Beyond Japan with Oliver Moxham

Oliver is joined by Nick Kapur, Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, to discuss failed revolutions, drawing comparisons between the 1960 ANPO riots of Japan over US-Japan relations with the Capitol Hill Riot we saw on 6 January 2021. Although more than 60 years apart and in totally different contexts, Nick argues that there are several factors worthy of comparison, such as the role of polarising heads of state, the nationwide shocked response to televised political violence and how the media, state and people respond to these movements which never met their goals.

Nick's research profile

You can order Nick's book, Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo, here

Image credits:

[L] 1960 Protests against the United States-Japan Security Treaty by Asahi Shimbun Company

[R] Proud Boy Demonstrator, May Day 2017 by AdamCohn

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Daisuke Tsuchiya, Partner at the Brunswick Group and head of Global Japan Practice, to discuss the Japanese business philosophy of ‘Sanpō Yoshi’, or the ‘good for three parties’. Daisuke argues that this notion of stakeholder capitalism, where a successful business must also benefit others, is an important alternative to the profit-oriented Western model of capitalism, especially in a world where nations are increasingly facing top-heavy demographics.

Daisuke's Brunswick Profile

Articles:

Familiar Face of Good: Sanpo Yoshi

Capitalism: A coming of age story

Abenomics: The Sequel

Image credits:

[L] 江戶風華-五大浮世絵師展 by 迷惘的人生

[R] Male mechanical engineer with sustainable agricultural robot in field by This is Engineering image library

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Professor Hugo Dobson, Professor of Japan's International Relations, to discuss the cancelled 46th G7 summit. We will explore the summit’s controversies and changes, reflecting the seismic political changes seen within G7 nations over 2020. We also discuss what changes this predicts for the G7 in 2021, the first to be held in post-Brexit Britain.

Hugo's research profile and Twitter.

Watch Hugo's interviews at the G20 Argentina 2018, G7 Canada 2018 and G20 China 2016.

Read up on Hugo's articles:

Reviving multilateralism through multi-stakeholder cooperation

Afterlives of Post-War Japanese Prime Ministers

Is Japan Really Back? The “Abe Doctrine” and Global Governance

Teaching Global Citizenship (paywall)

Image credits:

[L] G7 Summit flags by UK Prime Minister

[R] President Trump's Trip to the G7 Summit by The White House

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dr Paulina Kolata to discuss lived religion in rural Japan, exploring the active role Buddhism and its institutions play in day-to-day life in such issues as rural depopulation. Paulina Kolata obtained her PhD in 2019 from The University of Manchester. She is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University and an Early Career Research Fellow at The University of Manchester. Her doctoral work investigated the religious, economic, and social impact of depopulation and demographic ageing in Buddhist temple communities in regional Japan. Currently she is developing a book manuscript based on her doctoral research.

Paulina's research profile

You can read Paulina's chapter on rural temples and heritage through Routledge here.

Image credits:

All photographs taken by Dr Paulina Kolata.

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

明けましておめでとうございますand welcome back to Beyond Japan! For our first episode of 2021, Oliver is joined by Dr Jamie Coates, anthropologist and lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield, to look at migrant communities in Tokyo and Japan at large, exploring how the liminal space of Ikebukuro has fostered a multinational district and understanding how attitudes towards Japan have changed amongst its denizens.

Jamie's research profile

Image credits:

[L] Migrant Community of Ikebukuro by Dr Jamie Coates

[R] IMG_9310 池袋 by Toomore

Copyright © 2021 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2021 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

For our final episode of 2020, Oliver is joined by Dr Paula Curtis, historian of premodern Japan at Yale University, for a topical discussion on Digital Japanese Studies, considering how moving the field online through incorporating digital methods, tools and resources might alter its future direction. We consider the benefits and challenges of digitising Japanese Studies  from compiling open-access databases to online networking.

Paula's research profile

Paula's website

Image Credits:

[L] Digitising newspapers at the University Library Svetozar Markovic by europeananewspapers

[R] Digital Archives of From Blanks to Sensitivity by mhrs.jp

Copyright © 2020 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2020 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Beyond Japan will be taking a break over Christmas, resuming on the 14th of January 2021. We will be joined then by Dr Jamie Coates, anthropologist and Lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield, to look at migrant communities in Tokyo and Japan at large, challenging the homogenous image of a nation whose future depends on their currently overlooked migrant population. Until then, メリクリ and よいお年を！

Copyright © 2020 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2020 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dr Marta Fanasca, researcher of Japanese and Gender Studies at the University of Manchester, to discuss gender in Japan through Dansō crossdressing escort services. We discuss issues of applying universal understandings of gender and LGBTQ+ terminology in a national context, challenge the Euro-American term of ‘escort’ and explore how supposedly conservative Japan reconciles with its history of gender fluidity.

Marta's research profile

Image credits:

[L] 桜井 涼夜 (@ryoya0127) Twitter

[R] 篠原雪斗@男装 ウィズプラス

Copyright © 2020 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2020 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Eric Brunner, Professor of Social and Biological Epidemiology of University College London, to discuss ‘Health & Inequality in Post-Growth Japan’, examining the relationship between health and wealth and what we can learn from the high standard of health equality in Japan where the economy hasn’t seen major growth in 20 years.

We apologise once more for the poor audio quality on my part caused by unresolved technical difficulties. These have now been amended for future episodes.

Eric's research profile.

For Eric's co-authored book: Health in Japan: Social Epidemiology of Japan since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

Image credits:

[L] Doctor. by MIKI Yoshihito. (#mikiyoshihito)

[R] A visit to the Eye Doctor Netsuke by Curious Expeditions

Copyright © 2020 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2020 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.

Oliver is joined by Dr Ian Rapley, history lecturer at Cardiff University, exploring the transnational invented language of Esperanto, its legacy in Japan and the alternative historical perspective it provides. We apologise once more for the poor audio quality caused by unresolved  technical difficulties, but we can happily confirm they have been solved  for next week’s recording.

Ian's research profile is available here.

Image credits:

[L] Capa do manual de Esperanto - 1930s by Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa (Portugal)

[R] 30-8v by Roland ROTSAERT

Copyright © 2020 Oliver Moxham, ℗ 2020 Oliver Moxham. May be freely distributed in a classroom setting.