Discussion
On March 7th 2023, No.272 Japan Specialist Seminar was held in GSIS (Bldg 140) GL Room in hybrid format. With 15 participants on spot and 25 participants online, Professor Boumsoung Kim from Institute of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo University of Science gave a presentation titled “A Study on the History of Invisible Light: Ultraviolet in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Society”. The below is the summary of the presentation.
The presenter introduced how attention in ultraviolet rays has changed in Japan as the times change. In Japan, interest in ultraviolet rays has been confirmed since the mid-1910s, and in the late 1920s, it can be seen that the desire to enjoy health-related impacts through ultraviolet rays has increased. It was emphasized that even under an all-out war system, one can become healthy by exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet rays. Until the 1960s, the perception that ultraviolet rays were beneficial to health continued, but since the 1970s, discussions on the harmfulness of ultraviolet rays, including photochemical smog, have been widely accepted.
The presentation concluded his talk by emphasizing that ultraviolet rays, which are invisible rays, have visualized changes in society, while examining changes in natural, health, and beauty centers in Japanese society in the 20th century.
After the presentation, there was a Q/A session. There was a question about the background of the discovery of ultraviolet rays in Japan, regarding the actor of discourse. The presenter responded that it was different according to the times, explaining the difference between the 1920s and the late 1930s, which were the early days of the UV discourse.
In addition, the seminar was concluded after discussions on increased access to scientific knowledge due to the development of information and communication technology, the social structural causes of enthusiasm for scientific discovery, and ultraviolet discourse in rural areas.
