Paper short abstract:

Through the examination of the primary data extracted from media sources, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of contemporary Japanese national identity from the point of view of media discourse analysis.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines Japanese words written using katakana in the contemporary Japanese media. In modern Japanese, katakana is normally used for Western loanwords or mimetics. However, it is observed that today some Japanese words and names are sometimes written in katakana. They include those associated with past tragedies such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, or Fukushima. However, there are also those associated with internationally renowned Japanese culture such as Kitano, Murakami, samurai, omotenashi (hospitality) etc. In both cases, the use of katakana for these words reflects the awareness of the Japanese that they are known to the world outside of Japan. Such words are treated as if they were 'reimported' to Japan following their acceptance as loanwords abroad. It also involves a change in perception on certain historical events or cultural products from something seen and discussed within Japan to something that is exposed to external eyes. In other words, when the script type is shifted to katakana, the gaze looking at Japan from within is replaced by a gaze looking at Japan from without. This shift is important in understanding the current dynamics of Japanese identity, given that identity is the combination of "our understanding and other people's understanding of who we are", as discussed by Anthony Cohen and others. With this observation in mind, the paper will analyse recurrent wordings in the news and social media, such as the co-occurrence of a katakana Japanese word and the term sekai (world) or hasshin (transmitting). The objective of this study is to reveal: 1) the types and characteristics of Japanese words and names written in katakana, 2) how those specific words are associated with Japanese national consciousness and 3) images of Japanese identity suggested by the use of katakana. It will be suggested that the katakana Japanese words represent images that the Japanese project themselves onto the eyes of the external world. Through the examination of the primary data extracted from media sources, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of contemporary Japanese national identity from the point of view of media discourse analysis.