Monday Online Presentation Session 1

Japanese Studies

Session Chair: Marina Sholkova

11:35-12:00

70778

| The Implications of “Harimao” in the History of Modern Japan-Asia Relations

Norihito Mizuno, Akita International University, Japan

"Harimao" is the Japanese proper noun derived from the Malay word "Harimau malaya", meaning "Malayan Tiger (or Tiger of Malay)" and refers to the two specific Japanese. One is the Japanese Muslim who grew up in Terengguanu. His name is Tani Yutaka (1911-1942) who led a band of robbers of thousand of Malay youths throughout the 1930s and on the even of the Second World War in Asia. He also started to be engaged in anti-British activities as an agent of the Japanese military on the eve of the outbreak of the war but died of malaria shortly after the fall of Singapore. The other was the protagonist of a Japanese live-action superhero television series in the very early 1960, modeled on the Tani. The Harimao suggest two implications. First, there was the Japanese public sentiment accumulated prior to the outbreak of the war, perhaps as far back as the 1920s, as the background urging the military t use the young overseas Japanese as a propaganda tool to justify the war. Second, the other Harimao on TV indicated that the wartime Japanese view of the war was inherited or shared as part of the postwar Japanese memories or perceptions of the wartime experience, which has certain implications for understanding the "history dispute" still casting a shadow over Japan's relations with its neighbors.

12:00-12:25

70842 | Discourses on New Medieval Era in the Postwar Japan

Noriaki Hoshino, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

This paper traces the discussion of the "New Medieval Era" in postwar Japanese intellectual discourses and examines the reason why such a subject kept attracting some Japanese intellectuals. During the past few decades, there emerged the disocurses on the idea of "New Medieval Era" involving Japanese writers, political scientists, and philosophers. Although the intellectual backgrounds of the authors of these discourses are different, they shared the same concern about the limit of existing political and international regime and possible transition to new order. The most well-known and impactful work was Japanese political scientist Tanaka Akihiko's "The New Middle Ages (Atarashi Chusei)" published in 1996, but other intellectuals such as Yamaguchi Izumi and Okubo Kazushi also wrote about this idea in the 1990s and 2000s and they addressed the question of modernity with this idea. What is uncanny about this trend is that the idea of "New Medieval Era" was once claimed by a Kyoto School philosopher who engaged in the discussion of "Overcoming Modernity." By referring to such a historical context of this idea, my paper examines the implication of this discussion.

12:25-12:50

70733

| Honoring the Legacy of a Young Life: Okinawan Women’s Groups’ Response to the 1995 Tragedy

Yuansheng

Li, Osaka University, Japan

On September 4th, 1995, three US Marines abducted and brutally raped a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa, Japan. In response to this heinous crime and other atrocities committed by US troops in Japan, Okinawan women's groups and other organizations launched a series of protests to resist the US military bases in Okinawa, calling for human rights and the reduction of US military presence in the region. This opposition movement spread to the Japanese mainland and had a significant impact on US-Japan relations in the post-Cold War era. This study adopts a historical research approach, drawing on local newspaper articles, official documents from Okinawa Prefecture, materials from the National Diet Library, and the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. In addition, interviews were conducted with the chairman and members of women's groups in Okinawa to investigate the role of these groups in the anti-US military movements that emerged after the 1995 rape incident. The findings reveal that women's groups played a crucial role in these protests, bringing greater attention to the human rights of Okinawan women and stimulating diverse opposition activities in Okinawa. In conclusion, the study argues that women's groups in Okinawa played a pivotal role in the anti-US military movements that emerged after the 1995 rape incident. While the US-Japan alliance was ultimately strengthened, the voices of Okinawan women's groups contributed to raising awareness about the human rights of Okinawan women and sparked a more diverse range of opposition activities in the region.

12:50-13:15

70649 | Japan’s Foreign Policy in the Settlement of Territorial Disputes

Marina

Sholkova, Diplomatic Academy, Russia

Territorial disputes are a key element of Japanese security, directly affecting Tokyo's relations with all three of its closest neighbors: China, Russia and South Korea. Because of its complex history of repeated invasions as well as militaristic expansion, Japan has accumulated a tangled legacy of conflicts and disputes with its neighbors over four contiguous territories, namely Senkaku, Dokdo, the Kuril Islands and Okinatorishima Atoll, claiming or disputing sovereignty over them. The first three of the four disputes in which Japan is involved, are a direct result of Japan's participation in World War II and the lack of clear wording in the resulting treaties on ownership of a particular territory. The fourth dispute, over Okinatori Atoll, is special because it relates to a modern interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The article presents Tokyo's position based on Japanese documents and the positions of Beijing, Seoul and Moscow, mainly based on the Cairo and Postdam declarations and the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The author illustrated his arguments with maps. Physiographic and historical approaches were used during the analysis. The author's examination of these disputes provides a clear picture of how the changing security environment has affected the position of Japan and its neighbors over time. During the analysis the author concludes that Japan has successfully applied the principle of “ryodogaiko” – territorial diplomacy to achieve progress in the disputes over Senkaku and Okinatorishima islands, but has not yet had proper results about Dokdo and the Kuril Islands.