration, and the latest locomotion and AI
technology are helping to speed up their development. In Japan these robots are starting to be
used to help around in places like airports, cafes, and hotels, facilitating the people around Japan
with their helping hands.
A Japanese robotics professor, Masahiro Mori, identified a concept about therelationship between the degree of an object's resemblance to a human being and the emotional
response to such an object. The concept is that making machines more human-like is good up

27

to a point, after which they become discomforting, until they achieve human likeness, which isthe best design of all.
With the number of robots Japan has been using in the past decade, this paper is set tofind out the relation between people and robots, especially human-like robots. To see theresponses of the people and find out how it correlates with the Uncanny Valley.
Japan, Robot, and The Uncanny Valley
Driven by a rapidly aging population and low productivity rates, Japan is the third mostautomated country in the world, right after Singapore and South Korea (IFR, 2017). Automation
provides the opportunity for humans to focus on higher-skilled, higher-quality, and higher-paidtasks. It is stated that Japan is the world’s predominant robot manufacturing country with 47%of the global robot production are made in Japan. As of 2020, Japan has 200 to 300 AI-relatedcompanies (Data Artist, 2020), and is number one in the world as a supplier of industrial robots(OSA DC, 2018).
Human-like robots, or humanoid robots, are one of the types of robots that are used in Japan.
It is started to get popular in use in the last decade, providing human help with their services. A
human-like shape robot produces emotional feelings useful for friendly communication between
robots and humans. Humanoid robots can work in many kinds of environments, bumps, dents,
slopes, stairs, narrow corridors, etc. without requiring any changes of them (Yokoi K., 2004).
However, the application of human-like robots within society has also brought some concern
due to their appearance.
The Uncanny Valley was identified by the Japanese robotic professor, Masahiro Mori. He
hypothesized that a person’s response to a humanlike robot would abruptly shift from empathy
to revulsion as it approached, but failed to attain, a lifelike appearance. In climbing toward thegoal of making robots appear more like humans, people’s affinity for them increases until itcomes to a valley (Figure 1), which is then called the uncanny valley. While trying to make therobot seems more like a human, at some point the robot may become sufficiently realistic thatits remaining nonhuman features become noticeable and disturbing. Thus, entities ofintermediate perceived humanness, such as androids, appear eerier than those of low or highperceived humanness, such as mechanical-looking robots or real human beings (MacDorman,
K. F., & Entezari, S. O., 2015).

28

Figure 1
After the identification of the uncanny valley, there have been various researches done tofind scientific reasons behind the uncomfortable feeling from robots that fall under the uncanny
valley. Some of the theoretical and hypotheses found by MacDorman & Entezari areperfectionism, anxiety, and personal distress.

Methodology
An online survey was conducted to gain people’s opinions about the topic. The survey
was sought to get information about, but not limited to, respondent’s awareness of robots’
implementation and how the respondents feel about robots. Questionnaires relating to theresearch topic are made in Google Form and shared with respondents through email, broadcast
messages to group chats, personal chats, etc. e. This survey was conducted with university
students and general adults focused more on the people in Japan but also is open for non-Japan
residents to fill in the survey for a more general and global result.
The survey was divided into 3 parts, multiple choices questions, scale questions, andanother multiple choices questions. The first part was focused on gaining backgroundinformation of the respondents like their age, where they are from, and how they feel about theimplementation of robots in Japan. In the second part, scale questions are given to figure out
how the respondents feel when looking at the given pictures related to the topic. The respondents
are given a scale from 1 (very uncomfortable) to 5 (very comfortable) to various types of robots,and some non-robots, using what is on the chart from Masahiro Mori about the Uncanny Valley;industrial robot, toy robot, a humanoid robot, prosthetic hand, Bunraku Puppet, and healthy
person. In the last part of the survey, another multiple choices question, the respondents are
asked which robot makes them feel the most comfortable and the one that makes them feel the29most uncomfortable from the previous part of the survey. The respondents are also asked what
may be the reason for someone to feel uncomfortable looking at robots.
The results of the online survey were then compiled and analyzed to assist thecompletion of the research. The results from the online survey are formed into pie charts anddiagrams to show the overall answers of the respondents. Using Google Form as the media of
the online survey was a good choice as it automatically showed the summarized result of thesurvey in real-time and it changed every time a new response was recorded.

Results
The survey gained 60 respondents with 60% of the respondents are from Japan and 40%
from outside of Japan. Even though 40% of the respondents are from outside Japan, 100% of
the respondents have seen robots in Japan, may it be from TV or the internet. 98% of the
Respondents agreed that the use of robots in Japan may be necessary. On the question “Haveyou ever felt uncomfortable looking at robots?” the answers divided almost evenly as 56.7%
answered yes and the rest, 43.3% of the respondents, answered no.
On the scale questions, the respondents are given a scale from 1 (very uncomfortable)
to 5 (very comfortable) to various types of robots, and some non-robots, using what is on thechart from Masahiro Mori about Uncanny Valley; industrial robot, toy robot, humanoid robots,
prosthetic hand, Bunraku Puppet, and healthy person. This part gathered how the respondents
feel when they are looking at the pictures.
1

2

3

4

5

Industrial robot

1.7%

10%

38.3%

23.3%

26.7%

Toy robot

17%

3.3%

15%

38.3%

41.7%

Humanoid robot I (Pepper)

5%

18.3%

26.7%

36.7%

13.3%

Humanoid robot II (Telenoid R1)

51.7%

26.7%

16.7%

5%

0%

Humanoid

15%

33.3%

23.3%

20%

8.3%

Prosthetic hand

1.7%

5%

21.7%

33.3%

38.3%

Bunraku Puppet

11.7%

21.7%

40%

11.7%

15%

Healthy person

1.7%

1.7%

13.3%

18.3%

65%

robot

III

(Actroid-

DER2)

Table 1

30

Among all the pictures shown in the second part, healthy person has the most percentage
of 5, 65%, with 0% answered 1 and 2. Whereas among the robots, Toy Robot got the most 5,
41.7%, with only 5% on the uncomfortable side. And the one that got the most percentage on
the uncomfortable side is Humanoid robot II (Telenoid R1), with 51.7% respondents choosing
1 and 26.7% choosing 2.
In the last part of the survey, the respondents are asked which among the robot pictures
shown makes them feel the most comfortable and which makes them feel the most
uncomfortable. Toy robot was chosen by 51.7% of the respondents as the robot that make themfeel the most comfortable. On the other hand, Humanoid robot II (Telenoid R1) was chosen by
80% of the respondents as the robot that make them feel the most uncomfortable (Figure 2).

Figure 2
The last question of the survey was “What do you think can make the appearance of arobot make someone uncomfortable?" and the respondents are given some options that they
could choose from, and also a blank option if they wanted to give their reasonings. "It looks
scary" was chosen the most by the respondents with 70%, then followed by "It resembles human
but not perfectly" with 60%.

Discussion
Findings
The implication of robots in Japan, may it be industrial robots, that offer help in doing
repetitive and hard labor, or human-like robots, that offer help in accommodation and services,is due to a clear reason that is mainly because of how Japan has a rapidly aging population andlow productivity rates. 70% of the respondents from the online survey agree that the use of

31

robots in Japan is indeed necessary, and additionally, 28.3% think that it may be necessary. Thisshows how most people can see that the current use of robots in Japan does help Japanese society.
Moreover, the research is trying to see whether or not the implementation, the use of
these robots brings any uncomfortable feeling to some people, based on the looks of the robots,
and if it correlates with the uncanny valley theory by Masahiro Mori. When asked
straightforwardly if the respondents have ever felt uncomfortable looking at a robot, the answers
are divided almost evenly with 56.7% answered yes and the rest, 43.3% of the respondents,
answered no. This even almost even result may come from how the question is very general, it
did not specify on what kind of robot. Nevertheless, when given scale questions to measure thelevel of uneasy feeling they feel looking at a robot, the results showed a clear result on whichrobot makes most of the participants feel uncomfortable and which does not.
The results of the survey, when matched with the chart of the uncanny valley, do prove
the theory initiated by Masahiro Mori. The majority of the respondents feel neutral about theindustrial robot, then majority feel very comfortable with the appearance of the toy robot, butthen as the robot becoming more human-like, the respondents feel very uncomfortable by theappearance of the robot, especially of the Telenoid R1 robot. Then it reached back to the peakof comfort when it comes to healthy person.
Implications
As robots are designed to be more and more like humans, the responses of the people
to the human-like appearance of robots need to also be more considered in the designing process,making sure that the robots do not give off any negative impression. To do so, the robotics
engineers need to avoid the area where the uncanny valley falls at.
Conclusion
The use of robots in Japan has not only been about the technological advancement of
the country, but it has also become a necessity. Due to the rapidly aging population and low
productivity rates of Japan, the implementation of robots has become essential to keep thecountry’s economy running. The development of robots is not only evolving around industrial
robots but also around human-like robots. Many human-like robots’ development focused on
designing the robots to become as similar as a real human. The Uncanny Valley, identified by
the Japanese robotic professor Masahiro Mori, hypothesized that a person’s response to ahumanlike robot would abruptly shift from empathy to revulsion as it approached, but failed toattain, a lifelike appearance.

32

A survey was held to see the responses of the people when shown various designs ofhuman-like robots. The survey result showed that there is a clear pattern on which design makes
the respondents felt uncomfortable. This pattern matched up with the chart of Uncanny Valley
from Masahiro Mori and therefore proved the theory to be very likely to be true. By seeing theresult of the survey, it can be concluded that the area where uncanny valley falls should be
avoided by robotic engineers when designing the humanoid robots, it is to make sure that theappearance of the robot does not make anyone feels uncomfortable.

Reference:
International Federation of Robotics. (2017). The Impact of Robots on Productivity, Employment and Jobs. A
positioning

paper

by

the

International

FederationofRobotics.

Retrievedfromhttps://ifr.org/img/office/IFR_The_Impact_of_Robots_on_Employment.pdf

Article online (Robot Race: The World´s Top 10 automated countries, International Federation of Robotics) [Internet].
https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/robot-race-the-worlds-top-10-automatedcountries#:~:text=Japan%20is%20the%20world%C2%B4,13%25%20of%20the%20operational%20stock.

[Last

accessed: 26 July, 2021]

Article online (Robots Create Jobs!, International Federation of Robotics) [Internet]. At: https://ifr.org/robots-createjobs [Last accessed: 26 July, 2021]

Kwak, Sonya S. (2014). The Impact of the Robot Appearance Types on Social Interaction with a Robot and Service
Evaluation of a Robot: Archives of Design Research, 27(2), 81-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.15187/adr.2014.05.110.2.81

Nomura, T., Sugimoto, K., Syrdal, D. S., & Dautenhahn, K. (2012). Social acceptance of humanoid robots in Japan:
A survey for development of the frankenstein syndorome questionnaire. 2012 12th IEEE-RAS International
Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids 2012). doi:10.1109/humanoids.2012.665152

Mori M. (2012). The Uncanny Valley. In: Energy (MacDorman, K.F., Kageki, N., English). (1970). Retrieved from:https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-uncanny-valley

MacDorman, K. F., & Entezari, S. O. (2015). Individual differences predict sensitivity to the uncanny valley.
Interaction Studies Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems, 16(2), 141–172.
doi:10.1075/is.16.2.01mac

33

YOKOI, K., KAWAUCHI, N., SAWASAKI, N., NAKAJIMA, T., NAKAMURA, S., SAWADA, K., … INOUE, H.
(2004). HUMANOID ROBOT APPLICATIONS IN HRP. International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, 01(03),409–428. doi:10.1142/s0219843604000265

Dirksen N.,Takahashi S. (2020) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN JAPAN 2020. ACTORS, MARKET,OPPORTUNITES AND DIGITAL SOLUTIONS IN A NEWLY TRANSFORMED WORLD. Embassy of theKingdomoftheNetherlands

Innovation,

ScienceandTechnology.

https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2020/12/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Japan-finalIAN.pdf?utm_source=StartupNewsAsia

Retrieved

from

34

Give Some, Take Some: An investigation into the use of mutual aid projects
during the pandemic in Japan.
持ちつ持たれつ：日本のパンデミック時における相互扶助プロジェクトの利用に関する調査
Ridwan Abdi アバデイ リドワン
University of East Anglia (UK)

Summary:
本研究テーマは、日本におけるコロナウィルスのパンデミック時の相互扶助の利用である。
「北長瀬コミュニティ冷蔵庫」のような相互扶助活動に対する態度を明らかにすることを目的とし、官僚主義に起因するギャップを相互扶助によって埋めることができるか調査した。パンデミックは、相対的貧困、食糧不安、政府による既存の支援の利用率の低さ等を露呈させた。日本政府や慈善団体等は、立場の弱いコミュニティ支援をしたが、スティグ
マや官僚主義によって、支援は十分に行き届いていない。よって、この状況が、一般市民による相互扶助を広く採用する機会になるかどうかも評価した。

Introduction
Japan has consistently had one of the highest levels of relative poverty amongst theOECD countries in the past two decades. Relative Poverty is defined as having 50% lessthan average household incomes. Issues such as an ageing population and stagnant
economy, since the prolonged recession of the 1990’s, have also put significant pressure
on government spending. Gross government debt which has risen past 219% of GDP,the highest ever recorded in the OECD area. (OECD, 2017). Whilst public spending on
cash transfers, services, and tax breaks for working age people and families in Japan
during 2015 is amongst the lowest in the OECD, at just over 1.5% of GDP. These figures
are important due to the consequence of people experiencing relative poverty being
more vulnerable to having their income significantly impacted by the pandemic.
Mutual aid is defined as political and social participation; whereby, people takeresponsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions. Mutual aid
has become a popular topic surrounding discourses about how we can tackle theinequality and poverty that has been perpetuated by the pandemic. Subsequently, thisresearch topic was created to examine the ongoing effects of the pandemic in Japan andsolutions to overcome them. This topic was of particular interest to me due to opening

35

of Japan’s first ‘community fridge’ opening in Okayama in 2020 for people in needduring the coronavirus pandemic. The newly opened food fridge in Okayama offers
fresh vegetables and perishables for free around the clock. This provides a lifeline tofamilies struggling because of lost income and work due to covid restrictions. Whilst
Japan also has significant stigma attached to charity and government help, researchingmutual aid could provide solutions to navigate and bypass these cultural issues.

