Ishiguro’s Japanese-English Identity and His Reception Internationally and in Slovenia

Kazuo Ishiguro is a British author of Japanese descent who has established himself globally as an award-winning writer of bestselling books. This article deals with the hybridity of the author, who is both Japanese and English, a popular writer who stirs reader emotions but is at the same time respected by critics. The article begins by addressing the ‘Japaneseness’ in Ishiguro’s work that is both obvious and skilfully concealed. In the second part, the article examines the reception of Ishiguro’s work by Slovenian readers and discusses potential reasons for their seeming lack of response.

A History of Contested Narratives: The National Film Board of Canada’s Evolving Cinematic Treatment (1945–2018) of the Internment of Japanese Canadians during World War Two

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is world-renown for its documen- taries and animations. This article examines how the NFB dealt with one specific topic – the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War Two. By analyzing the films produced by the NFB between 1945 and 2018, this study seeks to understand how and why its narratives of the internment changed dramatically over three-quarters of a century. The study deals with six NFB films: Of Japanese Descent (1945), Enemy Alien (1975), Minoru: Memory of Exile (1992), Freedom Has a Price (1994), Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story (2003), and East of the Rockies (2018). Drawing on the postcolonial concepts of the colonizing gaze and hegemony, as well as poststructuralist concepts of the trace and discourses of power, it probes the evolution of the NFB’s cinematic culture and concludes that the NFB’s film legacy parallels a changing public discourse in Canada on this traumatic historical violation of human rights.

SOME FEATURES OF THE NOVEL FORM OF KADZUO ISHIGURO (REMAINING OF THE DAY, DON'T LET ME GO)

The article examines the signs of devaluation of humanism in modern society in the context of multicultural thinking (English - Japanese). The objects of research are the novels of the Nobel (2017) and Booker (1989) Prize writer Kazuo Ishiguro - The Rest of the Day and Don't Let Me Go. In The Rest of the Day, an English writer of Japanese descent inherits and develops the tradition of the English novel, but at the same time synthesizes the peculiarities of the English mentality with the principles of honor and service in the Bushido samurai code. The subtle irony associated with the parallel "code of honor of the English butler and the Japanese samurai," according to the authors of the article, largely explains the logic of the plot of the work. The article also notes that Kazuo Ishiguro managed to reflect the deep commonality of postcolonial Englishness with the refined Japanese perception of being and duty. Although the author himself in his interviews and comments often insists that he remembers almost nothing about Japan and that he is interested in writing on universal topics, this practically always has a shocking effect in his novels. The novel Don't Let Me Go helps to understand that the peculiarity of this work is the proclamation of humanism as one of the main values of mankind at any time and under any conditions. It is noted that this idea is manifested in a conflict with the modern interpretation of the concept. Humanistic values in the novel are also revealed in the inner thoughts of the heroine, the relationship of the heroes, the actions of the heroes, and the author, even in a non-standard anti-utopian situation of ideals, ready to reflect on the moral foundations without which human life is unthinkable. In addition, the motive of man's detachment from his roots, which is very characteristic of Japanese culture, is projected on the modern European vision of the problem.

MO258SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS OF VIS649, AN APRIL-NEUTRALIZING IGG2 MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY, IN HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS: PHASE 1, RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, SINGLE ASCENDING DOSE STUDY

