Prospects and Challenges In Developing 'Japanese Studies' Program in Bangladesh: Lessons From the University of Dhaka

Japanese Studies has entered a booming period in Bangladesh where the growing demand for knowledge on Japan, particularly Japanese development experience, society, and culture, has intensified. Besides, the increasing number of Japanese companies and opportunities to work in Japan so far is conducive to the increasing number of students in the Japanese language. Considering the given facts, academic institutions of Bangladesh need to initiate 'Japanese Studies' programs to produce 'Japanologists’-contextual and transitional expertise. The larger goal of this study is to identify the major prospects and challenges and consider the future directions for the Japanese Studies program. The paper intends to think alternatively beyond the 'ivory tower' mindset of a large number of Bangladeshi students as well as academicians and show the prospects of Japanese Studies with sustainable employment opportunities through industry-academia collaboration. The methods and equipping tools employed in this paper include lexical scrutiny and contextual analysis under the qualitative research method to analyse the current state of knowledge and pedagogical development. Presenting the number of stumbling blocks of the Japanese Studies program in Bangladesh, the paper finally demonstrates the program's future as an academic discipline. It ends with possible suggestions towards success in producing Japanologists to strengthen Bangladesh-Japan bilateral relations.

Japanese Immigrants In Sarawak Before World War Two: Assimilation Through Inter-Ethnic Marriages

The arrival of Japanese immigrants, especially karayuki-san, traders, and farmers in Sarawak between the 1880s and1940s, has rarely been given sufficient attention by scholars. For the most part, not only did the Japanese immigrants successfully integrate into the economic eco-system, but they also assimilated with the locals through inter-marriages. Archival records, primarily obtained from the Sarawak State Archives, suggests that families of inter-ethnic marriages went through a life of hardship, especially when Japanese spouses or relatives were imprisoned in the internment camps soon after World War Two ended. For the most part, the research mainly focuses on Seiji Kuno or otherwise known as Mohamed Towpik Kuno, who married a local Malay woman and embraced Islam. The life of Kuno depicts the extent to which a Japanese immigrant became absorbed into the dominant culture of the mainstream Sarawak society. Kuno’s general attitude towards the local society, his service to the community in various capacities, his attitude towards political matters and finally, his religious inclination showcased the extent to which assimilation had taken place voluntarily. Apart from Kuno, the research also examines other personalities’ lives, like Sunao Miyaji, who was married to Lamah Binti Bakar, and Maria Osaichi and Oasa, who were Japanese immigrants married to Chinese Sarawakians. It is against this background that this research argues that marriages between Japanese immigrants and locals in Sarawak before World War Two was indeed a cause for further assimilation into the host culture between spouses, family members and the broader community. At the same time, the research posits that cemeteries involving Japanese immigrants should be promoted as tourist destinations as they reflect Sarawak’s rich multicultural heritage and history of assimilation with foreigners.

The Limited Role of the Japanese Military: The 2003 Iraq War and the War on the Islamic State

What determines Japan's willingness to flex its limited military muscle abroad? While analysts and scholars closely watched Japanese "militarization" under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2012-2020), Japan had already deployed its military overseas over a decade ago in support of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. By contrast, in 2014, Japan was unwilling to support U.S.-led operations against the Islamic State (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. This presents a puzzle, as the fight against ISIL offered the kind of international legitimacy that the 2003 Iraq invasion lacked, and Japan traditionally seeks. Moreover, ISIL had killed Japanese citizens. This paper explains Japan's varying policies in Iraq in 2003 and 2014, thereby shedding light on the determinants of Japanese national security policy more generally. Our argument focuses on domestic political factors (especially the pluralist foreign policymaking) and strategic thinking rooted in realism. We argue that Japanese policies are driven by domestic politics, profound suspicions about the utility of military force and fears of becoming entangled in a seemingly never-ending conflict. While Koizumi may have had more room to manoeuvre despite long-standing public opposition to overseas military deployments when he dispatched the SDF to Iraq in 2003, it is precisely such deeply-entrenched popular anathema that many blame for the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) historic and devastating loss in the 2009 election. Abe was unwilling to repeat such a risky venture in 2014. We also highlight the role of realist calculations on both Japanese elites and the public, who by 2014 had come to see China rather than state or non-state actors in the Middle East as a primary security threat. We thus confirm Midford's finding that "defensive realism" tends to drive Japanese foreign policy thinking. Japanese citizens are not pacifists, as conventional wisdom might hold. Instead, Japanese public opinion supports the use of minimum military force when and if Japan is attacked to defend Japan's national sovereignty and territory but is much more suspicious of such power when it comes to deployments and the pursuit of other foreign policy goals.

Element of Politeness in Intercultural Communication: The Case Study of Japanese and Malaysian Tourists

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Malaysia has consistently ranked in the top ten over the last 20 years. Japan has been the country of choice for Malaysian tourists over the previous ten years. It is, therefore, crucial that tourism communication in the cross-cultural context between Malaysia and Japan is used as a reference to improve the cross-cultural communication skills of the tourism employees involved. This article discusses the external structure of Japanese conversation between native Japanese speakers and Malaysian tourist guides and native Malay speakers with Japanese tourist guides. This study is qualitative and uses the discourse analysis approach. A total of four conversation sessions in the form of Free Independent Travel (FIT) tourism were held in Malacca and Tokyo. The conversations were recorded, and the researchers also made notes throughout the conversation to see the sentence structures and non-linguistic elements to complete the data. The recording was then transcribed and encoded before being analysed. Only the conversations by tourist guides were analysed and included in the contents of this article as the focus of the study is more on the external form and politeness of the Japanese language used by Malaysian and Japanese tourist guides in demonstrating solidarity and similarities in the context of cross-cultural conversation. Data analysis shows many similarities in the selection of vocabulary and specific verb forms by Japanese and Malaysian tourist guides to show courtesy and friendliness in the conversation. This proves that Japanese language skills by Malaysian tourist guides are almost on par with Japanese tourist guides. Malaysian tourist guides also have a vast knowledge of the culture and nature of the Japanese language.

