Japanese Journal of Sociology最新文献

{"title":"Working from home during the COVID-19 state of emergency in Japan","authors":"Tomohiro Takami,&nbsp;Yuzo Yamamoto","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12166","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12166","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the impact of working from home on how the working hours of full-time employees varied by task characteristics during the first COVID-19 state of emergency in Japan. One of the employment issues during the COVID-19 pandemic was which type of job maintained working hours despite the spread of infection. Research in various countries argued that working from home effectively maintained normal business operations without interruption. However, Japan's situation regarding working from home and maintaining working hours during the pandemic differed. Under the first state of emergency, the government strongly promoted work-from-home measures for office workers, regardless of the tasks they were responsible for at their workplaces. In cases where a task was incompatible with working remotely, work stagnated or ceased entirely, which was reflected in the hours worked. This study considered shortened work hours by not maintaining full-time work hours during the emergency period as an indicator of the dysfunctional state of business operations. The results demonstrated that work-from-home arrangements resulted in shortened work hours if the tasks of workers were incompatible with the scheme. We further revealed a tendency in which work-from-home arrangements were discontinued after the emergency period when it involved shortened work hours during the emergency period. The results suggested that work-from-home settings are not sustainable beyond emergency situations unless business operations function as indicated by maintaining full-time work hours.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"117-135"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140439369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mentoring and creativity: Resources for working women to thrive in a challenging workplace after COVID-19","authors":"Keiko Sakakibara","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijjs.12160","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study investigated the association between mentoring and creativity among male and female office workers. A web survey was administered to individuals aged 20–59 years using the survey monitors of an internet company; 2106 valid responses (1048 men and 1058 women) were analyzed to examine the association between mentoring and creativity. A three-way analysis of covariance was conducted using mentoring, gender, and managerial status as the independent variables, which were adjusted for occupation. The analysis of the main effects showed that mentored individuals had higher creativity than nonmentored individuals, regardless of gender or managerial status. In addition, managers had significantly higher creativity than nonmanagers. There was no significant difference in creativity between men and women. The interaction effect of gender and managerial status was significant, and the analysis of the simple main effects indicated that male nonmanagers had higher creativity than female nonmanagers, whereas no significant gender difference was found between male and female managers. The difference in the creativity score between mentored and nonmentored female managers was 0.467, whereas the difference between mentored and nonmentored male managers was 0.357; this suggests that mentoring is critical, particularly for female managers. The primary focus of mentoring research has been the role of mentoring in promoting career-related behaviors and attitudes. This study illustrates the potential to enhance creativity, which is an asset for working women in managing challenges after COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"33 1","pages":"7-26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijjs.12160","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140123635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gender mainstreaming in the Japan Self-Defense Forces","authors":"Hitoshi Kawano","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijjs.12162","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The issue of “gender integration” within the military organization has long been a major research topic in military sociology. In the last two decades, however, specific topics such as “gender mainstreaming,” “diversity management,” and “diversity and inclusion” have pervaded sociological studies on military organizations. In this article, I examine the current state of gender integration in the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), focusing on efforts to promote gender mainstreaming. In particular, following the National Action Plan to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was formulated in 2015, the Ministry of Defense issued the JSDF Female Personnel Empowerment Initiative in 2017, in which previous challenges for career development of female SDF personnel were to be removed by making virtually all job categories available for women including combat pilot, missile boat crew, and tank driver. While the number and ratio of female personnel have increased and their prospects of career development have substantially improved in the last few years, work–life conflict and sexual/power harassment remain to be challenging issues for the retention of female personnel. Due to the deep-rooted male-dominant organizational culture of the military organization, further organizational challenges remain for JSDF to shift its overarching human resource management paradigm from “Diversity 1.0” to “Diversity 2.0,” with the strong commitment of top leaders to innovate organizational culture.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"33 1","pages":"42-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140123775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Has globalization of the Japanese economy contributed to satisfying career-building for women? The case of Japanese female migrants to East Asia","authors":"Chie Sakai","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijjs.12164","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper analyzes the shift in career strategies among Japanese women due to the globalization of Japan's economy since the 1980s. It highlights how economic changes led to a gender-based division of labor, propelling women to seek opportunities abroad. The research draws on interviews with 81 women who moved to financial centers in East Asia, mainly in Hong Kong and Shanghai, examining their experiences in the workforce, the impact of human resource agencies in their migration, and the challenges and opportunities they encountered. The study reveals a complex landscape where Japanese women navigate gendered expectations and discrimination both in Japan and abroad in pursuit of career advancement. The conclusion emphasizes three points. First, women found opportunities abroad to do what they wanted, even if it was not what they initially expected before leaving Japan. Second, although supportive and subordinate to male managers, their work was indispensable to the management of Japanese companies abroad. Their contribution has long been underestimated but needs to be considered. Third, the experience abroad gave them direct interaction with various clients and colleagues and a view of rapid societal change in Hong Kong and China, contributing to choosing their diverse career trajectories and life plans.