Abstracts
Day 1:
1- Keynote Speaker
Dr. Christian Tagsold, Institute for Modern Japanese Studies, University of Düsseldorf, Germany Akiralympics – Re-examining Tokyo 1940, 1964, and 2020/21 The opening ceremony of the 2020/21 Olympics showcased traditional Japanese cultural assets but also many instances of “Cool Japan.” I will follow up on the latter but offer a different interpretation of aligning culture and sports…
2- Panel 1
Japanese Language Education and History N. Ota: Narrative-based advanced and post-advanced Japanese language courses Since the advent of IT, language programs have gone through various changes; now due to the pandemic, languages are taught online using videoconferencing. Online teaching and learning is expected to be the new normal, even after the pandemic subsides. Besides technological…
3- Panel 2
Geography and Tourism D. Edgington: Ten Years After the Great Japan Earthquake: Spatial Patterns of Recovery in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures 2021 marks the 10th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant accident. How has the reconstruction of the stricken region of Pacific Tohoku progressed? Are there clear spatial patterns to…
4- Panel 3A
Japan and Philosophy J. Goulding: Japanese Phenomenology: East and West Much appears concerning influence of Japanese thought on the work of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Less is written on Heidegger’s impact on Japanese philosophy. (1) Heidegger initiates a philosophical lexicon between East and West with his invention of hermeneutic and existential phenomenology. (2) Heidegger’s students utilize…
5- Panel 3B
The Changing Footprint of Canada-Japan Trade and Commerce – Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ) The CPTPP is an example of that changing relationship with Canada and Japan joining 9 other countries to sign a free trade deal that focuses on intellectual property rights, high environmental and labor standards, and limits for the role of SoEs…
6- Panel 4
Gender (1) M. Crawford: This paper examines the record of “Womenomics” in the light of the COVID recession (or “shecession”) of 2020 and the subsequent resignation of Shinzo Abe and reconsiders the policy and its prospects moving forward in the post-Abe era. Is a more radical and transformational approach to gender equality is necessary in…
7- Panel 5
Indo-Pacific Security Round Table 1 Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision: Balancing accommodation and security An increasing number of countries are releasing Indo-Pacific visions in an attempt to develop a strategic vision for the region. Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision (FOIP) is no exception. This panel will discuss the different dimensions of Japan’s FOIP…
Day 2:
1- Panel 1
Gender (2) S. Baiton: Looking for the Bright Life: Consuming Modernity in Late 20th-Century Japan. The late 20th Century in Japan, particularly the 1980s, was a period in which personal and household consumption converged with discourses surrounding individual and collective, and cultural and national identity. This paper examines how certain patterns of consumption came to…
2- Panel 2
Fine Arts and Architecture M. Creighton: Japan and Africa Connections via Tange Kenzo Designing Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital Countries seeking greater global prominence, often contemplate constructing the Ideal City. For Nigeria this was a new capital, Abuja, between different tribal areas, to enhance national identity. Tange Kenzo emerged as Japan’s foremost architect from post-WWII until the…
3- Panel 3
Religion and Culture S. Kanzaki: Arayashiki 阿頼耶識: Robots, AI and VR For some time now, the relationship and compatibility between Buddhism and science has been on the mind of practitioners and contemporary scholars alike. Today, Japan elaborates its Society 5.0, the idea of a super-smart society, a wider-reaching idea beyond the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In…
4- Keynote Speaker
Dr. Noriko Aso Aquapolis, Aquarium, and Aquafutures at the 1975 Okinawan Ocean Expo. The 1975 Okinawa International Ocean Exposition was officially a celebration of the recent reversion of the islands to Japanese sovereignty after almost three decades of U.S. military governance. Less officially, the exposition was supposed to be an opportunity to address ways in…
5- Panel 4
Indo-Pacific Security Roundtable 2 Canada-Japan cooperation in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific On May 3rd, 2021 Canada and Japan released the Shared Canada-Japan Priorities Contributing to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific statement as a framework for their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.Focusing on (1) The Rule of Law; (2) Peacekeeping Operations, Peacebuilding, and Humanitarian Assistance and…
6- Panel 5A
Hosting the World L. Tkach-Kawasaki: A Perfect Storm: Examining Political Discourse in Japan in a COVID-Olympic Summer The summer of 2021 saw Japan’s leading politicians weigh in via social media on topics ranging from COVID-19 and vaccination roll-outs to public opinions concerning the Olympics. Social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube continue to play…
7- Panel 5B
Trade and Foreign Policy Tony Tai-Ting Liu: Japan’s Economic Diplomacy: challenges and opportunities amidst changing order Since China replaced Japan as the second largest economy in the world in 2010, observers seemed to have diverted even more attention to China and consider China as a sure leading state in the development of regional integration in…
8 – Panel 6
Japan-Canada Relations and Beef C. Holroyd: The Evolution of Canada-Japan Relations This paper explores how Canada-Japan relations have evolved and changed over the past three decades. It looks at major trends in trade, investment, diplomacy, security, and scientific collaboration between Canada-Japan and reflects on the prospects for an expanded and mutually beneficial partnership. J. Church:…
Day 3:
1 – Keynote Speaker
Landscapes of Injustice Prof. J. Stanger-Ross & M. Abe: Landscapes of Injustice Landscapes of Injustice was a 7-year SSHRC Partnership project to research and tell the history of the dispossession of Japanese Canadians. In this presentation, Project Director, Jordan Stanger-Ross, and Project Manager, Michael Abe, will reflect on this award-winning work, conveying its summative research conclusions as well…
2 – Keynote Speaker
Prof. Yuji Hiratsuka: Art of printmaking: process and aesthetics Yuji Hiratsuka, professor of art at Oregon State University in Corvallis will talk about his work. He will discuss the aesthetic and technical aspects of his prints. Yuji Hiratsuka mixes west and east in his work. There is less of an emphasis on socio-cultural commentary but…