Relative Poverty and Stigma:
Japan has had some of the worst wealth inequality andhighest rates of child poverty in the developed world
this decade with a UNICEF report, released in April
2016, ranking it 34th out of a total 41 industrialised
nations (Justin McCurry, 2017). An estimated 3.5
million children in Japan are from households who areexperiencing relative poverty. Relative poverty isdefined by the OECD as having income at or below
50% of the median national income. However, out of
the 3.5 million children who are eligible for state
support only 200,000 receive any (Justin McCurry,2017). Campaigners believe that this is largely due tothe stigmas attached to living on social security that exist in Japan.
The existing literature by scholars provides a number of explanations for the stigma thatis associated with the receipt of public assistance; known as Seikatsu Hogo. The
Seikatsu Hogo system differs from the means testing
found in the UK or Europe; this is because it asserts Figure 1: OECD Relative Poverty Rates table
legal responsibility of the family through assessing showing Japan having the 7th worst rate
whether relatives have the capacity to support amongst OECD members
members in need (Eileen Sutton, 2014). Benefit receipts become not just the shame of
the individual recipient, but also the family network that has failed to support them(Nishio 1994). This poses as barrier to seeking out assistance from local government or
charities.

36

Extensive research by scholars such as S. Omatsu and Iwata Shoten tells us that
service users report feelings of stigma related to receipt of social care services namelyfrom experiencing welfare assessment processes, which they say can serve to reaffirm
feelings of personal worthlessness and low esteem (Omatsu, 2008; Iwata, 2008). These
characteristics such as welfare assessment processes do not apply to mutual aid projects.
Some groups also face significant obstacles in receiving assistance. A decision by
Japan’s Supreme Court in 2014 meant that permanent foreign residents of Japan are notentitled to welfare benefits, which has discouraged local authorities from helping thesegroups. Whilst Japan has provided all residents with one of stimulus payment of 100,000
yen via the Special Fixed Benefits (SFB) programme at the start of the pandemic; further
payments was not being considered (Kubato et al 2020). Chief Cabinet Secretary
Katsunobu Kato stated that various government support schemes were available. Mutual
aid projects such as community fridges can therefore provide support in areas where
future gaps of universal government support may develop.

Mutual Aid:
Mutual aid unlike charity and government issued social services, which commonly
blame social problems on individuals’ moral failings, recognizes that capitalist
institutions are responsible for producing poverty, inequality, and violence. Mutual aid
works to build lasting alternatives to state-sponsored systems of care by organizing
grassroots networks of support that are reciprocal, transparent, and guided byparticipants’ resources, skills, and knowledge. It is these characteristics and theseparation from charity and institutional help that in theory could help bypass the social
stigmas that exist in existing support solutions in Japan. (Alexia Arani 2020)
Mutual aid as a political concept was established based on the work of anarchist andscientist Peter Kropotkin. Kropotkin’s 1902 book ‘Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution’argued that human cooperation rather than competition is what has facilitated thesurvival of our species. He proposed that the most efficient and moral system of
economic and social organization is one based on mutual exchanges rather than coercion
and the profit-motive (John Gulick 2020). Assistance from public and private
institutions is often insufficient and has lengthy processes in order to obtain. In Japan37

these forms of assistance also come with stigma associated with them as discussed
earlier. This is where mutual aid projects such as Okayama Fridge are able to fill thegaps. Mutual Aid is seen as a form of solidarity and is used by groups to generation
community cohesion, therefore; it has the benefit of not being perceived as a form
charity.
Mutual aid is not a form a charity, with many mutual aid groups using the slogan“Solidarity not Charity” to drive home this message. Charity groups create centralised
institutions whereby one organisation is giving to others, forcing them to become
dependent on yet another relationship negotiating their access to material resources.
Mutual aid on the other hand aims to create and foster a symbiotic relationship, where
all people offer material goods or assistance to one another. Mutual aid organizing isvolunteer-run, transparent, and driven by the needs articulated by community members.

Kita-Nagase Community Fridge
One of the core purposes of this project is to establish whether mutual aid projects suchas Kita-Nagase Community Fridge can make a difference. The first ‘community fridge’
opened in Okayama for people in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The newly
opened food fridge in Okayama offers fresh vegetables and perishables for free aroundthe clock. This provides a lifeline to families struggling as a result of lost income andwork due to covid restrictions. The community fridge was set up by Kenichi Narita, who
was inspired by his research of Hubbub a Charity which runs over 100 fridges in theUK.
Many studies have also highlighted that food banks are unable to provide a healthybalance of foods, relying heavily on non-perishable goods. With the current evidence
suggesting that the dietary intake of food bank users does not meet government
recommendations. Okayama’s Kita-Nagase Community Fridge; however, is able toprovide a wide variety of perishable food. Registered users can gain access 24 hours a
day via a smartphone app, which unlocks the facility, making the service relatively easy
to access compared to support from government and other institutions. These fridges
offer a community-focused and co-operative solution to the challenges of delivering
food justice, addressing food insecurity, and eliminating food waste. Whilst emergency
solutions like food banks are sadly necessary when people reach a crisis point in theirlives, community fridges can help people avoid needing food banks in the first place
and assist people to move on from becoming reliant on them.

38

Methodology:
I used an anonymous online survey in order to investigate the use of and attitudes
towards community fridges and mutual aid services in Japan. The use of a survey was
the chosen strategy due to its panoramic view, efficiency, and effectiveness at collecting
volumes of data; as well as the approach lending itself to quantitative data
(Denscombe, 2010). This form of research could be done remotely and online which isimportant due to the limitations posed on my research because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
In order to gather information and data regarding the attitudes towards mutual aid andits use in Japan during the pandemic, I designed a nine-question online survey. Thissurvey was aimed at people living in Japan and was distributed through online
communication channels provided by the University of Okayama. The following below
represent the key questions from my survey:

1.
Have you lost income, including earning opportunities, during the coronavirus
pandemic?
2.
Have you ever faced food insecurity?
3.
Have you ever used a mutual aid service or any another community service
before?
4.
Have you heard about Kita-Nagase Community Fridge in Okayama?
5.
Kita-Nagase Community Fridge allows registrants to bring home food for free
24 hours a day. Would you try this service?
In total I received six responses
to my survey, this was a lot
smaller than expected but given
the nature of the topic, questions
regarding income loss and use ofcharity; this could be explainedby the existing literature thatsuggests there is stigma attached
to poverty and using government
support. In future stressing the

Figure 1: Pie chart showcasing results of a key question
from the anonymous survey I conducted.

39

anonymous nature of the survey and omitting questions that could be perceived as
personal would ensure a significant increase in the number of respondents.
The number of respondents that lost income or income earning opportunities during the
pandemic was 50%, with 50% also stating they had faced food insecurity in their past.
Whilst 66.7% also stated they would try using a service such as Kita-Nagase Community
Fridge. All of the participants found the Okayama Community Fridge project to be avery good idea when asked to rate it using a 5-point scale from “I don't think it's goodat all” to “I think it is a very good idea”.
Conclusions
The results very much followed what was expected based on the existing literature
regarding stigma around assistance in Japan. Although the respondents represent a small
cohort, it provides us with insight to a difference in how mutual aid projects such as
Okayama’s Kita-Nagase Community Fridge is perceived in comparison to government
support systems. Suggesting that these projects and community-based forms ofassistance can fill gaps left behind by stigma and inaccessibility associated withgovernment support systems and institutions. Kita-Nagase Community Fridge is housedin centrally located and publicly accessible place; that can be accessed 24/7 throughutilising an app. This ensures surplus perishable food donated and provided by thecommunity and is freely available to members of the public who need it. The surplus
food is regularly provided by local businesses, restaurants, and members of the public.
These actions can be considered forms of solidarity that not only instill a sense ofcommunity but can be leveraged to create social movements to bring changes togovernment policies and processes.
Although this research topic mainly focuses on Japanese citizens and their perceptionof mutual aid, it is also important to recognize that these projects can be a lifeline toforeign citizens in Japan. This is due to a number of issues, but mainly the issue oftechnically having no recourse to public funds such as welfare benefits. Other groups
that are unable to easily navigate government bureaucracy due to barriers such as age,lack of Japanese language knowledge and disabilities may benefit significantly fromaccess to mutual aid projects. The use community fridges can also fall into the categoryof preventing waste and has existing affinity with existing Japanese traditions such as
mottanai; repurposing these existing concepts in the Japanese zeitgeist could ensuresignificant adoption of these types of projects. The concept of mottainai encompasses

40

the idea of respecting resources and not wasting them, along with an inherent
recognition of their value. Thereby addressing multiple social and environmental issues
simultaneously.
Issues of relative poverty, child poverty and food insecurity are long standing
consequences of the lost decades of 1990’s whereby the economy shrunk or was
stagnant. Although there has been some respite in recent years this research projectshows that much of Japan’s is still vulnerable to these issues. Future governments may
recognise the instability of ever-increasing social security spending; at a time where
Japan’s debt to GDP ratio has surpassed global records. The mass adoption and use ofcommunity fridges and mutual aid could in theory significantly reduce Japan’s welfare
bill significantly; whilst also reducing relative poverty. Future research could investigate
economic and environmental impacts of mutual aid projects such as Community Fridges,
as well as tracking whether Kita-Nagase Community Fridge in Okayama has been a
success.

Reference:
Arani, Alexia. "Mutual Aid and Its Ambivalences: Lessons from Sick and Disabled Trans and Queer People ofColor." Feminist Studies 46, no. 3 (2020): 653-62. Available at doi:10.15767/feministstudies.46.3.0653. [Last accessed:
3rd August 2021]
Denscombe, M., 2011. The good research guide. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.
Gulick,

John

et

al

(2020)

Whatismutualaid?

A

COVID-19

primer.

Available

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f62eApKdHXCVa-rnHV-EjCPTEa4N6g9i/view [Last accessed:

at

3rd August

2021]
Iwata, M. (2007) Poverty and Inequality in Modern Society: Realities and against-Poverty Strategies in Japan andthe USA
Kubota, S, K Onishi and Y Toyama (2020), "Consumption responses to COVID-19 payments: Evidence from anatural experiment and bank account data", Covid Economics.
MCcurry, J., 2017. Japan's rising child poverty exposes true cost of two decades of economic decline. [online] The
Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/17/japans-rising-child-poverty-exposestruth-behind-two-decades-of-economic-decline> [Accessed 1 August 2021].
Nishio, Y. 1994. Poverty, Stigma, Public Assistance: Searching for the Origin of Social Welfare, Tokyo: Aikawa
Syobou.
OECD

Economic

Surveys(2017).

Availableat:https://cloudflare-41

ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceb2vqjjgn5lwsbzmsyyj55zg3te7dwf6dcjbt5vdlfxdv7xdiiwyo?filename=%20-%20OECD%
20Economic%20Surveys%20_%20Japan%202017.-%5Bpublisher%20not%20identified%20%282017%29.pdf[Last accessed:

2nd August 2021]

Omatsu, S. (2008) Interview Study of the Youth with Unstable Employment and Housing: Finding a Way to Support‘Homeless Youth, Osaka: Kamagasaki Shien Kiko, pp. 91–104
Sutton, E, Pemberton, S, Fahmy, E & Tamiya, Y 2014, 'Stigma, shame and the experience of poverty in Japan andtheUnitedKingdom',

SocialPolicyhttps://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746413000419

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13,

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pp.

143-154.

At

42

Main Factors Affecting the Decision of Foreigners to Migrate to Japan for
Academic or Professional Purposes
外国人が学術的または専門的な目的で日本に移住する決定に影響を与える主な要因
Mikhail Koblik
ミハイル・コブリク
Leibniz University Hannover (Germany)

高齢化社会の問題に対する 1 つの可能な解決策は、高齢化した労働力を移民労働者に置き換えることです。しかし、高齢化の問題に直面しているのは日本だけではないた
め、外国人の日本への移住の決定に影響を与える要因について調査する必要があります。以前の調査で作成された概念に従って、調査が実施され、EPOK の学生とさまざ
まな国の人々に配布され、これら 2 つのグループに違いがあるかどうかが比較されました。

1. Background
According to the Aging Demographic Data Sheet 2018, Japan has the highest proportion of
citizens older than 65 of any country globally (IIASA 2018) and is therefore affected by the
problem of an aging population and declining fertility rates. One of the possible solutions
that is being proposed internationally is the substitution of the aging workforce withimmigrants (Muysken et al. 2008, pp.15-18). However, in the current globalized world,
individuals from different countries usually have a variety of possible choices for theirmigration destination, especially if they are highly skilled and well-educated. Additionally,
globalization has emphasized the international qualification of workers which can benefit
both the worker and even the economy of a country in general. Omura (2011) shows thatthe increase in foreign population by 30% in Japan ‘boosted Japan’s GDP by 0.16% without
capital accumulation, and by 0.24% with capital accumulation’ (Omura 2011, p. 13). Thus,
the competition among developed nations when it comes to the acquisition of aninternational workforce is unavoidable, which makes the research on factors affecting the
choice of the migration destination justifiable and relevant for possible future governmental
policies (Koikkalainen 2011 p.47).
2. Objectives and Literature Review

43

A notable amount of research has previously been conducted on the migration motives ofpeople from different countries, but not specifically on the contemporary migration to Japan.
The prior research mainly points out the existence of push and pull factors that lead tomigration (Winter-Ebmer 1994 pp.269-284, Koikkalainen 2011 pp.44-91, Mihi-Ramirez etal. 2014 pp.522-526). Since push factors act as factors that make individuals want to migrateaway from their home country (e.g.Winter-Ebmber 1994 p.271, Mihi-Ramirez et al. 2014
p.523), they can’t be really targeted by any Japanese governmental policy. Therefore, thisresearch will mainly focus on the identification of current or potential future pull factors
enhancing the desire of non-Japanese individuals to migrate to Japan for academic or
professional purposes. Furthermore, the article by Koikkalainen (2011, pp.46-61) suggests
the existence of economic and non-economic motives which are both relevant for the
migration, but in the case of the migration of well-educated Finns to other European
countries, the latter seems to play a more important role. ‘For these educated Finns moving
abroad is possibility, not a matter of survival, as it may be for many of those who crossnational borders to work in the Global North to send money back home, or a matter of career
obligations, as it may be for corporate executives moving from one global city to the next.’(Koikkalainen 2011, p.57). Thus, Koikkalainen concludes that the decision to migrate isusually based on different factors like family and personal growth, rather than just the levelof the projective income in the destination country, which is especially the case for highskilled migrants from wealthy countries like Finland, which allows the assumption that noneconomic motives might play a more important role in the case of the migration desire ofhighly skilled individuals from developed countries. Additionally, Koikkalainen (2011,
pp.47-48) points out, that migration within Europe is quite easy due to the absence of
bureaucratic hurdles.