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"33 1","pages":"58-75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140123769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Roles of support NGOs for migration between the Philippines and Japan: Focusing on the experiences of migrant women and Japanese–Filipino Children","authors":"Chiho Ogaya,&nbsp;Sera Ono,&nbsp;Megumi Hara","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12159","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12159","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Over the last 3 decades, the emergence of Japanese–Filipino children, born from the presence of female entertainers holding the “entertainer” residency status, has profoundly shaped the dynamic movement of individuals between Japan and the Philippines. These distinctive migration patterns have been regarded as noteworthy “social issues” within both Japanese and Philippine contexts. This study aims to illuminate the multifaceted roles assumed by support organizations in addressing this phenomenon. This article draws from collaborative research conducted with three prominent organizations primarily located in the Philippines, dedicated to providing assistance and empowerment to Japanese–Filipino children and their mothers. This paper delves into the diverse functions that support organizations undertake within the context of migration between these two countries. In summary, this paper discerns several key roles that support organizations have undertaken in the migration between Japan and the Philippines. First, these NGOs contribute to shaping the discourse surrounding the challenges associated with entertainers and Japanese–Filipino children, thus influencing perceptions of these issues. Second, these support organizations serve as transformative spaces for former entertainer women returning to their home countries, aiding them and their offspring in undergoing identity shifts and personal growth. Finally, while these organizations strive to combat human trafficking and exploitative migration, unintended consequences have led to the direct and/or indirect mediation of the younger generation's movement to Japan. In essence, this research underscores the intricate roles that support organizations play in mediating the intricate web of migration dynamics between Japan and the Philippines.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"95-116"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139602229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The distinctive incorporation of sociological neoinstitutionalism into Japanese sociology and its theoretical insights for the discipline","authors":"Ralph I. Hosoki","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12156","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12156","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although sociological neoinstitutionalist thought has made indelible imprints across the social sciences in Japan, its incorporation into Japanese sociology at large has been relatively limited, and its broader applications to analyses of global social phenomena using World Society Theory are even less prominent. To empirically gauge the emergence, growth, content evolution, and production/consumption patterns of this scholarship, sociological neoinstitutionalist works published across the 1977–2021 period by authors affiliated with Japanese institutions were manually coded for content, marquee publications/authors cited, primary author's final degree discipline, and publication's outlet field. The article briefly introduces core ideas in sociological neoinstitutionalism and World Society Theory before delving into the survey details and results, an explanation for the literature's distinctive pattern of incorporation into Japanese sociology, and concluding thoughts on its theoretical implications for Japanese sociology and beyond. The study finds that this scholarship has been produced and consumed primarily throughout—in declining order—business-related fields, education, and sociology. As its incorporation diversified in the mid-1990s, bifurcation occurred between a growing share of “middle-of-the-road” sociological neoinstitutionalist scholarship that embraced the range of ideas that broke from the “old” institutionalisms, and a small and declining share that pushed the phenomenological and social constructionist thrust of the theory to its limits and/or acknowledged the perspective's global-comparative applicability. These patterns seem to track the concomitant theoretical, substantive, and methodological inclinations within the discipline in Japan. Sociological neoinstitutionalist thought holds promise for a range of research areas interested in exploring domestic and global determinants of social change.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"206-223"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijjs.12156","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139623295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toyota City in transition: A motor town facing globalization and social changes. By Nibe Nobuhiko, Mari Nakamura, Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Eds.), Singapore: Springer. 2022. pp. 240. US$ 139.99 (hardback). ISBN: 978-981-16-9831-6","authors":"Ashita Matsumiya","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12157","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12157","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;“Toyota” is an iconic figure in Japanese studies that has attracted worldwide attention from various academic perspectives. Toyota Motor Corporation has been of central interest in the fields of economics, management, and labor, not only in Japan but also in the study of Japan abroad. These studies have focused on management perspectives on “Toyotism,” such as Toyota Production System (TPS) and Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), as well as sociological studies on labor-management relations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlike these, this book focuses on the community issues in Toyota City as an advanced industrial city. Why does this book focus on Toyota City? This is because of its economic importance and unique urban form brought about by being the center of the global automobile industry. However, the significance of this study lies not only in these characteristics of Toyota City but also in its theoretical perspective and the richness of its sociological analysis, both in terms of quantity and quality. An important sociological contribution of this study is its analysis based on two large-scale surveys of Toyota City residents conducted in 2009 and 2015, as well as an extensive field survey by the research group. To confirm this, I provide an overview of the contents of this book, which is divided into three parts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Part 1 discusses a survey of the entire Toyota City area. In Chapter 1, the authors present their theoretical framework, which incorporates network theory into the Weberian group theory of closure and exclusion, which is effective in capturing the relationship between Toyota Motor Corporation and local communities in the “maturity stage,” as opposed to the Marxian framework, which is based on the concepts of “exploitation” and “domination.” In