Program for Mini-symposium among Freie Universitat Berlin, Beijing
Foreign Studies University, and the University of Tokyo

Date 24th of March, 2021
Time 9:00-12:00 (CET)
16:00-19:00 (CST)
17:00-20:00 (JST)Registration to Zoom Link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzxXZepJEQShwgBfgRSbXKS6ULRFg
O9iIxbgAwyOzQ1u9cSg/viewform1

Session 1 Analyzing Japanese Think Tanks(1) Changes in Japan’s Decision-making System and the Role of Think Tanks
since 1990sLing LIU（D3, Beijing Center for Japanese Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University）

Abstract
Japanese think tanks were first established in the 1950s and have experienced six
waves of "think tank booms" so far. Although Japanese think tanks have been developing
continuously following the example of the United States, it is generally critiqued thatJapanese think tanks before the 1990s did not perform as well as American’s. The reason
is that with a strong bureaucracy functioning as the primary repository for policy expertise,most of the information in the decision-making process was held in the bureaucracy whoplays an absolute leading role in the decision-making process,Japan’s developmental state has long been discouraging the creation ofindependent think tanks. This phenomenon led to the formation of Japan's "A Strong State
Versus Weak Think Tanks" before the 1990s. After the economic crisis began in the1970s, Japan started to consider establishing American-styled think tanks. In the 1990s,
Japan's bureaucracy and electoral institutions underwent extensive reforms, which led tothe emergence of a diversified policy system, which provided new political and social
participants, think tanks and other institutions with opportunities to influence the policyprocess. Since then, Japan experienced the fourth "think tank boom" characterized bynon-profit independent think tanks in 1997. The competition among Japanese think tanks
has intensified, and they have gradually played the role of influencing government
decision-making, guiding public opinion, and dissemination of policy ideas.
This study analyzes the changes in the Japanese political system and decisionmaking models since the 1990s, uses literature analysis and case studies to introduce thefunction of the Tokyo Foundation Policy Research Institute as a non-profit independent
policy think tank, and examine the role of Japanese think tanks in the decision-makingprocess.

2(2) In Defense of the Liberal International Order? Identity, Ontological Security andEpistemic Communities in Japan’s Indo-Pacific Policy
Erik ISAKSSON(D1, Graduate School of East Asian Studies, Freie Universitat Berlin)

Abstract
Narratives and policies of shared values around democracy, the rule of law, andhuman rights between Japan, Australia, India, and the United States are a major part ofJapan’s foreign policy since the first Abe government. The existing scholarship explainsthem as either containment strategies against a rising China or as an effort to strengthen
the liberal international order that facilitates cooperation. However, these explanations
are not sufficient to show why Japan has otherwise not balanced against China in recentyears, and why the Indo-Pacific values engagement is extended to certain like-minded
and potentially cooperative countries, but not others, like South Korea. Against thisbackdrop, in this dissertation project I examine why Japanese narratives and policies
promoting shared values with Australia, India and the United States have emerged since
the first Abe government? Based in ontological security theory and status-seeking
scholarship, I hypothesize that Japan’s narratives and policies in the Indo-Pacific are
explainable by reference to its long-time strive for recognition of its desired identity as aleader among peaceful, liberal democratic states and its fear of being denied internationalrecognition of this identity. Focusing on the period 2006-2020, the project will conduct a
discourse analysis of official Japanese narratives regarding shared values, and process
tracing of policies toward the three states to show the chronology of their development.
It will combine this with a network analysis of epistemic communities and foreign policy
professionals who have supported a more present Japanese posture in the internationalcommunity.

3Session 2 Anatomy of National University in Colonial Japan(1) Imperialist Strategies in Establishing Colonial Universities
Jiwon KIM
（D3, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo）

Abstract
Throughout the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted various Western institutions,
including the modern school system. My dissertation begins with the idea that when Japanlearned how to manage its colonies, it would have used the colonizing nations that went
before it as models for its management.
When the colonial rule of the imperialist countries began in the late 1800s, the colonial
rulers began to implant Western-style education systems in their colonies. However, theissue of establishing a "university" rather than an elementary or middle school in thecolonial area has led to various conflicts among members of the colony. The colonizers
argued that universities should be established for the education of their own children.
However, the parent state government worried that the establishment of universities
would raise the level of education in the colonies and cause difficulties in colonial rule.
In the case of Chosen/Korea, a great desire for the higher education of Koreans led to amovement to conduct fundraising to build their university. It resulted in the establishmentof the Imperial University in Keijo (Seoul). At the same time, the Imperial University wasestablished in Taiwan, Japan’s other colony.
In my dissertation, I attempt to compare the process of Japan's transplantation andoperation of the university system in colonial Korea and Taiwan with the process of
Britain's establishment of the University of Hong Kong. First, I will compare the extent
to which the colonial government intervened in the university's establishment. Second, I
will analyze the selection and career path of students to compare the extent to which
universities in the colony influenced the supply of human resources necessary for actualcolonial management. Through my research, I hope to establish how Japan, Britain, andother imperial nations differed in their colonial strategies regarding education andgovernment.
4(2) National Identity of the Students at Kenkoku University（1938-1945）
Yiran YAO
（D2, Beijing Center for Japanese Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University）