Thus, inconvenient immigration policies can lead to the decreasing

desire to migrate to Japan. This assumption can also be supported by the articles of Komine(2014, pp.197-222) and Hollifield and Sharpe (2017, pp.371-400). Komine shows that
despite the evolving of the Japanese immigration policies throughout the last decades to ade facto immigration country, de jure Japan still stays a non-immigrant country, whichmakes further immigration into the Japanese society challenging, especially in the cases ofnational pension, health insurance system, arrangement of medical facilities and schools for
non-Japanese speakers, etc. (Komine 2014 pp.205-216). Additionally, Hollifield and Sharpe(2017, p.383) argue that the rights package for foreign workers requires certain changes andextensions, especially if Japan wants to attract high skilled workers in order to substitute theaging workforce. In that sense, this research aims to examine whether the same can be said
about the migration from various developed, western countries to Japan or not. Besides, tofurther explore the non-economic motives, the frequency and point in time of first44

interaction with Japanese popular culture are being considered, as possible additional factorsthat might affect the decision to migrate to Japan.
3. Methodology
Based on the existing research on the topic of migration, an online survey that focuses
specifically on the desire of non-Japanese individuals to migrate to Japan has been designed
and handed out to exchange students at Okayama University, along with students fromdifferent countries who have never studied or worked in Japan. The survey uses the Likert
scale, therefore collecting quantitative interval data, and contains six categories, with fivestatements per category, which cover the general motivation to migrate, knowledge about
and perception of Japan, economic and non-economic motives, as well as the perception of
possible migration-related bureaucratic hurdles, and social problems after migrating toJapan. Participants have been asked to state their opinion on each statement on a scale of1(strong disagreement) to 5(strong agreement), as well as their demographic data at the endof the survey. The analysis of the results has been conducted using a chi-squared test due tothe small size of the sample, comparing the answers of the two groups of students – those
who are currently doing an exchange semester at Okayama, and therefore can be seen as
more likely to migrate to Japan, and those who have not studied or worked in Japan, and are
not inclined to migrate to Japan in the near future. With the help of the chi-squared test, thestatistical dependence between answer scores in each category and the presence of a desire
to study or work in Japan or not has been analysed. The following null hypothesis has been
applied to each category, that has been mentioned above and used in the survey.
H0: The desire of the participants to migrate to Japan isn’t affected by [category].
Additionally, the results of the survey will be compared with the concepts elaborated byprior research on migration to check, whether those concepts are applicable to the case of
the contemporary migration to Japan or not. Finally, possible implications for future
governmental policies or actions aimed to increase Japan’s attractiveness as a migration
destination, as well as suggestions for further research, will be pointed out.

4. Analysis and Evaluation

45

Ten

individuals(n=10)

have

totally

participated in the survey, with an equal
distribution of both examined groups. 4participants are female, and six are male. The
age of the participants ranges from 19 to 24,
meaning that the results may differ if thesurvey would have been handed out toparticipantsof adifferent

age group.

Individuals from six different countries(Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, and the Netherlands) have participated,which reduces the probability of biased answers caused by the possible existence of somecountry-specific stereotypes about Japan. Due to the chosen significance level of 5%(a=0.05), the null hypothesis could not be rejected in the categories of the general motivation
to migrate and the economic motives but has successfully been rejected in the remaining
categories. Therefore, it can’t be said that the exchange students at Okayama University are
generally more likely to migrate or value economic motives more than the second group ofparticipants. On the other hand, a correlation of the knowledge about and the perception ofJapan, the importance of non-economic motives, as well as both the perception of
bureaucratic hurdles related to migration to Japan and the perception of the social situationin Japan, to the desire to migrate or not to migrate to Japan can be assumed. Hence, thesurvey results support Koikkalainen’s findings of non-economic motives being more
important for immigrants from developed countries. Since the knowledge about andperception of Japan and desire to migrate to Japan are not independent, it can be assumed
that those participants who are more likely to migrate to Japan either tend to know more
about Japan, or have a better image of Japan, than the comparison group. However, allparticipants in both groups reacted to the statement ‘I have a positive image of Japan’ witheither neutrality, agreement, or strong agreement, which strengthens the assumption thatexchange students at Okayama University tend to know more about Japan, rather thansimply having a positive image of Japan. This can also be supported by the differences in
the perception of the bureaucratic hurdles related to migration to Japan among the twogroups of participants. In this category, participants who are not inclined to migrate to Japanin the near future have stated their opinion with the neutral option noticeably more often
than they did in other categories, as well as more often than the participants from the groupof exchange students, indicating a lack of knowledge about Japanese immigration policies.
Additionally, 80% of all participants disagreed with the statement ‘It is easy to migrate toJapan’, which shows a negative impression of foreigners of the immigration process to46

Japan. The perception of the social situation in Japan also supports the results pointed out
by prior research. For instance, as shown by prior research, there is a lack of medical,
educational, and governmental facilities for non-Japanese speakers (Komine 2014 pp.205216). Accordingly, 70% of all participants of the conducted survey disagreed with thestatement ‘I think that I wouldn’t have language-related problems in Japan’. Furthermore,
60% of the respondents disagreed with the statement ‘I would like to live in Japan with mycurrent or future family’, supporting Hollifield and Sharpe, who argue that Japan should
expand the rights granted to foreign workers, especially in terms of family reunification, inorder to become a more attractive destination for highly-skilled foreign workers (Hollifield,
Sharpe 2017, p.383). Besides, Kawashima (2020, pp.1-19) examined the migration ofJapanese people and pointed out the discontent with poor working conditions such as‘chronic unpaid overwork, extreme stress, poor physical and mental health, and insufficientprospects for career mobility’ (Kawashima 2020, p.5) as one of the main reasons forJapanese people to migrate to China. The same image of the Japanese working culture asvery stressful, demanding, with a few holidays and a tremendous amount of required
overwork is quite often being portrayed in various international media (e.g., Demetriou2020). Therefore, it is not surprising that 60% of the participants strongly disagreed withthe statement ‘I have a positive image of the working conditions in Japan’, with the other
40% choosing the neutral option. On the other hand, 90% of the participants agreed withthe statement ‘A healthy work-life balance is important for me’, as well as 80% with
‘Further personal growth is important for me’, but 80% disagreed that ‘Moving to Japan
would be, or has been, beneficial for my career’. This shows that the working conditions inJapan as well as the career opportunities are being perceived negatively not only by Japanesenationals but also by foreigners. However, as shown by the chi-squared test, the perceptionof moving to Japan as not beneficial for the career doesn’t have a significant effect on thedesire to migrate to Japan as part of the economic motives. Regarding the importance ofJapanese popular culture, all the participating exchange students have interacted withJapanese popular culture for the first time at the age of 13 and younger, but in the case of
the second group, all participants except one had their first interaction at the age of 14 to 18.
Additionally, among participants from both groups, 50% agreed that news, and 70% thatJapanese animation, has a high influence on their perceived image of Japan. Therefore, theassumption can be made that an earlier interaction with Japanese popular culture has an
influence on the desire to migrate to Japan, and both news and Japanese animation can beused as tools to affect the perception of Japan by non-Japanese individuals.
5. Implications for Possible Future Governmental Policies or Actions

47

As mentioned by prior research (Hollifield and Sharpe 2017 pp.371-400, Komine 2014
pp.197-222), there certainly are improvements in terms of the immigration policies in Japan,
but problems and hurdles still remain, which is also shown by the survey conducted as partof this research. Possible changes could be granting family reunification rights to foreign
workers, since ‘Japan is the only liberal democracy that does not grant family reunificationrights to foreign workers’ (Hollifield and Sharpe 2017, p.383). The importance of family
reunification rights is also underlined by Koikkalainen, who shows that for a significant
number of respondents joining a foreign spouse was the main motivation to migrate(Koikkalainen 2011, p.54). Furthermore, in line with the research by Komine (2014, pp.197222), and with 70% of participants disagreeing with the statement ‘I think that I wouldn’t
have language-related problems in Japan’, the support of medical, educational, andadministrative facilities for non-Japanese speakers could also be enhanced. Additionally, as
mentioned above, many of the participants who are not inclined to migrate to Japan in thenear future know noticeably less about Japanese immigration policies, than thoseparticipants who are more likely to migrate to Japan. Thus, not only improvements in thatfield are needed, but also a general increase of awareness and understanding of the Japaneseimmigration policies which could, for example, be achieved by advertising the migration to
Japan after the implementation of further positive changes to the current immigration
policies. Such advertisement campaigns could be conducted through both the news, andJapanese animation since these mass media seem to be highly important for the emergenceof an image of Japan for non-Japanese individuals. Even though according to the survey
conducted as part of this research, platforms like YouTube and other social networks didn’t
seem to have a major influence on the image of Japan, with only 30% and 20% respectively
agreeing that these mass media have had a high influence on their image of Japan, there aremany relatively popular foreign content creators in Japan, who could also be part of theadvertising campaign. In most cases, those content creators migrated to Japan themselves,
and therefore will definitely acknowledge positive changes related to the immigration policy,
the support of facilities for non-Japanese speakers, etc. Furthermore, as mentioned above,the lack of a sufficient work-life balance seems to be a major problem not only for Japanesenationals, but is also negatively perceived by foreigners, and therefore needs to be addressedby future governmental policies. As mentioned by Demetriou (2020), one possible reason
for a missing work-life balance is the lack of communication within the company, which is
directly connected with workers being afraid to leave earlier or to be absent more often thantheir colleagues or managers. In that sense, the stimulation of an open communication
culture seems to be crucial to improve the work-life balance on the Japanese labour market.

48

However, governmental interventions that would make the use of the holidays granted bylaw mandatory can also be efficient.
6. Conclusion
This research showed that many of the concepts conducted by prior research about migration
can successfully be applied in the case of Japan. Even though there certainly are many
problems, that have been pointed out and that negatively affect the decision of foreigners tomigrate to Japan, they all can be addressed and improved, and according to prior research,such improvements are indeed happening. In order to enhance those improvements, further
research could focus on indicating more specific problems that need to be addressed by
Japanese governmental policies, as well as whether similar problems have occurred indifferent countries, and how they have dealt with them. Were those solutions successful andcould they be applied in Japan? Additionally, the influence of popular culture on the imageof Japan and the desire of non-Japanese individuals to migrate to Japan has been touched inthis research but needs to be further analysed since all of the participants from different partsof the world have interacted in some way with Japanese popular culture at a young age,which allows the assumption that the popularity of Japanese animation, music, films, novels,
etc. could be further used to enhance the desire of foreigners to migrate to Japan, andtherefore, help to substitute the aging Japanese workforce.

Reference:
Aging Demographic Data Sheet 2018, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [Internet] at:https://iiasa.ac.at/web/home/research/researchPrograms/WorldPopulation/News/180115-ADS.html[Lastaccessed: 08.04.2021]
Demetriou Danielle (2020): Employees in the country whose brutal office culture has led to several deaths are
beginning to rethink the tradition., [Internet] at: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200114-how-thejapanese-are-putting-an-end-to-death-from-overwork [Last accessed: 08.04.2021]
Hollifield James F., Sharpe Michael Orlando (2017): Japan as an ‘Emerging Migration State’, International
Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Volume 17, Issue 3, pp. 371–400, [Internet] at: https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcx013[Last accessed: 08.04.2021]

49

Kawashima Kumiko (2020): Why migrate to earn less? Changing tertiary education, skilled migration and classslippage in an economic downturn, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies,[Internet] at:https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1720629 [Last accessed: 08.04.2021]
Koikkalainen, Saara (2011): Highly skilled Finns in the European labor market: why do they move abroad? In
E. Heikkilä, & S. Koikkalainen (Eds.), Finns abroad: new forms of mobility and migration (pp. 46-61). Turku:
Siirtolaisuusinstituutti. Migration Studies C, No. 21.
Komine, Ayako (2014): When migrants became denizens: understanding Japan as a reactive immigration
country. Contemporary Japan, Vol. 26 (Issue 2), pp. 197-222, [Internet] at: https://doi.org/10.1515/cj-2014-0010[Last accessed: 08.04.2021]
Mihi-Ramirez Antonio, Kumpikaite Vilmante (2014): Economics Reason of Migration from Point of View ofStudents, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 109, pp. 522-526, [Internet] at:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.500 [Last accessed: 08.04.2021]
Muysken, Joan & Cörvers, Frank & Ziesemer, THOMAS. (2008). Immigration Can Alleviate the Ageing
Problem.

pp.

15-18

[Internet].