addition, this theoretical framework differs from the “network analysis” and “social capital theory” that have become mainstream in recent years. Based on this theoretical foundation, to clearly grasp the spatial positioning of Toyota City, the authors classify the city along two analytical axes, the degree of industrial development and that of urbanization within the region, and identify the characteristics of a relatively rich neighborhood relationship between work and residential areas and a low dynamic density. The 2009 survey of residents based on this perspective revealed that residents of Toyota City, who had been considered disengaged from the local community from the Marxian perspective of “exploitation,” were found to be active participants in community-building activities. In Part 1, the persistence and transformation process of Toyota City's characteristics is revealed by comparing the results of this 2009 survey with those of the 2015 survey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on this theoretical framework, demographic and sociological indicators in Chapter 2 reveal a trend of declining community-building activities in Toyota City, particularly a significant decline in women's participation. Chapter 3 documents","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"231-234"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijjs.12157","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138963008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effectiveness of vocational secondary education on entry-level job outcomes in Japan: Safety net for low-educated youth in a vocationally weak educational system","authors":"Katsunori Ogawa","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12154","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12154","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The aim of this paper is to analyze the sociodemographic compositions and labor market entry of low-educated youth in Japan. The paper specifically focuses on whether vocational education provides a safety net for labor market insecurities during an era of educational expansion. While past literature has shown that vocational education contributes to occupationally specific skills and a smooth transition from school to work, less is known about its effectiveness when low-educated youth become a minority group. The case of Japan provides a unique perspective, given its historically low youth unemployment rate and strong connections between schools and employers, despite its academically oriented high school education system. The 2015 Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey in Japan is used to evaluate trends in vocational education and their impact on employment. The key variables under examination are entry-level job outcomes. The results show that, over the past decades, high school graduates in Japan have become a more disadvantaged group than university graduates. Among high school graduates, those from general schools tend to have more advantageous sociodemographic backgrounds than their counterparts from vocational schools. Despite the limitations, vocational high school graduates have been better rewarded in the transition to work throughout recent decades. Furthermore, the labor market premium for vocational school graduates remains stable even after accounting for the influence of school networks. Sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of these effects. The implications of the findings are discussed within the context of the skill formation regime in Japan.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"186-205"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijjs.12154","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135207655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Female genital mutilation/cutting as a ground for asylum in France","authors":"Yuko Sonobe","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12153","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12153","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines how France's national asylum legislation has changed politically and ideologically from following a gender-blind policy to recognizing gender-based violence as a ground for asylum. Among European countries, France receives the largest number of female asylum seekers (FAS) from sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is practiced. Although France was one of the first countries to recognize FGM/C as a reason for granting asylum, it was reluctant to accept FAS as a “particular social group (PSG).” This article analyzes the increase in asylum claims based on FGM/C in the 2000s and examines the political discourses on changing asylum legislation up to the 2010s. Data from official reports of government organizations were examined to investigate the decisions on asylum applications involving FGM/C. France changed its policies in the 2000s to include gender equality in its republican identity due to ultra-right party and social campaigns criticizing male members of minority groups for violence and discrimination against women. The then conservative government exploited these circumstances and enacted restrictive immigration laws that addressed FGM/C grievances partially; the succeeding socialist government recognized FGM/C as a ground for asylum. This study concludes by arguing that the 2011 European directive was a turning point for French asylum legislation to include gender-sensitive interpretation of the grounds under the Convention on the Status of Refugees, in line with European policy. However, the status of SSA women and girls remains uncertain while they are subjected to medical examination and the application range of PSG could be reconsidered.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"171-185"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75119472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Translating coexistence: Inside Japan's public multilingualism","authors":"Gregory Friedman","doi":"10.1111/ijjs.12151","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijjs.12151","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Provision of translated material for both international residents and tourists is a key part of the work of public offices around Japan. The way in which this translation is viewed and carried out, and its relationship to dominant modes of conceptualizing multiculturalism, has not received much attention in the literature. This study reports on the results of two surveys of public offices throughout Japan carried out to assess translation practices and attitudes among both Japanese and foreign staff. The study presents quantitative and qualitative findings that indicate a gap in perception between Japanese and foreign staff regarding methodology, the quality of translated material, and its relative importance. The study situates public service translation in Japan as a contested area within the broader context of multicultural coexistence, one that concretely reflects differing views and claims about <i>tabunka kyosei</i> and the place of immigrants in Japanese society and which reproduces a top-down view of multicultural relations.</p>","PeriodicalId":29652,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Sociology","volume":"34 1","pages":"152-170"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijjs.12151","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76016469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}