Abstract
Kenkoku University (Nation-Building University, abbreviated as Kendai)recruited male students of Japanese, Chinese mainland, Korean, Taiwanese, Mongolian
and Russian backgrounds, and was founded in 1938 by the Kwantung Army, aimed atnurturing leaders who would actualize the goal of “harmony among various peoples
residing in Manchukuo” with “Manchurian” identity.
Existing researches about national identity of the students at Kendai are mainly
mentioned separately in students’ daily activities and perceptions of Manchukuo, lacking
analysis of identity formation. This report attempts to explain identity of students ofJapanese, Chinese mainland, Korean and Taiwanese backgrounds before they wereenrolled in Kendai, and focus on awakening or changes of national identity theyexperienced while at Kendai affected by various causes.
Deviating from the route planned by the Kwantung Army and Manchukuo’s
governing authority, students contemplated their identity and made distinct choices. A
majority of Japanese students became obsessed with their Japanese identity shaped by
Japan’s colonial relationships with other Asian nations, while some of them vacillated
between the identity as Manchukuo citizen and Japanese. By contrast, Chinese mainland
students who were born or raised in Manchukuo constructed or reinforced their Chinese
national identity after entering in Kendai.
As for Korean students who encountered identity dilemma, later influenced byProfessor Choe Nam-Seon or stimulated by crucial events, most Korean students whodisbelieved the principle of naisen ittai propagandized in Manchukuo struggled on theissue of nationalism and awakened to their Korean identity. Similarly, most students from
Taiwan started to identify themselves clearly as Taiwanese and of Han Chinese. The
national identity of students at Kendai shows a great diversity and indicates an exampleof the failure of colonial education.

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Session 3 Politicized Gender in Contemporary Japan(1) Different lenses? Navigating Gender in Contemporary Japanese Photography
Elizabeth NOBLE(D4, Graduate School of East Asian Studies, Freie Universitat Berlin)
Abstract
This dissertation explores the complex relationship between women and gendersystems in Japanese photography. In the 1990s, an apparent increase in the number ofyoung women photographers winning critical and popular acclaim excited the media andphotography critics. Dubbed onna no ko shashin (girly photography), these young women
were viewed as a photography movement which expressed an inherently female principle,
and as only able to access photography due to easier technology. Although in recent years
the label onna no ko shashin has drawn criticism, gender labels are still widely used acrossthe photography industry, from art photography exhibitions, to camera advertising,photography magazines, and by women-led photography clubs and women themselves.
Given this wide usage, and photography’s position as a visual culture and technologicalindustry deeply ingrained in daily-life, this dissertation answers the question: how dowomen navigate gender labels in contemporary Japanese photography? It explores how
gendered terms like onna no ko shashin form a system of communication which
reproduces and maintains particular gender norms and expectations of women present inJapanese society within photography. Through analysing interviews, camera andphotography magazines, exhibition guides and the experiences of women photographers,
it consequently argues that gender labels continue to shape how women photographers
are perceived and discussed. However, this dissertation shows that rather than passively
accepting gender labels, women actively engage with terms like onna no ko shashin,producing their own meanings and explorations of what it means to be a woman inJapanese photography today.

6（2） The Practices Enabled by the Gender Identity Categorization: Focusing on the Use of “X-jendā” in Japan
Kyoko TAKEUCHI（D2, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo）

Abstract
The aim of this study is to explore the practices of gender nonconformists enabled
by gender identity categories. In Japan, contrary to the global trend, gendernonconformists are generally known by the term “gender identity disorder,” which is a
medicalized category that brings a framework of mismatch of mind and body. However,various categories are used by gender-nonconforming people and there are some conflicts
and exclusions among people who identify with these categories.
Previous transgender studies assume categorically homogeneous groups, noting
and drawing attention to the norms associated with categories and the diversity of groupmembers. However, it is unclear how the categories themselves change and construe their
meaning, and in turn how they influence the people who identify with them. One method
to address this difficulty is to view categories as being formed in the process of interaction
through people’s experiences. Through narratives from magazines and interviews with
20 gender-nonconforming people, this study examines dynamic processes such as
categories bringing about norms and changing methods of self-understanding. The
category “X-jendā,” which refers neither to men nor women, was chosen as a case for thisstudy because its otherness demonstrates the situation surrounding various categories inJapan.
As a result, we clarified how “X-jendā” was utilized in the self-help group as atransgender subcategory to enable differentiation from the norms of existing categories
in the 1990s. In addition, this study shows how “X-jendā” is recently used to avoid thenegative meanings of medical categories and to position the self, while avoiding thecategorical pursuit of the self. These practices are accompanied by those of
institutionalizing the care for gender-nonconforming self and body under the same
category, which leads to conflicts among gender nonconformists.

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