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4789717_Immigration_Can_Alleviate_the_Ageing_Problem

at:
[Last

accessed: 08.04.2021]
Omura, Masahiro (2011): Economic impacts of surge in immigration in Japan from 2000-2009 - Bonus or onus?
(New ESRI Working Paper No.19). Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN: Global Trade Analysis Project(GTAP), [Internet] at: https://www.gtap.agecon.purdue.edu/resources/res_display.asp?RecordID=3738 [Lastaccessed: 08.04.2021]
Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf (1994): Motivation for migration and economic success. Journal of Economic
Psychology, Volume 15, Issue 2, pp. 269-284, [Internet]. at: https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-4870(94)90004-3[Last accessed: 08.04.2021]

50

Mental issues caused by the Covid-19 on
Japanese university students, andpossible repercussion on the society inthe future
Mattia Genco - マッティア・ジェンコ
Ca’Foscari University (Italy)

要旨：Covid-19 による緊急事態のため、教育制度が変更になりました。 大学生のメンタ
ルヘルスにどの問題を生じたのかわかることが目的です。
オンラインで見つけた記事のデータを使えました。方法論はアンケートとインタビュ
ーです。イタリア人学生 59 名、日本人学生 90 名、その他の国籍の学生 14 名がアンケートに参加しました。インタビューにはイタリア人学生 2 名と日本人学生 2 名とオランダ
学生 1 名が参加しました。
見つかった記事のデータと、アンケートとインタビューの結果を考慮すると、この現象
はグローバルなものであると考えられます。学生の国籍は様々ですが、その悩みは似ています。何もしなかったら、将来社会の問題になるでしょう。

Introduction
The recent global pandemic of Covid-19, due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
has caused many problems for various aspects of society. One of these is theuniversity environment. I personally have experienced anxiety anddepression due to the lockdown state imposed by the Italian government,
and because of this, my university career has been negatively affected.
Like me, I have seen many college students who have gone through a similar
experience. So I began to wonder if this was more than just a local
phenomenon confined to my university.
My initial hypothesis was that this phenomenon had been perceived
similarly by all students around the world because no matter how different
one’s culture may be, human beings are very similar in nature to one another51

in my opinion. So I thought I would start to see if Japanese university
students had gone through similar experiences. After all, if my hypothesis
is correct, comparing experiences can only help the parties involved to better
understand what the best solutions are.
Because of this, I think it is important to address this topic partly because
having experienced it first hand, I know how much it can weigh on someone's
psyche and I would like to do what I can to help students in a similar
situation and let them know that they are not alone.
Methodology
First, I checked the internet for articles discussing similar problems
in Japan. Being a relatively recent phenomenon, it was not easy, but in theend, I managed to find some articles that I think are interesting and relevant
to my research. Among these, the most interesting is the article "The mental
health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students: A
literature review and clinical experience" by KAJITANI Kosuke,
TSUCHIMOTO Rikako and SATO Takeshi, from the Center for Health
Science and Counseling, Kyushu University.
This article was very useful to me, as having limited resources and time, it
was difficult for me to reach a large number of subjects. Thus, I thought I
would focus this research more on personal experiences: I began by drafting
a questionnaire with questions aimed at understanding participants'
perceptions of their own mental health during the State of Emergency. Thiswas followed by questions aimed at understanding participants' opinions of
online classes and the universities' response to the emergency. Finally, thequestionnaire concludes with some open-ended questions aimed atgathering participants' personal experiences and thoughts.
As a follow-up to the questionnaire, I thought it would be interesting
to do some interviews with some students. So through the questionnaire, I
gave the opportunity to those who wanted to volunteer for a personal
interview with me through Zoom, so that they could freely share theirexperiences, opinions, and possible solutions to improve the current
situation of students and universities.
This last part of the research proved to be incredibly informative andinteresting, despite not having the time or opportunity to interview many
students. I think that being able to share your experiences may be one of the52possible avenues you can take to improve the state of things.
Literature Review
I used research of pre-existing sources in order to better understandthe general situation in Japan, and get a better idea of what direction to givemy questionnaire and interviews. In addition, I was interested in knowing
if and what solutions had been adopted by Japanese institutions.
The first article I considered (The Psychological Impact of 'Mild
Lockdown' in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Survey
under a Declared State of Emergency) shows how, compared to previous
years, the numbers of psychological distress among the Japanese population
nearly doubled during the mild lockdown period. From a 29.6% incidence of
psychological distress in a 2019 survey, to a 48.1% incidence in 2020. The
highest incidence is seen in the age range of 20-64 years.
The second article (The mental health impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on university students: A literature review and clinicalexperience) I found much more consistent with my research. It discusses thepsychological effects found on university students in Japan, presenting dataof great value, since the limitation of means and time prevented me fromreaching such a large number of subjects.
This last article was also the one that convinced me to continue with thisresearch idea. I was very impressed to read how even in Japan many
students have experienced problems such as depression, anxiety and a senseof loneliness that were all extensively documented in this article throughthe use of special psychological tests on a large base of students in Japan.
In this article, testimony given regarding why some students findthemselves in this state are also discussed. For example, it is pointed out
how the lack of extracurricular activities such as various clubs contributes
to the sense of isolation. Another testimonial, on the other hand, tells of how
some students feel a sense of inadequacy and guilt, as if by staying homethey are failing their parents, and in some cases even society.
In the article, these discourses are expanded into a list of reasons why the
emergency period has negative effects on students' mental health. Some I
will address later when I analyze the personal interviews I did, for the others,
I highly recommend reading the aforementioned article.

53

Questionnaire
59 Italian students, 90 Japanese
students, and 14 international students
from countries other than the two
previously mentioned participated in myanonymous questionnaire.
First, I found it interesting that at
the question where I asked participants where they spent the lockdown
period, 10% of the Japanese students responded that they spent the period
in a house by themselves, while among the Italian students there was noone who mentioned spending the period living on their own. Despite this, if
we look at the graph with the participants' perception of a state of loneliness,
Japanese students seem to have felt it much less, with 24.4% responding"often" as opposed to 42.4% of Italians and 12.2% "always" as opposed to
16.9% of Italians. furthermore, even on the positive side, we have 32.2% ofJapanese responding "never" as opposed to 11.9% of Italians.
Regarding the data on participants' perception of a state of depression,as we can see from the graphs on the left, again Japanese students seem tohave had a milder psychological impact than Italian students.
Very similar proportions can be found for data on the perception of anxiety
states during the lockdown.
So in general, based on the simple data in the graphs, it can be assumed thatJapanese students responded better to this phenomenon. However, I would
like to emphasize that my questionnaire, unlike the data collected from thearticles mentioned above, does not use methods questions designed todetermine the actual depressive state of the participants. My intention is
simply to outline the perception of one's mental state, so these data are notnecessarily to be considered as "number of depressed students", but rather
as "number of students who perceived a feeling of depression".
Despite this, I believe that the numbers
are very significant since we have aremarkable percentage of students who
have experienced a period of mental
distress, which, even if it does not result inan actual clinical case, if ignored can leadto a worsening of the student's mental

54

health.
Moving on to the next topic, it can be seen from the data that the trend
toward a more positive perception of Japanese students extends to theuniversity setting as well: with 23.3% of participants satisfied with how
online classes were conducted, and 26.7% of participants dissatisfied.
Opposed to a similar 25.4% of Italian students satisfied with online classes,
however, flanked by 40.7% of dissatisfied students.
From the image on the left, one can see the data regarding Japaneseparticipants' satisfaction with the university's response to the state of
emergency. One can immediately notice the fact that the percentage ofsatisfied students is much lower and the percentage of dissatisfied students
is slightly higher when compared to theperception of online classes.
The only difference with the Italianpercentages lies in the lower number ofneutral responses and almost double thenumber of "Very Dissatisfied" responses
and a slightly higher percentage of"Dissatisfied" responses.
This in my opinion, after reading the
responses to the open-ended personal questions in the questionnaire andinformation from the interviews, in both countries is due to the universities’
lack of accurate and prompt communications with the students. In addition,
there were several opinions that there was a perception of neglect towards
students most in need of financial aid.
The last part of the questionnaire I think is also the most interesting.
Participants were given the opportunity to answer three questions:
1. Is there anything you wish your university had handled differently? / あな
たの大学に直してほしいと思うことはありますか
2. What is the worst thing caused by the state of emergency to you personally?
/ あなたにとって緊急事態によって引き起こされる最悪の事態は何ですか
3. Was there anything that helped you feel better? / 気分転換するために役立
つものはありましたか？

As I had surmised the answers to these questions are very similar regardless55of the nationality of the respondent.
For the first question, as mentioned earlier, a fair number ofparticipants complained about poor communication from their universities.
Complaints about the lack of financial aid for students who foundthemselves in need were also common. Particularly for Japanese students,
many said that they had to stop working part-time because of covid, andbecause of this they had many difficulties.
Regarding the second question, predictably the vast majority of
responses were about being isolated and lacking contact with friends andfamily in some cases. There was no shortage of responses regarding a
growing feeling of depression and uncertainty about one's future. Some
Japanese participants even went so far as to respond " 引 き 込 も り "(hikikomori). To this last answer I can add a personal note: I having a pastof social isolation, managed to overcome thanks to my entrance to theuniversity, after finding myself in forced isolation due to the lockdown, mymental state took a hard hit. I was only able to stay afloat thanks to a dearfriend I met inside the student housing I was stuck in.
In this question, however, I also noticed a very interesting detail that the
professor who followed my research initially pointed out to me. Among theJapanese participants, there are sometimes mentions of "death", while in
the responses of the Italian participants this topic is not mentioned evenonce.
With the last question, the responses once again were very similar
and according to my predictions: most responded that contact with otherpeople, especially with recent technology, helped a lot. Physical activity andtaking care of one's health also seem to have beneficial effects in isolated
situations. Finally, very common response also was support from loved ones.
Personal interviews
I was able to interview 2 Italian students, 2 Japanese students, and1 Dutch student. Since the topic deals with personal aspects of one's self, I
thought the best way to conduct the research was to set it up as a chatbetween friends, trying to put the interviewee at ease as I asked about theirexperience and personal opinions on various aspects regarding the lockdown
period.
First, almost all respondents said that the biggest challenge was the56loss of a routine. Prior to the pandemic, college helped to pace out activities
throughout the day, but with the sudden lockdown, the organization of adaily schedule became very difficult, resulting in various difficulties infollowing through with their studies. Moreover, the same interviewees
stated that online classes offer little motivation to be followed. In this regard,
I found it very interesting that the Italian and Dutch respondents said thatonline classes were a source of great stress, and therefore were difficult tofollow. But this problem was no longer there once they started attending theonline classes from Okayama University. When I asked why, I was told thatwhen you are in the classroom, you are in an environment where the student
is one of many, while during online classes when you have to interact withthe lesson you find yourself at the center of attention of people who until
recently you were used to interacting in person.
When it came to universities, all interviewees praised the speed withwhich their universities had adopted online teaching, allowing for continuityof classes. But they complained that communication with students was slow
and erratic and that many times the needs of struggling students wereignored.
In this regard, I also asked what one thing they wished universities would
do. The two Japanese respondents answered, "Keep clubs open" and "Offer
better wi-fi in facilities used to take online classes."
I also asked the respondents, what advice they would give to students
struggling with the lockdown. Four of them responded that staying in touchwith friends through the internet is most important. One Japanese
respondent, on the other hand, answered that for him exercise helped him.
Finally, there was one phrase repeated by almost every intervieweethat really struck me. Obviously, everyone used different words, but it canbe summed up with a quote from one of the interviewees, "University is notjust about study and classes, it's about people. You can't expect to run auniversity without people contact."
Conclusions
As per my initial hypothesis, this research confirmed that thisphenomenon is not limited to one university or one country, but that it
breaks down socio/cultural barriers and afflicts students in similar ways
regardless of their nationality. It was surprising to see how similar the57

issues and thoughts of students from two countries so different and distantfrom each other are.
Regarding possible solutions to help students: it is difficult to comeup with a plan of action without hearing both sides of the issue, in this case,the university representatives, but I think this is a really good place to start.
For example, I think it would benefit both parties to open a dedicatedchannel of communication between the university and the students so thatthe latter can understand the motivations behind the decisions made by theuniversity and at the same time the university can take into consideration
the problems and needs of the students.
Another little help for students would be for universities to create special
online clubs, which can be of any kind, but in my opinion, it would help a lot
to have one dedicated to connecting students who are struggling in order toallow them to share their experiences.
In addition, many students expressed the idea that a combination of "inperson" and "online" teaching would be great as a new teaching standard.
It is not hard to think in my opinion that these problems may affectvarious aspects of society in the future, such as in the work and teachingenvironment. For example, many students expressed fear and uncertainty
about their preparedness to face the future and the eventual search for a job.
Others said they were so demoralized by the problems in coping with theirstudies that they were considering dropping out of college.
These thoughts, while not majority, when viewed through the lens of large
numbers can have a huge impact on society in the long run. Not to mention
the mental health repercussions of such individuals. It is possible thatstudents who have faced depression and anxiety due to the online modes of
instruction and fell behind with their studies, in the future when they findthemselves abruptly returning to campus with "standard" teachings may
experience a shock due to stress and the thought of not being prepared toreturn to face in-person classes and exams.
I hope that this research will be the first step in many more research
efforts to address these issues. There are many aspects that I could not
address due to lack of resources and time, such as the situation of university
staff, or non-university school environments. In my opinion, these
difficulties faced by students at this particular point in time can teach a lot
about how to deal with similar situations in the future, and it is worth

58

investing time and resources to help those involved.
Reference•

Article online (The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students:
A literature review and clinical experience, KAJITANI Kosuke, TSUCHIMOTO Rikako,
SATO

Takeshi)[internet].

Athttp://hdl.handle.net/2324/4372005[Last

accessed:

07/31/2021]•

Article online (The Psychological Impact of ‘Mild Lockdown’ in Japan during the COVID-19
Pandemic: A Nationwide Survey under a Declared State of Emergency, Tetsuya Yamamoto,Chigusa Uchiumi, Naho Suzuki, Junichiro Yoshimoto, Eric Murillo-Rodríguez) [internet]. At
https://www.mdpi.com/924828 [Last accessed:•

07/31/2021]

Article online (Impact of Coronavirus pandemic on education. Journal of Education andPractice, Onyema E. M., Eucheria N. C., Obafemi F. A., Sen S., Atonye F. G., Sharma A.,
Alsayed A. O.) [internet]. At
https://genbase.iiep.unesco.org/workspace/applis/epidoc/fichiers/EPIDOC/38698_52821_565
84_1_PB.pdf [Last accessed:

07/31/2021]

59

The differences in behaviours and social views between Japan and The
Netherlands towards Hikikomori
ひきこもりに対する日オランダの行動や社会的見解の違い
ジャコバ アンナ エリーヌ ユサール
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences the Netherlands

SummaryThis thesis aims to analyse and explain the differences between Japan and The Netherlands when it
comes to Hikikomori and how it is viewed by the public. By surveying people in both The
Netherlands and Japan, I will get a decent view of the general opinion and knowledge of the people.
Therefore, my statement is as follows: Because Hikikomori is a recognized mental illness in Japan,
it’s has a different social view compared to The Netherlands, where it is not a recognized mental
illness. And my goal is to answer the question of why Hikikomori is more common in Japan than in
the Netherlands and why the opinions and conclusions are different from those in the Netherlands.

