"Collectivism and industriousness in Japanese national character – dynamics and tranformations "

The interpretation of the term "national character" is quite controversial. It is difficult to find unanimity among the researchers on the issue because for years it has been interpreted differently and falls within the scope of different scientific fields: anthropology, ethno psychology, folklore, sociology, psychology, psycholinguistics. Interpretations of "national character" are found even in fiction. An additional obstacle is the lack of certainty in the definitions of concepts such as "cultural-ethnic stereotype", "national stereotype" and "national character". Sometimes in the specialized literature they are used synonymously. This article does not claim to be exhaustive on the topic, but we will try: 1) To outline the concept of "national character"; 2) To present research concerning the national character of the Japanese; 3) To present the author's thoughts on the dynamics and transformations of two features of the Japanese national character – collectivism and industriousness.

Stay punk!! Stay free!! Subcultural identity, resistance and Covid-19 in northern Japan

Punks have been a feature of subcultural scenes in Japan since as early as 1977. One of the main hubs of punk and hardcore activity outside of Tokyo is Sapporo, where an eclectic mix of both domestic and international influences has informed the growth and maintenance of a broad and inclusive community. Here, ‘punk’ and ‘hardcore’, rather than being seen as different, are considered to be just two points on a wide spectrum of ‘punkness’. In a country often described as cultur-ally conservative, northern Japan’s punk and hardcore subculturalists provide an opportunity to reassess ideas of subcultural resistance. Through their everyday practice of resistance, which is simultaneously spectacular, yet unrecognized as resistance, the punk community in Sapporo reject the ‘salaryman’, as a symbol of Japanese ‘national character’. This article comprises an ethnographic study of the punk and hardcore community in Sapporo, looks at what holds this eclectic community together and suggests the concept of ‘everyday resistance’ as a frame-work for further study. The current Covid-19 global crisis has brought unprec-edented challenges – as it has to communities all over the world – but has provided an opportunity to see how a community’s everyday practice inform and shape responses to emergency situations.

Flags of Our Fathers / Letters from Iwo Jima

ABSTRACT This comparative review of Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima sees the two films as a diptych exploring issues of military masculinity, heroism, and myths of American and Japanese national character as they are focused by the battle for Iwo Jima in World War II.

Trust and National Character: Japanese Sense of Trust, Cross-National and Longitudinal Surveys

This paper overviews people's sense of trust as it is reflected in the response data of questionnaire surveys. I will study the variability of people's trust systems in order to explore the stability over time and the change due to the short-term changes of economic and political conditions. To begin with, I will explain briefly the history of our longitudinal and cross-national survey on national character. Secondly, I will summarize some aspects of people's sense of trust in our longitudinal survey of Japanese national character. Thirdly, I will present cross-national comparative analysis of trust in our seven-country survey and our East Asia survey. Fourthly, I will consider the acculturation of the Japanese immigrants in Brazil, Hawaii, and the West Coast of USA. Finally, I will provide some comments on cross-national scaling of trust for our future research.