Paper short abstract:

My paper offers a content analysis of the popular Japanese monthly Sapio, focusing on its portrayals of China and Korea. It is based on a macro analysis of the journal since its first publication in 1989 and uses qualitative and quantitative data to analyze and explain major shifts and stereotypes.

Paper long abstract:

In the context of Japan`s perceived "shift to the right" and the State Secrecy Law (2014), not only Japanese domestic politics but also Japanese media have become a focus of attention. Has there been a notable shift in contents and tone in mass media over the past years? While internet-based media (blogs, SNS, video channels etc) have recently been studied intensively, analyses of more traditional media that reach a larger audience within the Japanese electorate are rare. Against this background and located within the context of resurgent nationalism my paper examines the popular Japanese journal Sapio. Founded in 1989 as a "new conservative opinion journal" (Kura 2005) it belongs to the widest circulated monthlies in Japan today. It is typically available at every kombini and kiosk and has an average circulation that exceeds Asahi`s flagship weekly AERA.

My case study analyzes and compares the (usually derogatory) portrayals of China and Korea in different sections of the Sapio (e.g. cover stories, manga) and is based on a macro-data analysis of the journal from its first publication in 1989 until today. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, I will examine how and why portrayals of both countries differ. In addition, I seek to understand and explain the journal`s shift from a shūkan-style variety tabloid to a major player in the field of xenophobic and historical revisionist publications.

Paper short abstract:

Reconsidering the relationship between history, cinema, representation, and performance in Japanese films of the 60s and 70s.

Paper long abstract:

The new modes of representing history that emerged from the 1960s-70s Japanese avant-garde movement in film have rightly received increased attention in recent years. I wish to further these discussions by considering two interrelated ideas that developed at this time: a postmodern or relativist paradigm, and the new figuration of "performance" within the filmic medium, especially as it pertains to the depiction of history.

To frame the films as postmodern phenomena is to emphasise not only their political engagement and stylistic hybridity, but also the development of new ways of engaging with Japanese history: history figured as a technology of power, but also as an endlessly contestable terrain of relativism. Furthermore, while the general activism and political engagement in this period is often contrasted to a more apathetic acceptance of the status quo that arguably marks the present day in Japan, I suggest that a framework channeling disengagement and cynicism was already embedded in the new aesthetics of the 60s-70s, and to some extent may be considered a legacy of the avant garde.

The combination of cynical relativism and unrestrained borrowing from other genres led to a shift from a paradigm of representation to one of performance in Japanese film, concurrent with a shift from postwar humanism to historical specificity. Understanding "performance" as the enactment of a role or narrative that is by definition open to being enacted differently, we can say that "history-as-performance" appeared as a theme across a variety of different films, stemming from avant garde experimentations but seeping into the mainstream as well. In additon to stylistic influences, I intend to show how the avant garde promoted less a triumphal railing against the status quo than an image of futile protest and endless instability, or a revolution tainted with defeat and tragedy before it has even begun.

Paper short abstract:

This paper will look at the film Nihon no ichiban nagai hi, the first film to ever portray Emperor Hirohito and his involvement in the Second World War. An analysis of the film thus sheds light on how media, memory and politics intersect in contemporary Japanese society.

Paper long abstract:

Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945 has become iconic for the end of the Second World War in Japan. Hardly a fictional product set in this time will not at least make brief reference to it, while audio-visual productions will replay parts of the original tape, so that some memorable phrases are still well known.

However, in spite of the significance of the tape and the role of the Emperor during the Asia-Pacific War, the Emperor himself rarely features at all in films or television dramas set in the Second World War. In that respect, Harada Masato's film of 2015 stands out. Nihon no ichiban nagai hi tells the story of Japan's surrender, putting the Emperor at the heart of the narrative. It is set in the last days of the war and tells the story of the radio broadcast - and it is Hirohito who is constructed as the reluctant hero.

A deeper engagement with the film, in particular the part played by the Emperor, is thus revealing in many respects. Released in 2015, in time for the commemoration of the end of the Second World War, it thus seems to almost ask its audiences to forgive Hirohito. It also offers indication that the politics of memory might have shifted under Prime Minister Abe Shinzō. On the other hand, it was co-produced with TV Asahi, the media conglomerate having been lambasted by the LDP for 'misrepresenting' issues surrounding war memory. The film is thus an ideal example to show the controversy regarding the politics of media and memory in Japan, the various competing narratives and the struggle for agency of the representations.

This paper will thus highlight how media, memory and politics intersect in Japan - using Nihon no ichiban nagai hi as example. It will elucidate how the various narratives compete, and how this influences the plot - and reading of the film.