このレポートは、ひきこもりに関する日本とオランダの違いを分析し、説明することを目的としています。 両国の人々を調査することで、一般的な見解を理解することができます。調査によると、ひきこもりは日本で認知されている精神疾患であり、認知されていないオランダとは社会的な見方が異なります。私の目標は、なぜひきこもりがオランダよりも日本で一般的であるのか、そしてなぜ意見や結論が異なるのかを明らかにすることです。

Introduction
My name is Jacqueline Huijzer, and I am an exchange student in the EPOK program at
Okayama University. For my exchange program, I will be writing a thesis regarding asocial topic in Japan. My main topic will be Hikikomori. I came across this phenomenon
during one of my other online classes I was following, foreign perspectives. During oneof these classes, we were discussing the longevity in Japan, about the number of oldpeople and the lack of younger people. From there on we dove into the discussion as towhy there weren’t as many babies nowadays, as there were in the past. One of thereasons was that woman prioritize their career, resulting in them having less time for afamily. Even if they start a family, they receive less help during their childcare leave andhave no choice but to look for a less demanding job. Another reason was Hikikomori, aphenomenon where people withdraw themselves from society and have no interest in
any sort of interacting with other people, even less interest in relationships. From there

60

on my interest peaked and I wanted to know more about this phenomenon.
My interest came mainly from the fact that I had never heard of it, and I also didn’tknow it existed due to its absence in The Netherlands at all. This made me think about
how it maybe is only a Japanese concept, or why it is only in Japan and not where I am
from.
Methods
The following methods were used to conduct this research. Two surveys, one towards
Dutch people regarding their views and thoughts on hikikomori, while the other was
filled out by Japanese people regarding their views and thoughts on hikikomori, Next,
several interviews with people who had dealt with hikikomori or are dealing withhikikomori, were analysed to understand their mindset and what could be done to help
them get back into society.
What is Hikikomori and how is it viewed in Japan?
In chapter 1, the background information regarding hikikomori is included together withthe explanation of the view on hikikomori from the perspectives of the Japanese people.
This includes civilians, students and people who suffer or have suffered from hikikomori.
After that I will be using the result of the survey to analyse and explain the view, thepublic (who filled in the survey) has on the matter.
The definition of Hikikomori and its origin
Hikikomori is a Japanese term that is defined by the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare as someone who avoids personal or social contact and lives in self-imposed
isolation for six months or longer. The overall population of hikikomori is unclear since
not everyone is diagnosed and or reported as such due to them being homeless forexample. As of now, the government estimated the population, aged from 15 to 64 to bearound 1.15 million, but according to Saito Tamaki, a leading expert on this matter, thatthe population is 2 million (Tamaki, 2019). The number of cases is mainly based on the
hotline calls and if it gets reported, so the actual number is guesswork.
The hikikomori phenomenon drew attention during the late 1990s in Japan. People withhikikomori usually suffered from mental ailments like depression, developmental
disorder, or personality disorder. Although the factors varied, the main cases were ofpeople who had suffered abuse, bullying or harassment at school/workplace. Anotherissue was (is) negligence caused by the family, where the affected people were not given
enough love or given communication experience within their home (Kiyoshi, 2017).
Several sources claim that people from families with above-average income are more
likely to become hikikomori (due to too controlling parents or too much affection),rather than people from non-financially stable households.

61

In worst-case scenarios, the condition of a hikikomori may get so serious that they lose
their moral compass. They lose the ability to understand the importance of human lifeand do not feel empathy for people who are suffering. In some cases, they cannot bear
to see other people happy. Take for example the Kawasaki Incident, where an
unemployed hikikomori, stabbed and injured 19 children and killed 3 of them.
Furthermore, there are no government supporter facilities in place for helping
hikikomori people. There are only those who are owned by individuals or businesses.
This shows that the government of Japan is not dealing with this issue or rather, is nottaking its severity, seriously. This can become a very big problem according to Yoshida
Masashi, a custodian and counsellor in a hikikomori rehab centre (Masashi, 2019).
According to psychiatrist Saitō Tamaki, since there is a lack of respect for individuals in Japan, it isvery difficult for those with hikikomori. “People who aren’t useful to society or their family are seen
as having no value. When hikikomori hears the government’s rhetoric about promoting ‘the dynamic
engagement of all citizens,’ they’re liable to take it to mean that their inability to be ‘dynamicallyengaged’ makes them worthless. This drives them into a mental corner’’ (Tamaki, 2019).

Survey analysis with the perspective of Japanese students
The majority of people who filled in the survey are between the ages of 18-25 and livein Japan. All were familiar with the term hikikomori and were able to give me otherterms that often relate to it, namely NEET, Hermitism or when the person is a student,
it is called truant (不登校 Futoko).
When asked about their opinion (whether positive, neutral or negative) on hikikomori,
all answers came back ‘neutral’ or ‘negative’ with an explanation as to why. Their‘negative’ opinions did not all mean in terms of; behaving negatively towards the
hikikomori people themselves, but more so towards the concept of it, and how the
problem itself is very negative and has bad effects on the people and the economy.
Explanations included reasons like: ‘’ I am fine with someone choosing to be socially distantfrom others but living off your parents and doing nothing even though you can be working/studying
is living as a parasite.’’And ‘’I can understand why people suffer from Hikikomori and I think itshould not be seen as a negative thing. There should be more organisations helping people to deal
with these anxieties so that eventually people can live their lives again.’’ And ‘’ I think it something
negative for the person who has it and the direct people involved for that person.’’I also asked what they thought society’s view was, which came back as follows: ‘’ I
would say it is negative. Because society thinks they are useless and unable to contribute tothemselves/their parents.’’ And ‘’ In Japan, people have the idea that it is normal to go to school
and to work after graduation. Therefore, I think many people feel that being a recluse is spoiled andview it negatively.’’ This shows that it all points back to what is considered normal and what society

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standards are.
All in all, the opinions differ in some way, but Japanese people are well aware of the existence of thephenomenon, but the survey also shows that they would rather not talk about this or mental healthaltogether, since only 7 people responded to the survey request.
And even though it is said by several psychiatrists and people working in that field, that it is a severe
problem that will only get worse if there is no intervention, no actions by the government have beentaken yet. For now, hikikomori people living in Japan can only depend on those rehabs’ centres set
up by entrepreneurs and individuals.

Why is this phenomenon not recognized as a mental illness in The Netherlands?
In chapter 2 the situation in the Netherlands regarding hikikomori will be examined. It
will include research from stories, newspapers, or videos for mentions of thisphenomenon (If it is, in fact, present, if it is hidden under a different name, if there arehidden cases). And if the fact that it is not recognized as a mental illness, is due to thelack of cases or if it is described as a different mental disorder according to psychologists.
The survey result will be used to get a better picture of how much Hikikomori is present
in the Netherlands and get their opinion on the matter.
Although hikikomori is an international issue, there are almost no mentions of it beingin The Netherlands. According to Saitō Tamaki, this problem mostly emerged in familycentred societies, in which young adults continue to live with their parents after reachinglegal age (Tamaki, 2019). Take for example South Korea, where there are reported to beover 300,000 Hikikomori cases.
When conducting the Dutch survey, the characteristics of hikikomori were described
and the respondents were asked to answer what they thought, the mental illness was thatthose characteristics belonged to. Over 20 people responded, and these are the mostfrequent used answers; 1) 33% said depression, 2) 23% said social anxiety and 3) 28%
said a combination of numbers 1 and 2. 60% of the respondents had heard of the term
Hikikomori

before,mainlythroughsocialmedia,

like

YouTubeordocumentaries/Netflix. When asked with what term people with hikikomori might bediagnosed with, they answered with 1) depression, 2) social anxiety 3) Kluizenaar(Hermit) or 4) culture-bound syndrome.
The Dutch term, ‘kluizenaar1’ translates to ‘hermit’ in English and it originated in Egypt.

1

the hermit noun (m.) Pronunciation: [ˈklœyzənar] Inflections: hermit|s (plural) one who lives in isolation fromothers.

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It is a term, used for people who, for religious reasons, close themselves of from society.
This can also be described as a monk. In earlier times, choosing to become a kluizenaar
was a decision for life and could not be changed (Encyclo, n.d.). This is, however, not a
medical term nor does it convey the same characteristics as the term hikikomori.
Nowadays, this term is rarely used, so for now it is not relevant to this research.
To conclude this chapter, Hikikomori is a mental health condition, without a doubt. So,
it is safe to assume, if this phenomenon were to be actively present in the Netherlands,
it would be seen for what it is, like in many other countries.

But due to the lack ofcases and stories online, it is unclear to say if hikikomori is present in the Netherlands.
Therefore, it is likely that, as said by the respondent to the survey, it may be conveyed
and treated as a different kind of mental health problem, just not under the same name.
Although there is a stigma surrounding mental health. But there is a mental health caresystem set in place that will help anyone dealing with any type of mental health problem.
You can and will receive help, from diagnosis to treatment.
Why do people in Japan have different behaviours towards Hikikomori incomparison to The Netherlands?
This chapter will explain why there is a difference between the behaviours towards
hikikomori, between Japan and the Netherlands. Cultural insight of both countries will
be given at the beginning of the chapter for more understanding.
Starting with the term itself, the social condition was first discovered in Japan and theterm hikikomori itself is also Japanese like mentioned in the first chapter. Meaning thatJapanese people are familiar with the phenomenon and have their prejudices andopinions, whether they are positive or negative. Whereas this term is not yet actively
present or not yet picked up in the Netherlands, meaning that they are unable to evenhave a full opinion on the matter due to the lack of knowledge.
Second, both Japan and the Netherlands are very different. There is cultural diversity.
Japan is a high context culture where good communication is indirect, subtle, layered
and a lot of ‘reading between the lines’ whereas the Netherlands is a low context culture
where good communication can be very straightforward, simple, clear and messages areunderstood at face value (Bansal, 2021).
There are plenty of other reasons why Hikikomori might be more common in Japan, but
for this report, only the following information will be discussed. Other reasons are not
ruled out.
Cultural insights
The following information is taken from HOFSTEDE INSIGHTS, which provides

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cultural insights.
Japan shows many characteristics of a collectivistic society. Meaning that people belong
to groups and the harmony of a group is more important than the expression ofindividual opinions and loyalty is key. Next to this, Japan is a paternalistic society, where
the family name and asset goes from father to eldest son. Japan is also one of the most
Masculine societies in the world, which means that it is driven by achievement andsuccess and success is defined by, wanting to be the best. And due to this, they often are,the best (Hofstede insights, n.d.). Lastly, Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding
countries on earth. This may be because Japan is constantly threatened by natural
disasters. They have learned to prepare themselves for any uncertain situation be it anemergency plan for natural disasters or mundane situations like weddings.
The Netherlands is a very individualistic society. Meaning that individuals are only
expected to care for and take care of themselves and their families. It is also a Femininesociety, in comparison to the Masculine society, it is more important to keep the life andwork balance. It is a ‘like what you do’ over ‘be the best’ society (Hofstede Insights,n.d.). Next, their need for avoiding uncertainty is lower than Japan. Meaning that there
are certain etiquettes, that are followed, but there is less need. This may be because,
among other reasons, the Netherlands does not deal with natural disasters as Japan does.
Now, going back to hikikomori, with the above-mentioned information, it will be easierto understand the differences in views.
Expectations and effects
Starting with the expectations, that also takes a big part in the hikikomori matter. Japanis a paternalistic society with established views on gender roles. The boys should gooutside(外), become a salaryman, participate in the workforce, and the girls should stayinside (内), married, taking care of the household and raising a family. Both genders
also have different expectations set by their parents. The boys have ‘a set path’, where
they have to enter an elite university and ultimately work at a top corporation. If thispath is not followed, the son is seen as a failure.
Due to these set roles and rules, it is cultural bound (uncertainty avoidance), or familybound (paternalistic), when one does not follow this path, they have deemed a failure.
There are no second chances because when one has chosen to withdraw from society,they ‘commit’ academic suicide which also leads to longer seclusions periods. This ismainly due to the gap or blanks it would create in their resume due to their seclusions,they are less likely to be hired when there is a blank present because it is deemed‘problematic’ (Dziesinski).
Whereas in the Netherlands, quality of life is the central point, and these expectations

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are not present. ‘Like what you do’ is the main point and it is nobody’s business but yourown, in what you decide to do with your life. The traditional gender roles have beenchanging over time and these roles show more overlap nowadays, gradually giving
power to both sexes equally.
According to Mr Kanzaki, a hikikomori living in Japan, it is due to them having social
disorders, or behaving differently than the norm, that they are perceived as strange andnot easily accepted by society. Since Japan is a monoculture, it is too much of a risk tostand out. According to him, there is no way for him to live freely until different
personalities are respected, and they need recognition of individuality. But due to thecountry’s high need for Uncertainty Avoidance, it is why changes are so difficult torealize in Japan.
Conclusion
Hikikomori is a mental health condition that originates in Japan. It is an international
issue; however, it is not present in The Netherlands due to a lack of cases and mentions.
It may likely be conveyed and treated as a different kind of mental health disorder.
Furthermore, opinions and views on the phenomenon differ due to the culturaldifferences and the roles and rules that are in place. Japanese people are well aware of
the existence of the phenomenon Hikikomori, whereas the Dutch have only heard about
it online if at all, so for them, it is a foreign concept. It is a severe problem that needs
recognition to support those with hikikomori and help lead them back into society. For
that to happen, like said by Mr Kanzaki, acknowledge the existence of hikikomori,recognize individuality and respect different personalities.
References

Bansal, V. (2021, February 19). High Context Culture vs Low Context Culture: Communication Design For
Avoiding Uncertainty. Retrieved from Tech Tello: https://www.techtello.com/high-context-culture-vslow-context-culture/
Dziesinski, M. (n.d.). Hikikomori as a Gendered Issue. Retrieved fromhttps://towakudai.blogs.com/Hikikomori_as_Gendered_Issue.pdf
Encyclo. (n.d.). Retrieved from KLUIZENAAR DEFINITIES: https://www.encyclo.nl/
Hofstede insights. (n.d.). Retrieved from Country comparison: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/countrycomparison/japan/

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Hofstede Insights. (n.d.). Retrieved from Country comparison: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/countrycomparison/the-netherlands/
Kiyoshi, I. (2017, July 19). “Hikikomori”: Social Recluses in the Shadows of an Aging Japan. Retrieved from
Nippon : https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00332/
Masashi, Y. (2019, June 30). Inside A Rehab Center For Japanese Hermits [Hikikomori]. (Hiroko, Interviewer)
Japan.
Tamaki, S. (2019, august 30). Japan’s “Hikikomori” Population Could Top 10 Million. Retrieved from Nippon:
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05008/japan%E2%80%99s-hikikomori-population-could-top10-million.html