Background and Aims Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy (IgAN) is a glomerulonephritis characterized by the presence of circulating and glomerular immune complexes containing galactose-deficient (Gd) IgA1. A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily of ligands, is thought to play a key role in the pathogenesis of IgAN by virtue of its role in class-switching to IgA production. VIS649, a humanized immunoglobulin G (IgG2) monoclonal antibody that binds to and blocks the biological actions of APRIL, is in clinical development as a potential treatment for IgAN. The primary objective of this first-in-human study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VIS649 in healthy volunteers. Secondary objectives included characterization of the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of VIS649. Method This was a Phase 1, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study of VIS649 in healthy adult male and female volunteers (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03719443). The study was conducted in sequential dosing cohorts. The first four cohorts (0.5, 2.0, 6.0, and 12.0 mg/kg, respectively) each enrolled 9 participants (4 of Japanese descent and 5 of non-Japanese descent) who were randomized to VIS649 or placebo in a ratio of 7:2. In addition, a fifth cohort enrolled 15 adults randomized to receive VIS649 6.0 mg/kg or placebo (10:5), followed by tetanus/diphtheria vaccine challenge after 28 days (TENIVAC®, Sanofi Pasteur Limited; the effect of APRIL inhibition on vaccine response is described in a companion abstract). Participants received intravenous administration of study drug on Day 1, were discharged from the institution on Day 2, and were followed for 16–24 weeks on an outpatient basis. Standard safety assessments and blood sampling for PK and PD were performed at regular intervals. Results 51 participants were randomized and dosed with study drug, of whom 47 (92.2%) completed the study. VIS649 was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events (AEs) or AEs that led to study discontinuation. Most treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs) were mild; the incidence and severity of TEAEs were not dose dependent. One participant in the 2.0 mg/kg group experienced a severe TEAE of syncope following phlebotomy that the investigator considered unlikely to be related to study drug. There was no clinically relevant effect of treatment on laboratory tests, vital signs, electrocardiogram parameters, or physical examinations. VIS649 had non-linear PK: half-life (t½) increased with dose, while drug exposure (AUC) increased in a greater than dose proportional manner. Serum IgA, Gd-IgA1, IgG, and IgM were reversibly suppressed in a dose-dependent manner following VIS649 administration. The maximum mean percentage reductions from baseline occurred at Week 12 for the 12.0 mg/kg dose: IgA, -57.2% (Figure); Gd-IgA1, -71.6% (Figure); IgG, -33.6%; and IgM, -67.2%. These reductions were reversible and showed a dose-response effect with respect to time-to-recovery. Mean free (non-VIS649 bound) serum APRIL levels decreased to the lower limit of quantification (50 pg/mL) for all VIS649 doses at Week 1, and also showed a dose-response effect with respect to time-to-recovery. No depletions in circulating lymphocyte populations were observed. There were no significant PK or PD differences between Japanese and non-Japanese participants. Conclusion A single dose of VIS649, up to 12.0 mg/kg, was safe and well tolerated in healthy adults and was able to suppress free serum APRIL to the lower level of quantification. Serum Gd-IgA1 decreased in parallel with total serum IgA and recovered in a dose-dependent manner following reappearance of free APRIL in serum. These data support the further clinical development of VIS649 as a potential treatment for IgAN.

Reworking Narrative the Brasilidade

This chapter investigates música sertaneja in the Japanese Brazilian expatriate community, following its unique trajectory of transnational migration from Brazil to Japan, and back again to Brazil in the past few decades. Música sertaneja is a style of “country music” that originated in the Brazilian countryside in the 1920s. It has become an important agency of identity negotiation for Brazilians of Japanese descent in the past few decades, when the massive economic migration known as dekassegui propelled many middle-class Japanese Brazilians to “return migrate” to their ancestral home as unskilled laborers. The author discusses how this recent dekassegui experience provoked Japanese Brazilian expatriates into reconfiguration of their identity, and how, in the process, they not only used música sertaneja to negotiate their space in the diaspora, but also reworked the traditional brasilidade narrative in their favor.

Dermatomyositis: Double trouble – Case Report

Background: Each myositis-specific autoantibody (MSA) tends to have a distinct clinical presentation. Coexistence of MSAs do not commonly occur. If they do, it is unknown if there is an overlap of clinical features or prognostic implications. There are a few reported cases of overlap between these antibodies, mostly reported in patients with Japanese descent. Our aim for this case report is to turn more attention and interest for future MSA profile studies in the Hispanic population, which may hopefully spur better therapies if we realize the prognostic implications of certain myositis subsets including double-positive autoantibody syndromes. Case presentation: A 27-year-old Hispanic female was admitted to the medical intensive care unit due to acute hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). She had failed conventional mechanical ventilation and was cannulated for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) to manage her respiratory failure. She had erythematous scaly plaques on bilateral 3rd metacarpophalangeal joints on examination. Her autoimmune workup revealed positivity for both anti-PL-7(threonyl) and anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) autoantibodies. After extensive evaluation, it was concluded that she had rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD) due to amyopathic dermatomyositis. Despite maximal medical management, she was ultimately transitioned to comfort care measures and expired. Conclusion: We would like to highlight the rarity of double antibody positive amyopathic dermatomyositis. This unique clinical presentation has only been reported in persons of Japanese descent. Our case is likely to be the first reported to occur in a person of Hispanic descent in the United States. The rarity of our case could stimulate further study of overlapping MSA to understand its varied presentations and prognoses including possible tendency toward a rapidly progressive ILD phenotype. Earlier detection of these clinical syndromes can lead to better outcomes for patients with RPILD. This case report could also herald an increased recognition and understanding of MSA profile in the Hispanic population in the USA.

