Another Japan Is Possible: New Social Movements and Global Citizenship Education / Edition 1

by Jennifer Chan

Overview

This book looks at the emergence of internationally linked Japanese nongovernmental advocacy networks that have grown rapidly since the 1990s in the context of three conjunctural forces: neoliberalism, militarism, and nationalism. It connects three disparate literatures—on the global justice movement, on Japanese civil society, and on global citizenship education. Through the narratives of fifty activists in eight overlapping issue areas—global governance, labor, food sovereignty, peace, HIV/AIDS, gender, minority and human rights, and youth—Another Japan is Possible examines the genesis of these new social movements; their critiques of neoliberalism, militarism, and nationalism; their local, regional, and global connections; their relationships with the Japanese government; and their role in constructing a new identity of the Japanese as global citizens. Its purpose is to highlight the interactions between the global and the local—that is, how international human rights and global governance issues resonate within Japan and how, in turn, local alternatives are articulated by Japanese advocacy groups—and to analyze citizenship from a postnational and postmodern perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804757829
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	01/29/2008
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Chan is Associate Professor of Education at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of Gender and Human Rights Politics in Japan (Stanford, 2004)

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures     xv
Acknowledgments     xvii
Abbreviations and Conventions     xxi
Introduction: Global Governance and Japanese Nongovernmental Advocacy Networks     1
Global Governance
Introduction to Part I     47
Global Governance Monitoring and Japan   Kawakami Toyoyuki     51
Education, Empowerment, and Alternatives to Neoliberalism   Sakuma Tomoko     59
Building a People-Based Peace and Democracy Movement in Asia   Ogura Toshimaru     64
Tobin Tax, Kyoto Social Forum, and Pluralism   Komori Masataka     69
Education for Civil Society Capacity Building   Fukawa Yoko     76
Community Development, Peace, and Global Citizenship   Takahashi Kiyotaka     81
Labor
Introduction to Part II     87
Globalization and Labor Restructuring   Kumagai Ken'ichi     91
Corporate Restructuring and Homelessness   Kasai Kazuaki     95
Gender, Part-Time Labor, and Indirect Discrimination   Sakai Kazuko     98
Migration, Trafficking, and Free Trade Agreements   Ishihara Virgie     102
Neoliberalism and Labor Organizing   Yasuda Yukihiro     106
Water, Global Commons,and Peace   Mizukoshi Takashi     110
Food Sovereignty
Introduction to Part III     117
Agricultural Liberalization, World Trade Organization, and Peace   Ohno Kazuoki     123
Multifunctionality of Agriculture over Free Trade   Yamaura Yasuaki     130
Citizens' Movement Against Genetically Modified Foods   Amagasa Keisuke     134
Self-Sufficiency, Safety, and Food Liberalization   Imamura Kazuhiko     138
Peace
Introduction to Part IV     143
"We Want Blue Sky in Peaceful Okinawa"   Hirayama Motoh     147
World Peace Now   Hanawa Machiko     152
Article 9 and the Peace Movement   Takada Ken     158
Fundamental Law of Education, Peace, and the Marketization of Education   Nishihara Nobuaki     162
Japan and International War Crimes   Higashizawa Yasushi     167
Landmine Ban and Peace Education   Kitagawa Yasuhiro     171
Nuclear Disarmament, Advocacy, and Peace Education   Nakamura Keiko     176
Building a Citizens' Peace Movement in Japan and Asia   Otsuka Teruyo     182
HIV/AIDS
Introduction to Part V     189
HIV/AIDS from a Human Rights Perspective    Tarui Masayoshi     193
HIV/AIDS, Gender, and Backlash   Hyodo Chika     198
Migrant Workers and HIV/AIDS in Japan   Inaba Masaki     203
Gender
Introduction to Part VI     211
International Lobbying and Japanese Women's Networks   Watanabe Miho     215
Gender, Human Rights, and Trafficking in Persons   Hara Yuriko     220
Gender, Reproductive Rights, and Technology   Ohashi Yukako     225
As a Lesbian Feminist in Japan   Wakabayashi Naeko     230
Sex Workers' Movement in Japan   Kaname Yukiko     234
Women's Active Museum on War and Peace   Watanabe Mina     237
Art, Feminism, and Activism   Shimada Yoshiko     242
Minority and Human Rights
Introduction to Part VII     249
Proposal for a Law on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination   Fujimoto Mie     253
Antidiscrimination, Grassroots Empowerment, and Horizontal Networking   Morihara Hideki     258
Multiple Identities and Buraku Liberation   Mori Maya     263
Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Multicultural Coexistence   Uemura Hideaki     266
On the Recognition of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights of the Ainu   Sakai Mina     272
"I Would Like to Be Able to Speak Uchinaguchi When I Grow Up!"   Taira Satoko     276
Art Activism and Korean Minority Rights   Hwangbo Kangja     281
Ethnic Diversity, Foreigners' Rights, and Discrimination in Family Registration   Tony Laszlo     284
Disability and Gender   Hirukawa Ryoko     291
The UN Convention on Refugee and Asylum Protection in Japan   Ishikawa Eri     295
Torture, Penal Reform, and Prisoners' Rights   Akiyama Emi     299
Death Penalty and Human Rights   Takada Akiko     304
Youth Groups
Introduction to Part VIII     313
Experience, Action, and the Floating Peace Village   Yoshioka Tatsuya     317
Ecology, Youth Action, and International Advocacy   Mitsumoto Yuko     323
Organic Food, Education, and Peace   Shikita Kiyoshi     328
"Another Work Is Possible": Slow Life, Ecology, and Peace   Takahashi Kenkichi     331
Conclusion: Social Movements and Global Citizenship Education     337
Organizations Interviewed     351
Appendixes     355
References     367
Index     393