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Honne and Tatemae: Communication across Japanese Society
本音と建前：日本社会でのコミュニケーション
Muhammad Farrhan bin MAHMUD ムハマド・ファーハン・ビン・マハムッ
ドUniversity of Malaya (Malaysia)

要旨：本音と建前は日本の社会文化的価値の一つである。本研究では、この文化を解明するため、日本在住者を対象にして本音と建前に関する意識を調べるためのオンラインアンケートと、マレーシアでの補完的文化を調査するためオンラインインタビューを行った。日本人は本音と建前を意識し、見分けたり、使い分けることができる。本音と建前は、最終的には調和を保つためのものであるが、定義は人により大きく異なっていた。マレーシアにも同様な文化が存在するが、日本では明確に使用され、独特なもとなっている。

Introduction & Literature Review
Japan is no stranger to many unique sociocultural values, and one of it includes theculture of honne and tatemae. As preface, honne and tatemae can be defined as simply as“façade” and “true intentions” respectively, but what this culture exactly entails is not entirely
as simply definable as two words. Thus, this research intends on studying the recognized cultural
phenomena present in the Japanese society.
Personally, I have come to wanting to research this topic particularly after befriending
Japanese peers. As a Buddy in my home university, I have made a fair share of Japanese friends
and was able to see a ‘pattern,’ made visible from my multiple encounters and the process ofgetting to know them more than an inconsequential ‘acquaintance.’ For example, they would
instinctively say ‘yes’ even though they did not seem to understand what I was speaking to them.
Also, they would immediately say a food is tasty, even though they may not visibly seem toparticularly enjoy it. After few times of similar occurrences and coming to learn about these twoterms of honne and tatemae, it piqued my interest as to see how people living in Japan, both
natives and foreigners alike, think about this culture. With the opportunity granted to me injoining EPOK, I was able to conduct research to elucidate the complex nature of this culture.
From the literatures, the definitions of honne and tatemae varied, although there seems
to be a recurrent theme. Tatemae could be defined as things that are pronounced publicly, of

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which coincide with group interests, wishes, or goal, or anything that is difficult to oppose inpublic, such as behaviour and thoughts admitted by the majority (Shibata, 1986; Prasol, 2010);“façade” or “front”, referring to opinions and behaviours displayed in public, as well as thesocial expectations embedded in individuals’ position in various contexts (Buzzy et.al, 2011);
individual’s explicitly stated principles (Nishimura et al, 2008); or of “any rule of conduct which
Japanese accepted by unanimous agreement” (Doi, 1973), with the latter attaching to thatdefinition the analogy of “license that secures Japanese membership in a coveted group”. In
contrast, definition of honne remains relatively similar throughout the articles: things kept inside
one’s heart, of personal thoughts and interest, (Shibata, 1986; Prasol, 2010) and what theindividual wants to do. (Buzzy et.al, 2011)
Honne and tatemae is a part of the terminology umbrella of “double” or “paired” codes.
(Bachnik, 2007) Tatemae is a part of omote (in-front) as the social, public, or official side, whilst
honne is within the ura (behind) as a side of secrecy, personal, or something deemed publicly
unacceptable. Tatemae is the side shown to the soto (outsiders), and honne is the side shown touchi (insiders). The concept of honne and tatemae could be seen just like the “back-stage” and“front-stage” performances of actors from a dramaturgical perspective (Buzzy et.al, 2011), oras the two spheres of “self” and “social self” (Bachnik, 2007).
In relation to social convention, tatemae represents the tensions of conforming tosocietal norms, whilst giving leeway for expression of one’s true desires (honne). By
withholding true intentions through the mask of tatemae, this sense of “self-sacrifice” can beseen as the sacrifice for the greater good, which in this case refers to the harmonious social life,(Bachnik, 2007) although the very meanings of honne and tatemae may have undergone a shift:of tatemae now conveying falsity; and honne considered ‘true honesty’. (Bachnik, 2007; Doi,
1973)
It is without doubt that Japanese language is at the top one of the high-context
communication style. (Nishimura et al, 2008) Context refers to the information that surrounds
an event, and inextricably bound with the meaning. The duality of honne and tatemae is thetestament to Japanese being a high-context communication styled language, whereby the actual
meaning is often embedded within the listeners themselves – information internalized in the
person – and listener is to understand the context of communication themselves. Not everythingis explicitly stated or written, thus the need to “read between the lines.” (Nishimura et al, 2008)
The distinction between formal and informal Japanese languages through grammars parallels
the “double code”, whereby polite form of speech is used for tatemae, and plain form of speechis used to convey honne. (Bachnik, 2007)

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Research Gap, Aims, Objectives
Unmistakably, this topic has been an interest of mine ever before the research for EPOK
due to the polarizing image of Japanese people that this culture implies. However, throughliterature review of this topic, it was enticing to see the varying definitions of tatemae fromarticles to articles. Also, the lack of qualitative research involving the genuine take of Japaneseopinions on this culture quickly became something that is noticed during the initial reading. I
believe my research in this topic has the significance of providing evidence as to support someclaims of the honne and tatemae through asking the opinions of Japanese themselves. In a way,
it is to reinforce, or dismiss, certain claims made in the current literature.
Thus, the main aim of this research is to elucidate the culture of honne and tatemae ofJapan by gauging the opinions of Japanese people themselves. Specifically, this research has
three objectives: (1) to gauge the awareness and perception of people living in Japan (bothnative, and non-native) on honne and tatemae terminologies; (2) to investigate the opinion on
the possible benefits and implications of the honne and tatemae culture; and (3) to cross-check
whether a complementary culture exists in Malaysia, or in other words, the exclusivity of thisculture (or the universality, thereof).
Methodology
To achieve the objectives, two methods were done: (1) online questionnaire and (2)online interview. The first method of online questionnaire was designed to answer first andsecond objectives. By using Google Form, the questionnaire links were spread to various groups,
such as to EPOK Buddies, Okayama University classmates, Japanese friends, and acquaintances,through the help of mutual friends, teachers, and social media (LINE and Instagram). The online
questionnaire was divided into three sections: Section 1, which was to gauge for demography(age range, and nativity); Section 2, which was to gauge for awareness and perception of people
living in Japan regarding honne and tatemae; and Section 3, which was to gauge their opinions
on the possible benefits and implication of honne and tatemae. For Section 2, it was further
divided into Section 2A, intended for native Japanese, and Section 2B for non-native Japanese.
Questions were a mix of close-ended, and scaled types, with only four questions being a semi
open-ended type.
Second method of online interview was designed to answer the third objective. Through
Google Meet, eight (8) Malaysians were interviewed, comprising of seven people in the age
range of 20-25 years old, and 1 person in the age range of 60-65. Prior to the interview, a concise

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introduction to the concepts of honne and tatemae was given for necessary context. Only twoquestions were asked: (1) does a similar culture exists in Malaysia; and (2) in what way is it
similar (providing examples).
Results & Discussions
The results were as follows. For the first method of Google Form questionnaire, a totalof 95 respondents were garnered. In Section 1, majority of the respondents (91%) were in theage range of 18 – 30, followed by 30 – 45 (5%), 45 – 60 (3%), 61 and above (1%), but norespondents below the age of 18. Majority of the respondents (86%) were native Japanese, while
the remaining 14% were non-native Japanese, which constituted of Asian (92%) and SouthAmerican (8%).
Next, Section 2, which, as mentioned before, was divided into Sections 2A (Native
Japanese, abbreviated as NJ onwards) and 2B (Non-native Japanese, abbreviated as NN
onwards). Five questions were similar between these two sections, and these were the findings:(1) in both sections, majority knew what honne and tatemae means (NJ:98%;NN:77%); (2) inboth sections, majority agreed to a given definition of honne and tatemae (NJ:79%, NN:100%);(3) when talking to other parties, majority NJ (77%) could tell honne and tatemae apart, but
majority NN could not (only 38% could); and (4) in both sections, majority were aware ofswitching between the two honne and tatemae while speaking themselves (NJ:89%;NN:85%).
For the fifth question, two hypothetical situations were given to respondents of both sections tonote of their “expected answers.” Firstly, if they are invited to a dinner at an acquaintance’s
house, the “expected answer” would be to reject the invitation as taking the hint that theacquaintance is, in a roundabout way, asking you to return. In both sections, majority answered“depends” (NJ:67%; NN:85%). Secondly, if they were offered an acquaintance’s favourite food,the “expected answer” would be to say, “It is tasty,” even if they did not particularly like thefood at all. In both sections, majority answered “yes” (NJ:65%; NN:46%).
Onwards to the differing questions of the two sections, in Section 2A, there were threequestions: (1) and (2) gauging the circumstances to switch either to honne or tatemae. Firstly,
most people would switch to tatemae with “people they just met” (72 votes), followed by “inworking settings” (63 votes), and “in academic setting with teachers and supervisors” (61 votes);and secondly, most people would switch to honne with “friends you are close with” (74 votes),
followed by “with families and significant others” (26 votes), and “social media” (25 votes).
The third question was about personal definitions of honne and tatemae, whereby 77 varying
definitions, and 17 disagreements with the given definition of tatemae were noted to be analysed

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in Discussion. Next, in Section 2B, there were two questions: firstly, if they agree or disagree
to a given statement of tatemae by Woronoff (1990): “For Japanese, dealing with tatemae is astandard… foreigners may see it as false and futile since they are used to ‘receiving the truth’…”,
to which majority agreed (77%) to the statement. Subsequently, the second question, regarding
the thoughts of NN to the statement, will be analysed in the Discussion.
Lastly, in Section 3, a total of 16 statements regarding the possible benefits and implicationsof honne and tatemae were given to the respondents. The questions were linear scaled, whereby
1 represent “strongly disagree”, 2 represents “quite disagree”, 3 represents “mixed response”, 4
represents “agree”, and “5” represents “strongly agree”. Certain indiscernible questions will beomitted, partly due to word restrictions. Results were as follows:
1. Majority strongly agreed (78%) that honne and tatemae are present in every aspect ofcommunications across Japanese society; and strongly agreed (45%) that the extensive
use of honne and tatemae in communication is to uphold harmonious spirit in society.
2. Majority quite disagreed (39%) if tatemae could be considered lying; however, majority
agreed (31%) that tatemae is needed to fit in the society, rather than stand out.
3. Majority agreed (41%) that there is a need for people to ‘read between the lines’; and,in the same vein, majority agreed (42%) that ‘not being able to read the atmosphere’ is
not a good trait.
4. Majority strongly agreed (61%) that voicing facts (honne) in certain circumstances
would cause either party to be disgraced, or ‘lose face’; and majority agreed (59%) that
there have been times they wanted to tell the truth (honne) but suppressed it. This goes
well with how majority strongly agreed (58%) that tatemae is important to avoid
unnecessary conflicts.
5. Majority agreed (41%) that there are sets of words they should, or are expected to use,
whenever interacting with other parties.
6. Majority agreed (38%) that people who are not used to communication in Japanesesociety would see tatemae as offensive.
For the second method of online interview, the results were as follows: (1) all eight
Malaysians interviewed agreed that there is a complementary culture of honne and tatemae in
Malaysia; and (2) in Malaysia, bahasa berlapik, which translates into ‘layered language’,bearing a similar concept to ‘white lies’, is used to convey your true intentions albeit indirectly.
A particularly interesting example given was to say a food is tasty, but it would be even tastierif more salt is added. With this, harmony between the two would be hold.

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Onwards to Discussion, firstly, it is imperative to discuss how the definitions of tatemae
retrieved from the opinions of Japanese were different from one to another. As mentioned briefly
in Results, as much as 77 different responses of Japanese people were garnered on what they
believed and understood was tatemae, on top of 17 responses that disagreed to the given
definitions of tatemae. For context, the definition of tatemae used is of that stated by Prasol andShibata in the Literature Review. To generalize the finding in just one phrase would be, simply
put, difficult. However, there seemed to be similar themes of: ‘matching opinions with listeners;’‘conveying matters with consideration;’ ‘lies to maintain good relationship;’ ‘not necessarily
adjusting to majority, but also to superiors;’ ‘behaviours and speech that is accepted by society;’or, in a poor effort to sum it up in one sentence, ‘what you are expected to say publicly.’ Perhaps,
owing to no official recognized definition, Japanese has internalized different meanings oftatemae, even if they are aware of and could perceive what is and what is not tatemae. In contrast,
definition of honne was remarkably similar across the board: ‘a person’s true intention;’ or ‘what
you feel/think in heart.’
Secondly, on Section 2, the hypothetical situation of an invitation to a dinner at an
acquaintance’s house was something argued, by Davies and Ikeno in 2002, that Japanese
deemed it was not an invitation but, rather, a subtle hint to go home. (Trinidad, 2014) According
to the result, majority answered “depends”. The communication in Japan well depends on the
degree of closeness between two speakers. (Nishimura et al, 2008) It can be assumed here theanswer would have been a “yes” if the person is not as close, and a “no” if a person is close inrelationship.
Thirdly, the duality of communication through honne and tatemae has both benefits andimplications. Due to Japanese being a country of collectivism, where the society takes
precedence before the individual, and societal harmony is paramount, it could offer an
explanation to the prevalent and distinctive uses of tatemae and honne. (Nishimura et al, 2008)
Sometimes, individual needs are supressed to give way for the ultimate needs of the society. As
seen throughout the Results of Section 3, honne is often hidden to maintain the harmonious
atmosphere, covered with the use of tatemae to prevent unwanted conflicts. In sense, Japanesesociety is distinctive, because it was deemed as virtuous to avoid communicating problems
directly, by slipping in the “uncomfortable truths” within tatemae. (Bachnik, 2007) Both honne
and tatemae is needed, and one exists for the sake of other.
Fourth, it was reported that a similar culture exists even in Malaysia. Malaysians believe inthe principles stated in the Five Pillars, with the 5th being ‘Courtesy and Propriety’. Every
Malaysian vowed to be courteous in any situations to maintain harmony, which strikes a

