Les politiques d’assistance envers les vétérans infirmes au Japon durant le 20ème siècle

The following study provides an insight into Japanese policies on wounded veterans’ relief during the twentieth century. During the long war (1937–1945) with China and later with the Allied Forces (1941–1945), the Japanese government established strong physical, occupational and spiritual rehabilitation programs in addition to several laws that provided pensions or allowances for military disabilities. After the defeat in 1945, under the Occupation’s new rules of democratization and demilitarization, wounded veterans quickly lost all their benefits. Furthermore, their image was devalued in the eyes of society and their voices were marginalized. However, because of their struggles, the State established a new non-discriminatory law for all disabled people. Nevertheless, after the return of Japanese autonomy in 1952, the wounded veterans still felt that they were not treated adequately because no law addressed their specific circumstances. In order to attain their goal, they created a new association of disabled veterans to express their frustration and to lobby the Japanese government for change. Because of their stubborn mobilization, the Law for Special Aid to the Wounded and Sick Retired Soldiers was finally enacted in 1963 and provided veterans with the assistance they needed and for which they had long-since been asking.

How Does Japan Perceives China as an Adversary?

A China-Japan grim relationship has been marked by conflicts, and other political security tensions for a long time. One of which is the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands dispute occurring since 2012, it will become an issue for both countries that is difficult to be ironed out. The dispute has occurred since the Japanese government nationalized the islets, which China also claimed. It led to both countries' expansion of military power and a clash in East Asia. This essay aims to analyze how Japan perceives China by focusing on the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands dispute. This article argues Japan perceives China as a threat due to China’s military penetration over Diaoyu/Senkaku islands leading to a strategic distrust of Japan and its uncertain behavior as an international relations actor led to a moral distrust of Japan. This phenomenon will likely raise the tension in the region and enhance the escalation possibility due to the security dilemma effect.

An assessment of implementation gaps and priority recommendations on food environment policies: the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) in Japan

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate policies and actions for food environments by the Japanese Government using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI). Design: Public health experts rated the extent of implementation of food environment-related the Policy and the Infrastructure-support components, compared to international best practices. Subsequently, the experts proposed and prioritized future actions to address implementation gaps in an online workshop. Setting: Japan Participants: A total of 66 experts rated policy implementation by the Japanese Government, and 23 participated in the workshop on future actions. Results: The implementations of regulations on unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages were rated low in the domains of Food composition, Food labelling, Food promotion, Food prices, and Food retail in the Policy component. The implementations of several domains in the Infrastructure-support component were, overall, rated at a higher level, specifically for monitoring and intelligence systems. Based on the rating, reducing health inequalities by supporting people, both economically and physically, was the highest priority for future actions in both components. Conclusions: This study found that Japan has a robust system for long-term monitoring of population health but lacks regulations on unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages compared to international best practices. This study confirmed the importance of continuous accumulation of evidence through national monitoring systems. Developing comprehensive regulations to restrict food marketing, sales, and accessibility of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages are needed to improve the health of food environments in Japan.

Ainu in modern Japanese society: the problem of returning the remains of ancestors

The article is devoted to the issue of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains, collected by Japanese researchers in the second half of the 19th - 20th centuries. It is the most crucial current issue for many Ainu people who are trying to regain the language, the distinct culture, and identity. The article analyzes the positions of the Japanese Government, the Hokkaido Ainu Association and Ainu rights activist groups and movements. The article examines the contradictions that arose in Japanese society concerning the process of repatriation. Discussions in Japanese society during this problem were analyzed, and its significance for the Ainu communities is revealed. It was found that the discussions mainly arise in connection with the idea of transferring the remains to the memorial hall located in Symbolic Spaces for Ethnic Harmony, which was opened in July 2020. Research also showed that the problem under study is largely related to limitations in ethnic policy implementation and realization of indigenous peoples rights in Japan. In addition, the process of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains is compounded by the lack of unity of the Ainu as a community. Therefore, reaching agreement between the government, the academic community, and critical Ainu rights activist groups proved extremely difficult. However, it was concluded that there is a potential to resolve the issue and consensus could be reached in the near future.