Editorial Reviews

"To conclude, the use of the book is twofold. Firstly, it can serve as an eye-opener to readers who are stuck in the image of Japan as a country where discontent seldom takes the form of overt protest or citizen engagement. Secondly, it presents a lot of raw material and information which... can be useful to readers interested in Japanese civil society or the groups presented in the book. "—Japanese Studies

"The days are gone forever when the prevailing cliche in Japan suggested that there were only two types of social entities: governmental institutions and non-governmental individuals (the so-called middle mass). However, of late the former has been fragmenting themselves while the latter has been flourishing and fraternalizing themselves with transnational and international counterparts. Jennifer Chan has vividly illustrated this incredible turnaround with good contextualizing narratives and rich and informative constructions of the thinking and sentiments those non-governmental organizations generate in a vast array of areas. A must read in the study of globalization and localization."—Inoguchi Takashi, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, and Professor of Political Science, Chuo University, Tokyo

"This book is rich in primary material on the human side of NGO activity in Japan, along a wide spectrum of organizations. In that alone it is a valuable text. This is a nuanced view of advocacy, strategies and institutions, sometimes against the grain of existing views, and it adds the perspectives of "new global citizens" of Japan, engaged in knowledge production. The book will be very useful indeed in social and political science courses, and in courses on globalization, social change and identity." —Merry White, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Boston University

"A surprise for observers who view Japan as a developmental state, run by a powerful central bureaucracy and aligned with a conservative party whose policies often override public interest, Another Japan is Possible casts new light on a neglected but vital aspect of Japan's emerging political economy. A remarkable group of scholars, professionals and citizen activists reveal the growing numbers of committed Japanese participating energetically in local and global organizations devoted to a broad range of issues, from the environment and sustainable development to health care, migrant workers, disability, gender, and minority rights." —Daniel I. Okimoto, Professor, Department of Political Science, and Director Emeritus, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, Stanford University

"As a civil society scholar, I can say that this book is a desired piece of work...This book makes an important contribution to connecting Japanese accounts to both Japanese and global discourses on civil society." —Akihiro Ogawa, Stockholm University

"Chan's study is a rare and comprehensive compilation of Japanese voices articulating their demand for an alternative model of citizenship...Chan's book can be highly recommended to all interested in 'the other Japan.'"—Internationales Asienforum

From the Publisher

"Chan's study is a rare and comprehensive compilation of Japanese voices articulating their demand for an alternative model of citizenship...Chan's book can be highly recommended to all interested in 'the other Japan.'"

Internationales Asienforum

"As a civil society scholar, I can say that this book is a desired piece of work...This book makes an important contribution to connecting Japanese accounts to both Japanese and global discourses on civil society."

Stockholm University - Akihiro Ogawa

"To conclude, the use of the book is twofold. Firstly, it can serve as an eye-opener to readers who are stuck in the image of Japan as a country where discontent seldom takes the form of overt protest or citizen engagement. Secondly, it presents a lot of raw material and information which... can be useful to readers interested in Japanese civil society or the groups presented in the book. "

Japanese Studies

"The days are gone forever when the prevailing cliche in Japan suggested that there were only two types of social entities: governmental institutions and non-governmental individuals (the so-called middle mass). However, of late the former has been fragmenting themselves while the latter has been flourishing and fraternalizing themselves with transnational and international counterparts. Jennifer Chan has vividly illustrated this incredible turnaround with good contextualizing narratives and rich and informative constructions of the thinking and sentiments those non-governmental organizations generate in a vast array of areas. A must read in the study of globalization and localization."

University of Tokyo, and Professor of Political Science, Chuo University, Tokyo - Inoguchi Takashi