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resemblance to honne and tatemae. This also implies that honne and tatemae is not entirely
exclusive in Japan, although it is in Japan where this culture is most evidently used and is an
inextricably part of Japanese sociocultural value.
Fifth, the concept of ‘uso mo houben’ could be related to justify tatemae in Japan. It means‘lying as means to an end,’ whereby the speaker says things of what they thought the listener
would like to hear, as opposed to the speaker’s true intention. (Trinidad, 2014) This concept,
alongside the “double codes” of Japan, and citing the Result of Section 3, could offer insights
to the question of Section 2B (statement regarding tatemae). As lying could be seen as a method
to secure a convenient position for the speaker, foreigners who just found out the concept oftatemae but not yet used to it may feel ‘betrayed.’ However, tatemae is seen as a cultural normthat is personal towards the Japanese society, thus it is unfair to put a label on something that isbased on their biasness. A certain degree of respect should be kept ubiquitous, especially whenit comes to unfamiliar cultural value systems, as we should not immediately judge a culture
solely through a single standpoint.
Lastly, even though honne and tatemae is an integral part of Japanese culture, there seemed
to be regional differences. Certain regions, such as Osaka and Kyoto (especially), were deemed
to be using tatemae more frequently in terms of more euphemistic expressions, which could beseen as ‘sarcastic’ from the lens of non-natives, or even natives of other regions. In Kyoto, theusage of euphemistic expressions, such as praising the clock, or asking if visitors wantochadzuke, would means the indirect asking for the visitors to return. In contrast, it was reported
that Kansai natives does not seem to favour the usage of tatemae, and rather speak out theiropinions publicly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, honne and tatemae is, indeed, a complex sociocultural value of Japan. Even
though many Japanese people have their own beliefs and understandings of honne and tatemae,
they all shared a common theme of ‘consideration for others.’ The unique part of this culture isthat honne and tatemae is a communicative concept with deep roots, deemed acceptable, andhave always been used explicitly and distinctively throughout aspects of Japanese society.
Honne and tatemae are both equally as important. It is not always good to dichotomize theculture as either black-or-white and leaving things as ambiguous as it is will not deteriorate
human relationship. In a way, tatemae is good to set up an appropriate distance between one
another but, in contrast, it is also important to speak in earnest (honne) sometimes too, as only
then can we deepen our relationships. Just like the two sides of a coin, honne and tatemae is74interdependent -- honne exists precisely due to tatemae, and tatemae allows the room for the
expression of honne with less repercussions – and, truly, one cannot exist without the other.
Reference:
Bachnik, J. (2007). Tatemae/Honne, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Buzzi, P., & Megele, C. (2011). Honne and tatemae: a world dominated by a ‘game of masks,’ Communication
across cultures.
Doi, L. T. (1973). The Japanese patterns of communication and the concept of amae, Quarterly Journal of Speech
Nishimura, S., Nevgi, A., & Tella, S. (2008). Communication style and cultural features in high/low context
communication cultures: A case study of Finland, Japan, and India, Ainedidaktinen symposium
Prasol, A. (2010). Modern Japan: Origins of The Mind-Japanese Traditions and Approaches to Contemporary Life.,
World Scientific.
The Differences Between Kanto and Kansai, Japan's Two Major Metropolitan Areas (Tsunagu Japan) [Internet] at:https://tsunagujapan.com/differences-between-kanto-and-kansai Last accessed: [1 August 2021]
Trinidad, G. J. D. (2014). Honne and tatemae: exploring the two sides of Japanese society, (Doctoral dissertation).
Woronoff, J. (1990). Japan as –anything But‐Number One., Japan: Yohan Publications

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There are more things to do in Japan, apart from eating sushi
Tycho Floris van Asten
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands)

日本語のまとめ
このレポト―はオランダと日本についって。オランダ人と日本人のかんけい
はぶんかのちがいがぎゃくであるからむずかしいばあいがあります。日本がそとのせ
かいでどのようにしょうしょぞうされている。とくに日本人にとってこのほうこくしょをつかって。オランダ人のみかたがげんじつにちかづいているのがそれともかんぜんにまちがっているかおみるができます。

BackgroundIn the past, around the 17th century, Japan and the Netherlands were trade partners. In that
period the first image of one another is created. In the earlier period, people did not have a lotof written information about others.

Most of the information and knowledge about others

come from mouth-to-mouth stories. The images created can differ from the real world as somepeople already experienced. They were not aware of the possible cultural differences and thedifferences in religion. But what some navigators and important persons of religions,especially the Dutch with the WIC, knew that they wanted to expand their own religion andculture in other countries. This was the main reason beside trading to go on long excursions
over the sea.
During one of the excursions, the Dutch people accidentally met with the Japanese people.
This is the first encounter between the Dutch persons and Japanese persons. They traded withmostly spices, textiles, porcelain, and silk. During the start of the trade partnership of Holland
and Japan, the Christian Japanese started a rebellion against the feudal military government.
The Dutch helped this government to crush the Christian Japanese rebellion. As a result, all
the other Christian countries who helped the rebels were expelled, except the Dutch. This
started a long-term relationship between Holland and Japan. This relationship was strong until
World War II happened.
Unfortunately, the post war Japanese-Dutch relation has been very complicated. The invasionand occupation of the Netherlands East Indies during the second world war, brought about the

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destruction of the colonial state in Indonesia. The Japanese removed as much of the Dutch
government as possible, to weaken the grip of the Netherlands in this territory.
As a more recent note, in 2009, the Netherlands released a 5 € coin to celebrate the 400 years
relationship between Japan and the Netherlands. I started wondering if the view on Japan fromthe Dutch is rather negative or positive at this time. In this research the current view of Dutch
will be established, and the reason of this view will hopefully give more insight on thethoughts of why we have this view.

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Methods
The methods used for gathering all the information are a survey, literature review andcase studies. The field work, the survey, is done via Google Docs Survey. This is aplatform which is easy to use, automatically creates an overview of the answers andcan be used to ask different types of questions. The answers can be exported to excel
for more specific research, as well the answers can be shown per induvial which hascompleted the survey. The statistical tests are taken online, the target group of thesurvey were 16–35-year-olds and 45+ years people. The places where the survey is
distributed are High Schools, Universities, friends & family and Reddit, a place whereDutch people are with (a bit of) knowledge about Japan (they can be Weebs). This
would be around 15% of the total amount of participants. These people with a bit more
knowledge can influence the view of the average Dutch person.
The results are influenced by the following topics, this is nor positive nor negative
influence:- Level of education (to see if a different educated people have different views)- Age- Thoughts about visiting Japan (indication of interest)-

Have been to Japan (difference between experience and education)
Their opinion before and after visiting.
The reason for not visiting Japan.
How they got the information about Japan (types of marketing used)
Which places they know in Japan?

Results
For this research, there are 124 useful surveys conducted. In those questionnaires, 100 people
are between the age of 17 and 30 and the others are 45 or older. These two groups are
established before hand to see if there is a noticeable difference between the older generationand the newer generation and their view on Japan. 45% of the participants studied or are
studying at the Higher Vocational Education (HBO), 24% studied or are studying at the Highschool. 22% of the people are going to university or did go to university. The other 9% is78following or followed post-Secondary Vocational Education (MBO). This is above theaverage level of education in the Netherlands which is finished MBO or High School(Maslowski, 2020).
Most of the participants would love to visit Japan
once. Whereby only 13% really visited Japan. For
these people who have visited Japan, there were

Reasons not to go to
Money
Japan
7%

some extra questions about their opinion of Japan.
What their opinion of Japan was before hand and
if it has changed after their visit.

27%

Covid-19

34%

The view about

Japan changed for 58% of the people who visited

12% 20%No timeNo interest/ other countries
are more prefered
OthersJapan, for 34 % the visit to Japan opened someeyes. The biggest changes for these people arethat Japan has a more Western feeling and that the Japanese people strongly hold on to theirown values instead of changing their values for people from other countries. Most of thepeople who visited Japan have been in Tokyo, the amount of people who spoke English wasreally a positive experience.
Even while the Netherlands can be expensive in terms of restaurants and food in general, theDutch people who visited Japan, do think Japan is expensive.
The Dutchies have a rot of reasons not to visit Japan (yet). Most of the people do wantto visit Japan, but the past year they always found an excuse not to go. Mostly the reasons of
not visiting Japan, are combinations between the different factors. Therefore, the mostcommon reason is Money. This is mentioned in 34% of the answers. In this special year with
Covid-19 a lot has happened. For example, some Figure 2 Reasons to not go to Japan
students who needed to go to Japan for their
University did not go, due to Covid-19, unfortunately. Maybe this pandemic has an influenceon the financial situation of people.
As we can see in Figure 2 Reasons to not go to Japan, the biggest reason for not going toJapan (yet) is the money reason. A less positive note for Japan, it is not a country that has ahigh interest rate to visit as tourist. Somewhat more than a quart of the people prefers othercountries, or they are not interested in Japan.

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Information source
150
100
50
0

This survey would not been complete, if
Covid-19 wouldn’t play a part. One fifth ofthe people planned on going to Japan lastyear or this year. For those people, whohave saved money, were/are interested inJapan, Japan is still something to visit in the
future.

To understand some people why they want to visit Japan, or why they don’t want to visit
Japan, the information source can be useful. The main source of gathering information is
Figure 3 Information sources

social media. That is not a real surprise, as it is thenumber one source of entertainment nowadays. The second most used channel to receive
information about Japan is television. As can be seen in Figure 3 Information sources.
As the other mentionable sources, especially in the time of social media and doing everything
online, books are still popular to gather information about Japan. This are mostly novels fromJapanese people who describe the life they are living there.
The other information channels are mostly used every day, whereby the information shared
about Japan is happening right now. The political situation for example, can be seen from adifferent perspective for outsiders than for the Japanese people. Daily life situations can beseen from a different perspective, which can cause an opinion about those situations which canbe differ from the actual situation.
To get more insight about the view on the culture of Japan, the question “how do you see theJapanese culture?” has been asked. The Dutch don’t see Japan as a simple country with asimple culture. The common thought is mostly positive, with the traditions and working ethics
as mostly mentioned. This information is coming from the conducted survey, which
mentioned earlier. Those Dutch people see the Japanese culture as something very different
from their culture. The Japanese are mostly hard working, and they have a very strict hierarchy
inside the company and society. The Japanese people combine their traditional way of living,with the advanced used of technology. Japan is also advanced in infrastructure, like the(bullet) trains and metros. The Japanese people are in first thought very closed. They don’t
show any type of opinion about others or some other positive feelings to the outside world. To
translate an answer of on of the participants; “As hardworking he is very disciplined andslightly steadfast to hierarchy. For example, during the second world war, some people were
performing kamikaze actions for the emperor at that time. Would we do the same for our royalfamily? I don’t think so.” This shows how the Japanese people are displayed as loyal and80

hardworking for their boss. Not always as extreme as doing kamikaze actions, but they arewilling to go far.
What a common thought is, the Dutch are less positive about the Japanese working culture incomparison with the Dutch working culture. Especially the social acceptancy about being
yourself in the working culture and social equality between co-workers and bosses, lesshierarchy in the working culture.
In addition, the working hours of the Japanese are more dedicated towards the company andless to personal health. But the respect to one each other is far more appreciated in theJapanese culture than in the Netherlands. Especially the respect for knowledge and experienceothers. The last point that was heavily mentioned, is that the Japanese people are really clean,with no bins on the streets.
To see what kind of topics were discussed in the books, the television and social
media, the question of what cultural highlights do you know? The main options listed were
Sumo wrestling, the traditional food, the hierarchy in society, mount Fuji, Sapporo’s snow
festival and Japanese gardens. The most chosen option is Sumo wrestling, with 67% of thepeople clicking it. Fortunately, the Dutch people know they would not see a lot of Sumo
wrestlers if they were going to visit Japan right at the start. As the second most chosen topic, isof course the food. Sushi, Udon Noodles, and rice bowls are becoming more and more
integrated in the Dutch repertoire of order food. According to (Le Clercq, 2021), the Dutch
people like ordering food, and spending more on “better” food instead of a regular pizza.
Therefore, the Sushi and other Asian cuisines orders are rising around 34%.
The third most chosen option is the hierarchy in society. The Dutch people have notencountered this topic themselves in Japan, but it is a highly used topic for comparison in the
Dutch working culture and on the news, it is discussed at least once a month.
The people who know about the Japanese gardens, also recognize Mount Fuji as part of theJapanese culture. The Japanese gardens are in the Netherlands a concept of wealth andtranquillity. Mount fuji is famous of the form in the Netherlands and especially as it is theJapanese sacred symbol. In addition, there once was a television program that visited thetemples and shrines around the top of the volcano. The Japanese art of Manga, Anime andHentai are mentioned by people who know somethings about a different part of the culture ofJapan. This is more specific about Japan, which is completely in Japan and in the Netherlands,
it is seen as different. What the Dutch integrated a bit more in their culture from the Japanese
one, are martial arts, like Karate, Judo and Jujitsu. As it mostly covered in the news when andif the Dutch national sports team has participated in a big tournament for those sports.
The things Dutch people want to visit in Japan are, Tokyo, real Japanese gardens and eatingsushi from Japan. These things are specific, which shows Japan is interesting for a big part of

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the Dutch people, as they know a lot about Japan already. The way sports influenced the view
about the culture of Japan, is positive as the Martial Arts are seen as a positive note forindividuals. Whereby this is more like a Dutch way of looking towards society. As someparticipants stated, the Dutch society is more individualistic, and the Japanese society is more
like a collectivistic group.

