The present study is an inquiry into the current state of Japanese diplomatic service and its distinctive features. The author makes use of the latest Japanese-language primary and secondary sources in his analysis that are rarely employed in Russian Japanology. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan is the main government body responsible for Japan’s foreign affairs and its diplomatic service. The Ministry’s work is based on a number of laws mostly enacted in the 20th century, though all of them have gone through a series of amendments. Since these laws provide for only a necessary framework with little detail, their implementation lies in the hands of bureaucracy, which allows for a swift response to changes that may occur by adapting the structure of the Ministry and creating ad hoc chambers without amending the basic laws. This is of paramount importance given the turbulent state of global affairs and Japanese leaders’ bid to elevate Japan to a top-tier cohort in the international arena. To address the challenge, the Japanese leadership has made the Foreign Ministry more accountable and dependent on the ruling party and the prime minister, reflecting Prime Minister Abe’s long-standing desire to act with fewer constraints on the side of bureaucracy. At the same time, the Japanese diplomatic service has faced quite a few issues. Over the last decade, new embassies have been established, and their functions have been greatly bolstered, most prominently regarding the support for Japanese companies’ expansion overseas. However, the Ministry’s ranks fail to expand quickly enough to offset the amount of work to be done. The annual intake to the Ministry stands at about 80 ‘generalists’ and ‘specialists.’ The understaffed diplomatic service runs the risks of becoming overwhelmed and thus ineffective. While the leadership is aware of the problem, it is yet unclear how exactly the problem is to be tackled.
The purpose of the article is to create a scientific theory of lean production of goods and services (the theory of thrift), from
the perspective of Japanese culture which is applicable in higher education and agriculture. Currently, a new technological
way is being formed. One of the key concepts of this technological way will be the scientific theory of lean manufacturing,
which can be created based on the analysis of the practice of lean manufacturing of the Toyota automobile company. The
analysis of the directions of crisis management indicates the growing relevance of the introduction of lean manufacturing of
goods and services in all new areas of activity, in particular in higher education and agriculture as a part of Japanese culture.
However, fragmentary implementation of lean manufacturing ideas can be inefficient. This necessitates the development of
the concept and content of the general theory of lean production of goods and services in higher education and agriculture.
The article describes the functions, roles, and structural elements of the general theory of lean production of goods and
services, a conceptual approach to the introduction of lean production of goods and services in higher education and
agriculture as a part of Japanese culture is being formed.
Rai San’yō (Rai Noboru) (1780-1832) was born in 1780. His main works were written in kanbun, a language very difficult to read and understand, so the numerous translations that were made by historians and writers always leave room for controversy and interpretation. The main work of Rai San’yō is Nihon Gaishi . It became most popular during the revolutionary and turbulent times of the Bakumatsu-Meiji Restoration, when power passed from the Shoguns into the hands of the Imperial House. Subsequently, this particular work gained an important place in the ideological system of the Meiji state. In modern (post-war) Japan, this author and his work are in the category of those writers from the past whose historiography of Japan has little weight. Rai San’yō’s Nihon Gaishi was conceived as a book about the power of samurai houses in Japan. In his introductory article reigen , Rai San’yō, wrote that "from the very beginning, the goal of this work was to show how the rise and fall of the shogun houses took place." Therefore, the key term of the history of Rai San’yō was taiken , a term which is used to denote the supreme power. From the point of view of the morals of the samurai class, Sanyo especially demonstrates appreciation for Minamoto Yoritomo, who did not go beyond his status and claim the position of the Imperial House, and thus created a system in the country that was significantly different from the Chinese one. In this system, the Emperor was left with the function of granting ranks, which did not give him real political power. Finally, Nihon Gaishi deserves the attention of researchers at least in the three ways. First, it is valuable as the work of a historian who carried out historical research at a time when the main parameters of this profession were not yet formed. Second, it gives us a view of the struggles for power during the Shogunate period, the way it was perceived by a person who lived during this period. Third, it stands as a work which was influential during the Meiji Ishin period and the fall of the Shogunate.