China and Russia Security Cooperation on Arms Exports Toward the US’ Global Hegemony

The purpose of this paper is to analyse China and Russia’s relationship in terms of arms exports between both countries and its implications for the United States (US) using a qualitative method and the conceptual framework of Neorealism: hegemony and security cooperation. China and Russia are two great powers that have maintained close diplomatic ties since the Cold War Era. Both China and Russia cooperate in various sectors, including security. Since the collapse of the SU (USSR), which marked the establishment of post-Cold War Russia, the country has become a major arms exporter to China. This close relationship has dynamically developed in the last few decades. China-Russia security cooperation has been assessed as a security challenge for the US. The security cooperation between China, the new rival for the US since its rising, and Russia, the US’ former superpower rival in the Cold War era, is interpreted as a threat to US domination in the Asia-Pacific. However, this paper concludes that while China and Russia have a close relationship, China can surpass Russia’s military technology. That is why, although these countries relationships are close and Russia does not see China as its primary threat, this does not mean that Russia will let its guard down in facing China’s development. There is a tri-polar power balance between these countries and with the US. The main worry is if two actors get too close, leaving the remaining state isolated. Regardless of the global power equilibrium trajectory, China and Russia will become more closed than the US.

The Waltz's Third Level of Analysis and China's Pursuit of Legitimacy Via the AIIB

Since 2016, the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) has assisted countries in improving their economic conditions with infrastructure and transport projects. Publicly proposed in 2013 by China's President, Xi Jinping, during his state visit to Indonesia, the AIIB has helped consolidate China's legitimacy as a leading power in Asia and globally. Thus, this paper argues that forming the AIIB was a move to counter the relatively low vote share in the neoliberal's international financial institutions, namely the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Japan-led Asian Development Bank (ADB). With the added benefit of leading a development institution, more legitimacy is gained via the international system. Since its establishment, AIIB had significantly increased from 57 founding members in 2016 to 103 in 2020. In examining how this translates into China gaining legitimacy from the international system, this paper examined the case of China's AIIB through the Third Level of Analysis in Kenneth Waltz's Neorealism. In his The State, And War, Waltz argued for the "Levels of Analysis" and convinced the third level analyses a state's legitimacy and goals via the international system's responses and interactions. This paper examined the relationship between China's standing in the eyes of the world and the acceptance of AIIB as a legitimate development institution.

Special Issue on Covid-19 and Japan

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The Disruption of the 1940 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Sports Diplomacy During War and Pandemic

Sports diplomacy possesses the power to bring the best of the human spirit by affirming shared aspirations. Olympic Games share a similar propensity to bring people together across boundaries regardless of race, nationality, religion, income and country, reinforcing the true basis of sportsmanship and solidarity between all nations and spectators. The Tokyo Olympics, which were originally scheduled to take place in Japan in 1940, was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War Two. Likewise, the 2020 Olympic Games was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While 80 years ago, amidst the war, Japan faced backlash before it cancelled the Olympic Games, the effect of the re-scheduled 2020 Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that such confrontational attitude has been replaced by understanding and solidarity from the global community of the consequences of hosting the games. Using a qualitative method, this article explores the differences in perceptions towards Japan during the 1940s which was overshadowed by war and the year 2020 which continues to be blanketed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Pandemic, Technology Booms and New Business Trends: The Case of Japan

The outbreak of COVID-19 has reshaped business environments across the world. Minimal physical contact quickly becoming the standard practice for how everyone interacts, almost everything is going online and touchless. Japan, as one of the most technologically innovative nations in the world, its technology firms and IT industry have enjoyed a prosperous year. The new global business trend and market demand has created new growth opportunities for Japanese firms in reviving the slumping economy. By exploring new business trends and booms in technology sectors, the intent of this study is to examine the impact of COVID-19 on business. The first section includes a discussion on digitalization and global pandemic technology growth, including examples involving the United States and China. The second section is focused on Japan by examining the COVID-19 impact on Japan’s economy, business trends and how this situation has benefitted technology players in Japan. Using business performance records in terms of equity gain and revenue growth, the impact of COVID-19 on business across sectors is investigated, with emphasis on Japan’s digital business and industry of automation, robotics and sensor technology. It concludes that the impacts of COVID-19 on the ways of doing business will be long lasting, and is expected to continue benefitting digital business and technology sectors.

Coronavirus Impact On Online Purchases Behavior in Japan

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted almost every aspect of people’s lives in Japan. With the ageing society that more vulnerable to the disease that needs most people to stay home, the Japanese have been adapting to both the outbreak and the regulations. The declaration of a state of emergency since April makes the businesses and stores deemed non-essential to limit their operations. To limit places where people could gather, all schools, institutes of higher learning, and houses of worship were ordered to be closed during the period. Japanese have been spending more time online and have shown more willingness to purchase items online now. Changes in behavior such as needing to work from home or exploring new hobbies while staying at home also present new opportunities for eCommerce. COVID-19 is having a catastrophic impact on many non-essential products in Japan. With the environment being so different to pre-COVID time, COVID-19 has impacted the Japanese eCommerce industry in some ways. COVID-19 pandemic creates a new environment for the Japanese shopping and spending behavior that needs to be discussed further.