Conclusion
This survey has given a lot of information about the Dutch view on Japan. The main
conclusion of this report and survey is mostly positive. Dutch people think Japan is very
special, as the culture is focussed on collectivism and dedication to one’s work is important.
The overall thought on why this collectivism is happening in Japan, comes from the past. The
tradition of emperors ruling over Japan with not a lot of influences from other countries canhave caused this tradition. The difference of the importance of man and women in Japan is
discussed as well. The traditional thought that the woman needs to stay at home and man goesout working can identify Japan’s culture, according to the survey. This idea showcases that the
information spread about the culture of Japan, in the Netherlands is not up to date, as that topic
is changing in the Japanese current working culture.
On the other side, the Japanese people are portraited as friendly and polite. But the Dutch
people argue, it is just to outsiders and to please them. In addition, they think Japanese people
do not show a lot of character themselves. Which makes them mysterious, and some Dutch
people are intrigued by this culture. Japanese soccer supporters were very positive in the news
and all-over social media a few years ago with their actions. They cleaned up their own messafter the game has finished. Which probably is the cause that the Japanese people seem very
clean, in addition, the people who have visited Japan pointed out that there are no bins outside.
Something that did not influence the people’s opinion as much as predicted is the age. The
Dutch people mostly think the same about the Japanese people. This shows that old school
information tools and more modern information tools display the same kind of information.
The relationship between Dutch people and Japanese people can be hard as the differences
between the cultures are the opposites.
So, to work in a proper way, one of the two parties need to make some concessions towards
another. According to the survey, Dutch people think the collective culture of Japan, will makethese concessions, if needed.
All the results combines that a lot of people indicated that they do not know enough in-depth
information about Japan to conclude a final opinion. Most of the people want to get more
information about Japan. What kind of information is not really discussed in this report, but

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the main thought is about the culture itself. This type of research is not yet done in this way.
Therefore, there are not a lot of similar studies to compare the results of this study with. Mostof this type of research are done in working environments.
This report is important for people who want to know about the Dutch view on
Japan. How Japan is portraited in the outside world, especially for Japanese people, they can
use this report to see if the view of the Dutch people coming close to reality or is it completely
wrong.

Another important part can be about the relation of Japanese people the Dutch

people, or even the relation between the governments. But this is a topic for a completely otherreport.
The purpose of this report is to find the general opinion about Japanese people andtheir culture with the view from Dutch people. Since the Dutch people are really good atstereotyping and they do not showcase that they understand and see the Japanese society andculture as it is right now. This research shows that Dutch people have a bit of knowledge about
Japan, but not a very deep understanding. Is this something that needs change? Can it bechanged? Does it even need change? This are some questions for a future study about the otherside of this topic. This report can be used as a starter for other research, so they can start more
specific and direct to make a more specified report for another purpose.
Dutch people see Japan as a polite, clean, and interesting country where traditions areworth more in society than modern influences. With the example of woman and man insociety treated differently. In addition, the closed collective society is seen as different fromthe Dutch open individualistic society.
References
Le Clercq, P. (2021, January 13). We bestelden 39 procent meer eten bij Thuisbezorgd.nl.
Retrieved from RTL NIEUWS Economie:
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/economie/beurs/artikel/5208296/justeattakeawaycomthuisbezorgd-thuisbezorgen
Maslowski, R. (2020). Onderwijs. In: De sociale staat van Nederland: 2020. Retrieved fromDe sociale staat van Nederland: https://digitaal.scp.nl/ssn2020/onderwijs.

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An insight on the Western and Japanese view of Japanese
Culture through the analysis of the public’s opinion on movies
Diletta Giraldi – デ ィ レ ッ タ ・ ジ ラ ル デ ィCa’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy)

国際的な映画において、日本人自身が日本の日常生活や日本文化を真に表現していると考えているものは何ですか。一方、西洋やアジアの映画監督が持っている日本人や日本に対するステレオタイプは何ですか。この調査では、日本人と外国人の両方が回答したアンケートで収集されたデータを通じて分析しました。この研究は、表面的なアプローチや一般化を避けてアジア文化についての知識を深めたい人々にガイドラインを提供するために、
アジア関連のステレオタイプの主題に取り組んでいるという点でユニークだと思います。

Introduction
What in international cinema culture is considered a true representation of Japaneseculture by Japanese people? What instead is a stereotype carried on by Western or Asianfilm directors?
I decided to tackle the topic because I really enjoy watching movies both Western andAsian: I am convinced that cinema used to be and still is a powerful mean ofcommunication. Especially in the past it was mainly through cinema that people could
come into contact with geographically distant cultures. Nowadays there are a lot ofdifferent medias but cinema keeps having an extremely unique and leading role becauseof its ability of getting viewers emotionally involved with what is narrated on the big
screen. This gives cinema some kind of authority regardless of the truthfulness of thecontents.
I realized that in media culture there are several materials at our disposal which represent
Japan but this representation is not necessarily made with a critical eye. The industry isfull of reductionistic approaches to Japanese culture.
I want to make a research that will help those who are interested in Japanese culture towatch movies critically avoiding the development of a superficial view on said culture.
I am convinced this research is also very interesting and unique since you cannot find84

similar studies tackling this specific topic ( an insight on the Western and Japanese viewof Japanese Culture through the analysis of the public’s opinion on movies ) in theacademic world.
Existing discussions and studies on the topic
Several articles deal with the topic of the representation of Japan and the Japanese inmovies.
On "JapanToday" there is an interesting article titled “Japan's 70-year struggle against
Hollywood film stereotypes”, in which is analyzed the image of Japanese people in
Hollywood films. In the article is stated that “Looking back at the 70 years since the endof World War II, it would certainly be no exaggeration to say that Hollywood's portrayalsof Japanese males have been less than flattering” and then is given the example ofMickey Rooney as “Mr. Yunioshi”, the klutzy photographer in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
As regards Japanese females, it is claimed that they are represented as “feminine,subservient, eager and willing to please males” and that this image is based on stories
brought back to the U.S. by soldiers returning home from the military occupation ofJapan. Following are examples of stereotypes taken from various films and, finally, thereis the consideration that fortunately today’s cinema is changing towards a more accurate
representation of Japan and Asia in general.
Another article titled "Portrayals of Asians in Film and Television" on “Ithaca College
Library” is divided into several paragraphs that group movies containing stereotypes on
Asia divided by decade of belonging. Interestingly, there are great titles on the list suchas "The Aristocats", "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "The Deer Hunter", "Murder By Death" or"Blade Runner". This article is important as it gives an idea of how difficult it is to pay
attention to stereotypes. Without reading this article, I would not have noticed thepresence of some stereotypes in some Hollywood and non-Hollywood films.
In the end the article “Can ‘Parasite’ break Asian film’s last US barrier?” on “Asia
Times” analyzes the role of the Korean black comedy "Parasite" (2019) in theacceptance of the East by the United States. In fact, by awarding to "Parasite" the Oscar
for best film, according to the article, America would finally recognize Asia as an
economic power as well as recognize the quality of its film industry.
Each of these aforementioned articles is relevant for my research but I did not find any
article that tackles the subject of Asia-related stereotypes in order to provide a guideline
for those who want to deepen their knowledge on Asian cultures without a superficial
approach and avoiding generalizations.
Questionnaire
I will share a questionnaire I wrote about this topic with both Japanese and non-Japanese85

people asking various questions with the goal to investigate:- Which films depicting Japanese culture are the most popular- Which films are considered representative of some kind of aspect of Japanese culture(art, society, traditions, history...)- Which stereotypes regarding Japan are widespread- Which stereotypes regarding Japan are carried on by movies
I chose to conduct this research using a questionnaire since, because of Covid-19, I could
not directly ask Japanese people about the topic and questionnaire is the form of analysis
most similar to a direct discussion. A questionnaire is also the most efficient way ofcollecting data anonymously to reach reliable conclusions on the topic.
I structured the questionnaire with the following 11 questions:
1) How old are you?
2) What is your nationality?
3) What is your occupation?
4) Which movies from this list do you know? Mark them.
5) Could you add any Asia related movie to the list?
6) Could you think of some films representing a particular aspect of Japan?
7) In your opinion, which films and animation movies better represent a particular aspectof Japan (art, culture, society, traditions, history,…)?
8) Why did you choose these films? Write about the particular aspect of Japan they
represent in your opinion.
9) Is there any stereotype linked to Japan and Japanese people in your country?
10) Could you think of any stereotype linked to Japan and Japanese people? Can you
please write them in the space below?
11) Are there any stereotypes about Japan that you have seen in films or animation
movies? If so, can you give some examples?
1) How old are you? 2) What is your nationality?
I start by asking what is the age and nationality of the participants in order to determine
if there are particular stereotypes related to individuals of a certain age group or
nationality. I also want to understand which films are well-known among young andolder people.
3) What is your occupation?
I then ask the occupation of the participants merely to make sure I am investigating aheterogeneous group of people, not only related to the academic environment.
4) Which movies from this list do you know? Mark them 5) Could you add any Asia

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related movie to the list?
Then I investigate the participant’s movie culture. In the list there are 76 films by
Japanese and non-Japanese directors, some of which are sadly famous as promoters ofstereotypes about Japan or Asia in general.
6) Could you think of some films representing a particular aspect of Japan? 7) In youropinion, which films and animation movies better represent a particular aspect ofJapan (art, culture, society, traditions, history,…)? 8) Why did you choose these films?
Write about the particular aspect of Japan they represent in your opinion.
I ask this question to understand which films are truly representative of Japanese culture
and why according to Japanese themselves. This also to investigate if some of those thatare anything but stereotypes are considered to be elements actually representative ofJapan by non-Japanese people.
9) Is there any stereotype linked to Japan and Japanese people in your country? 10)
Could you think of any stereotype linked to Japan and Japanese people? Can you
please write them in the space below?
I asked these questions to understand what are actually considered stereotypes about
which are actually considered stereotypes of Japan and therefore which are recognised.
Since the questionnaire is addressed to both Japanese and non-Japanese people withthese questions I intend to identify both stereotypes spread abroad about Japan andstereotypes that the Japanese themselves think there are about them.
11) Are there any stereotypes about Japan that you have seen in films or animation
movies? If so, can you give some examples?
With this question I aim to understand if the participant has memory of films containing
the aforementioned stereotypes. This question also serves to assess the critical spiritof the participant to see if he noticed the stereotypes in the films he marked on the list.
Analysis of the collected data- Stereotypes“A stereotype is a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people
believe represent a particular type of person or thing” (Collins Dictionary)“A set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an
idea that is wrong” (Cambridge Dictionary)
Below are two tables containing the widespread stereotypes that emerged from thequestionnaire and the number of participants who mentioned them.

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The most mentioned movie regarding stereotypes about Japan it is probably the Last
Samurai (2003), directed by Edward Zwick. Several people both Japanese and nonJapanese wrote that this film contains numerous generalizations about honor, discipline
and traditionalism. In addition, the samurai in the movie show a deep respect for nature,
a constant seek for perfection, associated with peace, and a deep spirit of self-denial infavor of the community. The character of Katsumoto, commander of the rebel samurai,
then demonstrates a total devotion to the emperor and a very strong sense of humility.
The samurai village is associated with peace and harmony as the dwellers there respect
ancient values and lead a rural life, this in contrast to the modern world in continuous
progression with new technologies and new weapons, as if to indicate that the real Japan

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resides in samurai lifestyle. Another important stereotype is represented by Taka, aperfect representation of “Yamato Nadeshiko”, who is too kind and obedient consideringthat she is forced to take care of her husband's killer. The samurai are then dedicated tofighting with the cold weapon and martial arts, another somewhat recurring stereotype
according to the participants in the questionnaire that also directly links it to otherfamous titles such as “Kill Bill” and “Karate Kid”.
The most popular stereotype seems to be that Japanese people are introverted and tend
to isolate themselves. An example of this is the film “Mean Girls” in which theprotagonist explains which groups of students there are at school, among the many she
remembers the "Asian Nerds" and "Cool Asian". The former is males obsessed withstudy and technology, the latter is girls who speak Vietnamese and never English for theentire duration of the film. This fact highlights the tendency of Asians to isolatethemselves. Besides, both groups are generally defined as "Asian" when in reality weknow for sure by hearing them talk that the girls of the "Cool Asians" group are
Vietnamese.
Even the figure of the shy and intelligent nerd boy, dedicated to work or study is also
recurrent in other films, anime and TV series. Such as in the series "How to get awaywith a Murderer" where the only Asian guy perfectly corresponds to this stereotype orin the film "School of Rock", where the introverted Asian child describes himself as notcool enough to be part of the band.
Analysis of the collected data- Movies

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Observing the answers, it is evident how some non-Japanese people view certain films
that now we know are full of stereotypes as representative of some aspect of Japan. A
clear example is “The Last Samurai”, a demonstration of how “positive” stereotypes areeasily regarded as truthful since they pass under the radar of public indignation. Becausesuch stereotypes do not directly attack or offend people, they easily survive and spread
into mass culture as truthful.
This principle also applies to the “martial arts” stereotypes such as in “Karate Kid”.
Certain non-Japanese people even mentioned "Kung Fu Panda" as representative ofJapan. This is a double stereotype because not only Japan and martial arts are being
automatically linked but entirely different cultures are being grouped together as"Asian". In this specific case Kung Fu, the martial art practiced in the movie, is ofChinese origin but is considered Japanese. The thought process here is: martial arts - >Asia -> Japan.
Japanese people as well expressed their opinion pointing out Makoto Shinkai’s “YourName” as truly representative of Japan’s rural and urban lifestyle. In the movie Japanese
local festivals (“matsuri” 祭り) are also regarded as well-represented by the Japanese.
Another of Makoto Shinkai’s productions “A Silent Voice” is also regarded as
illustrative of Japanese school environment and of the social issue ofbullying in Japan.
A movie that Japanese people also found exemplary of a particular aspect of Japan is“Somebody” (“Nanimono” 何 者 ) by Daisuke Miura. The Japanese agree on thetruthfulness of the representation of job hunting in Japan in this film.
A work praised by Japanese themselves for the accuracy of the representation of Edoera and of Christian persecutions which took place during this period is “Silence” by
Martin Scorsese.
Conclusions
The media are something that concerns us every day and in a world like today's where
it is easy to access all kinds of information, true or false, it is important to form a criticaland considered opinion on things. What I hope to obtain by sharing this article is to raiseawareness against misrepresentations and generalizations and grant people a critical eye
when facing depictions of Japan.
Reference:“Japan's

70-yearstruggleagainstHollywood

film

stereotypes”,

JapanToday.

At:

https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/japans-70-year-struggle-against-hollywood-films-stereotypes[Last accessed: August 13,2015]

90“Portrayals

ofAsians

in

Film

and

Television”,

Jennifer

Richards.

At:

https://libguides.ithaca.edu/c.php?g=861718&p=6175738 [Last accessed: August 6, 2019]“Can ‘Parasite’ break Asian film’s last US barrier?”, Andrew Salmon. At: https://asiatimes.com/2020/01/canparasite-break-asian-films-last-us-barrier/ [Last accessed: January 20, 2020]

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The End