This study aims to analyze and describe the comparison of cultural elements found in the Indonesian fairy tale "Timun Mas" and the Japanese fairy tale "Momotaro". This research is a comparative literature study. This study uses qualitative research methods with a comparative literature approach and Koentjaraningrat theory to compare the cultural elements contained in the two fairy tales. The data source is a collection of folklore books, including the Timun Mas fairy tale and the Japanese "Momotaro" http://kursus-jepang-evergreen.com/index.php/cerita-dongeng-jepang/63-momotaro The study found differences and similarities in the cultural elements of the Timun Mas fairy tale and the Momotaro fairy tale. Of the seven elements of culture, five similarities were found, namely the elements of the religious system and religious ceremonies, social systems and organizations, knowledge systems, livelihood systems, and technology and equipment systems. In comparison, the difference lies in the elements of language and art.
This study aims to determine the implementation of Classroom Action Research (CAR) conducted by Japanese language teachers in Indonesia at this time. A qualitative descriptive research method was used in this study to describe the questionnaire result from 193 participants in the first session of webinar, and 203 participants in the second session. Based on the results of the questionnaire, it was found that most of the participants had never done CAR at all or had never done CAR in a structured manner. Participants who have done CAR mostly use it for promotion and only a small number use it for teaching development. This research cannot represent the overall field conditions but is expected to provide an overview of the current CAR implementation by Japanese language teachers in Indonesia, and the development of teaching materials that can be developed through routine CAR.
This research was based on one of the most popular Japanese cultural value called Bushido, especially chuugi value in Sengoku Musou animated film by Kojin Ochi. The purposes of this research were: 1) Describing the implementation of chuugi value in bushido, 2) Describing the act of chuugi, and 3) Describing the act that deviate from chuugi. The method used in this research was a qualitative research method. The results of this study showed that there were 20 acts of chuugi and 5 acts that deviate from chuugi in Sengoku Musou animated film. Moreover, this research indicated that the act of chuugi can be motivated by several factors such as the aspect of obedience with orders, the desire to stay together, and the will to sacrifice everything for their master. On the other hand, the deviation of chuugi were occurred because of economic factor, depression factor, psychopathic factor, seeking a target for disappointment factor, and opposing social bonding factor
Hitori sumo o toru: 301 Expresii idiomatice japoneze is the most recent volume authored by Rodica Frențiu, a comparative study between Japanese and Romanian idioms. This publication is a celebration of an academic career of more than two decades and marks the 20th anniversary of the Japanese Language and Literature major at the Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca.
Japanese has different characteristics from other foreign languages including having kana letters, kanji and romaji. The kana letters include hiraganaand katakana. The katakanaletters are used to write loan word from foreign languages into Japanese. The names from outside Japan are also written using katakana. This study discusses about the writing of names of cities in Java island into Japanese katakanawhich contained in Japanese version of Google Maps. The aims of this study are to know how google.map.jp write the names of cities in Java island using Japanese katakanaand what pattern did they use to write those city’s names. The analysis conducted by using descriptive method. The results of this study revealed that in Japanese version of Google Map, there are 62 city names written in katakana, while the rest are written in romaji. There are eight patterns found in writing the name of the cities using katakana. Those are including writing katakanabased on Hepburnstyle using the KVKV pattern, adding vowels to each closed syllable sound, writing “r” for the sound of “l”, and syllable “ci” written as “chi (チ)” or “shi (シ)”.
In the extant literature in Japan, the description of criminal cases involving foreigners goes back to around the fifth century; however, detailed depictions of language problems requiring legal interpreters started to appear in the Edo period (1603–1868). The cases of an Italian missionary who entered Japan illegally in 1709 and the robbery of Ainu graves by British consular officers in 1865 presented communication difficulties between the interrogator and accused in criminal procedures. This is common even today. This paper introduces the history of legal interpreting with reference to high profile cases, and reviews changes in communication issues in criminal proceedings involving non-Japanese speaking defendants in modern Japan. It also presents prospects regarding the shift in attitude among legal practitioners toward legal interpreting against the backdrop of recent judicial reforms including the introduction of a lay judge system and visualisation of the investigation process.
Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar, Comparative law. International uniform law
Kazuto Kurohara, Yasuyuki Michi, Akane Yukimori
et al.
Abstract Background A glomus tumor is a rare neoplasm usually found in the dermis or subcutaneous tissue of the extremities. It is rare for the glomus tumor to occur on the head and face. Only 26 glomus tumors of the oral region and affected bone have been reported in the English-language literature (Table 1). We report a case of a glomus tumor at the mandible. As a new point, the glomus tumor resorbed a bone and teeth roots when the tumor progressed into the mandible. Case presentation The patient was a 44-year-old Japanese man who complained swelling of the right mandible. Radiographic examination showed a multilocular radiolucency area in the left mandible. Radiographic findings on our case resembled those of a common benign tumor. The lesion occupied to the premolar and molar area and revealed that the tumor resorbed the roots of the teeth. The lesion was removed surgically with the buccal cortical bone and buccal mucosa in contact with the mass of the tumor. The mass fully excised intraorally under general anesthesia, and the inferior alveolar nerve in contact with the mass was preserved. The specimen was pathologically diagnosed as a glomus tumor. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for vimentin, muscle-specific actin/HHF35, and calponin. A hairline-shaped area of positive staining for type IV collagen surrounding the tumor cells was also observed. In contrast, staining for alpha-SMA, cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), cytokeratin (CAM5.2), CK19, CD31, CD34, CD68, p63, S-100, Factor VIII, and desmin was all negative. The Ki-67 labeling index was almost 1%. A recurrent tumor was again detected in the site below the primary tumor at an 8-year follow-up, and it was surgically removed. The patient has had no symptoms of recurrence in 2 years after the second operation. Conclusion The glomus tumor resorbed a bone and teeth roots when the tumor progressed into the mandible. The immunohistochemical features of the tumor were consistent with those described in previous reports. It is important to completely remove the Glomus tumor.
The present article introduces and evaluates the textbook “Japanese through Newspaper Articles” written by Osamu and Nobuko Mizutani which is commonly taught in “Journalistic Japanese” classes both in and outside Japan. This article reviews the book from two different points of view: first, the linguistic and pedagogical functions of the book are evaluated, and its achievements as a language textbook are criticized. Second, the cultural aspects of the book are evaluated and the image it tries to portray from Japanese society is analyzed. In order to achieve these goals, 60 real journal articles are randomly selected from Japanese press and their content is compared to that of the news articles in the book by using polarity tags.
Indo-Iranian languages and literature, General Works
Indonesia is a country that has a diverse culture, ethnicity, language, and rich tourism potentials. However, many people abroad who do not know about the diversity of Indonesian culture. The younger generations were much less aware of even less have sufficient of the richness of the culture of Indonesia. The knowledge about Indonesian culture of Japanese Language Education students Semarang State University, is still inadequate, so they can not be explained to the Japanese society apropiately, not good enough. Therefore students need to be given education by developing blog that contains Indonesian culture which is written in Japanese. The purpose of this study was developing a blog that can be a means of learning the culture. The method used is the Research and Development (R & D), with a step preliminary studies, product development, and product validation testing. Data was collected by questionnaire. Japanese expert validation results towards this blog are considered quite good as a means of studying Indonesian culture with an average score of 2.7 on the aspects of the format, quality, clarity, and clarity of language.
This article employs Koike Mariko’s novel Koi [1995] as a case study to explore the functions of urban space in contemporary Japanese fiction. It examines the way that urban space works as an axis upon which the characters in Koi interact, and analyses how those interactions function in direct proportion to the nature of the urban space through which they move. This article also analyses the plot paradigm of ‘sexual deviance/transgression during periods of social turbulence’, and identifies the interrelations between sexuality and socio-political factors. The representation of urban space in Koi, together with the socio-political backdrop of the 1970s student movements, is shown to complement the construction and development of the characters’ sexualities, thereby enriching the narrative and supporting Ai Maeda’s claim of urban space’s impact on literature.