Production of hydrogen from offshore wind in China and cost-competitive supply to Japan

The Japanese government has announced a commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It envisages an important role for hydrogen in the nation’s future energy economy. This paper explores the possibility that a significant source for this hydrogen could be produced by electrolysis fueled by power generated from offshore wind in China. Hydrogen could be delivered to Japan either as liquid, or bound to a chemical carrier such as toluene, or as a component of ammonia. The paper presents an analysis of factors determining the ultimate cost for this hydrogen, including expenses for production, storage, conversion, transport, and treatment at the destination. It concludes that the Chinese source could be delivered at a volume and cost consistent with Japan’s idealized future projections.

Analysis of Symptomology, Infectiveness, and Reinfections between Male and Female COVID-19 Patients: Evidence from Japanese Registry Data

Background: Hokkaido was the first Japanese prefecture to be affected by COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Japanese government has been publishing the information of each individual who was tested positive for the virus. Method: The current study analyzed the 1269 SARS-CoV-2 cases confirmed in Hokkaido in order to examine sex-based differences in symptomology and infectiveness, as well as the status of reinfections and the viral transmission networks. Results: The majority of asymptomatic patients were females and older. Females were 1.3-fold more likely to be asymptomatic (p < 0.001) while a decade of difference in age increased the likelihood of being asymptomatic by 1% (p < 0.001). The data contained information up to quaternary viral transmission. The transmission network revealed that, although asymptomatic patients are more likely to transmit the virus, the individuals infected by asymptomatic cases are likely to be asymptomatic (p < 0.001). Four distinct co-occurrences of symptoms were observed, including (i) fever/fatigue, (ii) pharyngitis/rhinitis, (iii) ageusia/anosmia, and (iv) nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. The presences of diarrhea (p = 0.05) as well as nausea/vomiting (p < 0.001) were predictive of developing dyspnea, i.e., severe disease. About 1% of the patients experienced reinfection. Conclusions: Sex and symptomatology appear to play important roles in determining the levels of viral transmission as well as disease severity.

Keberadaan Kelompok Minoritas: Mitos Homogenitas Bangsa Jepang

The focus of this research is to discus the existence of minority groups in Japan. The existence of this minority community breaks the understanding of the Japanese nation which consists of a homogeneous society. This study uses the library method, by taking data from various literatures such as scientific articles, reference books and official reports issued by the Japanese Government through official website. This study found that existence of minority community in Japan for example Zainichi Korea, Burakumin groups, Ainu and a number of migrant worker is proof that Japan is not a homogeneous society but is a multicultural society. This paper is expected to complement the research that has been done previously related to the identity of the Japanese nation.

Melancholia is (geo)political! Postcolonial geography in the Wednesday Demonstration in Seoul

This article examines how melancholia constitutes a psycho-geopolitical space interweaving Korean subjects’ psychic and political lives with the dynamics of the (post) Cold War alliance between Japan and the US. The Wednesday Demonstration is the weekly protest in Seoul that calls for an official apology and legal compensation from the Japanese government for comfort women who worked in the sexual slavery system under the Japanese Empire during WWII. The fact that the weekly protests have continued for 30 years since 1992 signifies that the comfort women issue has remained an unresolved (geo)political issue between South Korea and Japan for three decades, despite apologies and monetary compensations by the Japanese government. This article offers a psychoanalytic-geopolitical rationale for the endless grief of Korean postcolonial subjects who cannot accept the measures of the Japanese government regarding the comfort women issue. Based on 1-year’s participant observations and in-depth interviews with Korean activists who engaged in the Wednesday Demonstration from September 2019 to August 2020, this article aims to accomplish three goals. Firstly, this article shows how Korean postcolonial subjects were/are haunted by colonial past. Secondly, I examine why Koreans cannot complete mourning for comfort women in the context of ROK-US-Japan geopolitical relations. Lastly, this article interrogates how ethno-nationalists intervene to turn melancholia into a motivation for ethnic solidarity and how their attempt might have failed by exploring a Korean postcolonial subject’s psychic lives. In doing so, I argue that the wounds of Koreans related to the comfort women issue are not simply from colonial history, but they are postcolonial wounds that have not healed ‘appropriately’ under the (US-sponsored) South Korean/Japanese (post-)Cold War security arrangement.