Paper short abstract:

This presentation will examine the characteristics of the Japanese image of space in conjunction with representations of space in television programs from the 1960s to the early 1990s.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation will examine the characteristics of the Japanese image of space in conjunction with representations of space in television programs from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Television has offered the Japanese many programs in the form news, documentaries, and variety shows on the topics of space, the space race, space flights (Apollo project, space shuttles), and astronauts. The most historic event was the live broadcast of Apollo 11's moon landing in August 20, 1969. These programs constructed and changed Japanese viewers' image of space. This presentation will range from the 1960s, when the space race between the USA and Soviet Union accelerated, to 1992, when the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Applying the methods of film studies, this presentation analyzes these television programs with the aim of historicizing one aspect of the Japanese imagination of space.