Blended Learning Strategies for Japanese Literature Classes in the University

In Brazil, the country with the largest population of Japanese descent outside Japan, there are currently one private and eight public universities offering undergraduate studies in Japanese Language and Literature. Even though there is a considerable amount of research about blended learning strategies concerning the study of foreign languages, it does not happen the same way when it comes to foreign literature. Besides, learning literature demands more than knowing the language in which it is written. This work presents some reflections on blended learning strategies with the aim of contributing to Japanese literature classes in the context of Brazilian undergraduate courses.

Dermatomyositis: Double trouble – Case Report

<b>Background:</b> Each myositis-specific autoantibody (MSA) tends to have a distinct clinical presentation. Coexistence of MSAs do not commonly occur. If they do, it is unknown if there is an overlap of clinical features or prognostic implications. There are a few reported cases of overlap between these antibodies, mostly reported in patients with Japanese descent. Our aim for this case report is to turn more attention and interest for future MSA profile studies in the Hispanic population, which may hopefully spur better therapies if we realize the prognostic implications of certain myositis subsets including double-positive autoantibody syndromes. <b>Case presentation:</b> A 27-year-old Hispanic female was admitted to the medical intensive care unit due to acute hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). She had failed conventional mechanical ventilation and was cannulated for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) to manage her respiratory failure. She had erythematous scaly plaques on bilateral 3rd metacarpophalangeal joints on examination. Her autoimmune workup revealed positivity for both anti-PL-7(threonyl) and anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) autoantibodies. After extensive evaluation, it was concluded that she had rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD) due to amyopathic dermatomyositis. Despite maximal medical management, she was ultimately transitioned to comfort care measures and expired. <b>Conclusion:</b> We would like to highlight the rarity of double antibody positive amyopathic dermatomyositis. This unique clinical presentation has only been reported in persons of Japanese descent. Our case is likely to be the first reported to occur in a person of Hispanic descent in the United States. The rarity of our case could stimulate further study of overlapping MSA to understand its varied presentations and prognoses including possible tendency toward a rapidly progressive ILD phenotype. Earlier detection of these clinical syndromes can lead to better outcomes for patients with RPILD. This case report could also herald an increased recognition and understanding of MSA profile in the Hispanic population in the USA.

Forfeiting Citizenship, Forfeiting Identity? Multiethnic and Multiracial Japanese Youth in Australia and the Japanese Nationality Law

The rising fame of multiethnic and multiracial or ‘mixed’ celebrities in Japan, such as tennis player Naomi Osaka, has brought into focus the roles of Japan’s Nationality Law and understandings of nationality and citizenship in shaping identity. According to Article 14 of Japan’s Nationality Law, persons holding multiple nationalities must choose to forfeit all but one before the age of 22. In this article I aim to address how multiethnic and multiracial youths of Japanese descent in Australia are approaching the ambiguities surrounding their citizenship and nationality rights. To do so I will closely examine to what extent the Nationality Law affects their future decisions and identities by drawing upon evidence from in-depth interviews I conducted with mixed Japanese youth who are the child of one Japanese parent and one non-Japanese parent and live in Australia. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, I argue that mixed Japanese youth in Australia perceive citizenship less as an agent of identity and more as an index of socioeconomic opportunity. My findings demonstrate that these individuals actively strive to maintain their dual citizenship and strategically align their cultural capital to realise meaningful cross-cultural careers that communicate between Australia, Japan, and their own mixed identities.