This paper explores a history of book distribution in Japanese overseas territories before World War II, focusing on booksellers that sold books and magazines written in the Japanese language and the distribution system that circulated books and magazines between Japan and Korea. I outlined the history of book distribution in modern Japan and pointed out that Japanese bookstores in Korea essentially followed a similar historical pattern. In this paper, I especially noted upon the manner in which business was conducted between major booksellers in Korea and the Japanese distributors. I also examined in detail attempts to establish a distribution agency called Sen-pai (鮮配) in Korea. Next, I wrote a brief history of Japanese booksellers and their partner associations in Korea. I also discussed the increase in the number of booksellers in Korean peninsula from the 1900s to 1940s. Furthermore, I highlighted the situation before the establishment of the association of Japanese booksellers in Korea with particular focus on Nikkan-shobo (日韓書房). I also summarized the relationship between the expansion of the distribution system of government approved textbooks and development of leading local booksellers in Japan and its colonies. In addition, I outlined the history of Korean association of booksellers from their establishment to the end of World War II. In conclusion, I discussed the role of bookstores in Japanese overseas territories as the contact zone between two nations and ethnic groups.
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Computer-based teaching (CBT) is a well-known educational device, but it has never been applied systematically to the teaching of a complex, rare, genetic disease, such as Hunter disease (MPS II).</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To develop interactive teaching software functioning as a virtual clinic for the management of MPS II.</p> <p>Implementation and Results</p> <p>The <it>Hunter disease eClinic</it>, a self-training, user-friendly educational software program, available at the Lysosomal Storage Research Group (<url>http://www.lysosomalstorageresearch.ca</url>), was developed using the Adobe Flash multimedia platform. It was designed to function both to provide a realistic, interactive virtual clinic and instantaneous access to supporting literature on Hunter disease. The <it>Hunter disease eClinic </it>consists of an <it>eBook </it>and an <it>eClinic</it>. The <it>eClinic </it>is the interactive virtual clinic component of the software. Within an environment resembling a real clinic, the trainee is instructed to perform a medical history, to examine the patient, and to order appropriate investigation. The program provides clinical data derived from the management of actual patients with Hunter disease. The <it>eBook </it>provides instantaneous, electronic access to a vast collection of reference information to provide detailed background clinical and basic science, including relevant biochemistry, physiology, and genetics. In the <it>eClinic</it>, the trainee is presented with quizzes designed to provide immediate feedback on both trainee effectiveness and efficiency. User feedback on the merits of the program was collected at several seminars and formal clinical rounds at several medical centres, primarily in Canada. In addition, online usage statistics were documented for a 2-year period. Feedback was consistently positive and confirmed the practical benefit of the program. The online English-language version is accessed daily by users from all over the world; a Japanese translation of the program is also available.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Hunter disease <it>eClinic </it>employs a CBT model providing the trainee with realistic clinical problems, coupled with comprehensive basic and clinical reference information by instantaneous access to an electronic textbook, the <it>eBook</it>. The program was rated highly by attendees at national and international presentations. It provides a potential model for use as an educational approach to other rare genetic diseases.</p>
Between the Meiji period (1868-1912) and the end of the Pacific War in 1945, the Japanese state systematically created and propagated a nationalistic ideology in order to foster a coherent, unified identity among the newly nationalised population and mobilise support for its agenda. This ideology was represented by a series of discursive symbols, of which I examine the particular image of the samurai. Through the deliberate glorification and imbuement of this image with certain moral and behavioural values including the ideals of loyalty, obedience and self-sacrifice, the state elite deployed the samurai symbol to promote its ideology. This symbol was widely disseminated via official indoctrination efforts, but as I will demonstrate, this did not necessarily translate into a profound impact on the popular mindset. Drawing on a range of sources, I investigate the construction, projection and significance of the samurai image in the particular context of pre-war and wartime Japan, and in so doing shed some light on the function of symbols as tools of ideology.