| Cluster | The Political Imagination and Social Solidarity in a Shrinking Japan: A Diachronic Study | |
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| Research Outline | Most current indicators in Japan suggest that the country is not progressing toward growth or expansion but rather toward "shrinkage," signaling the need to prepare for and respond to this new era. This research aims to critically examine the various movements emerging in anticipation of Japan’s future, to not only gain an understanding of Japan but also to provide insights into the future of Korean society. The start of this shrinkage is, of course, demographic—population decline due to low birth rates. Population projections and diagnoses exert a significant influence on the "present," functioning as a form of political discourse. Governments often envision a future crisis and use this as justification to control and manage the present. However, this political imagination does not always function repressively or lead only to negative outcomes. Whether by agreeing with unsettling future predictions or by responding to current changes, people in different positions take action in various ways to prepare for the future. These responses cannot be as simple as a call to increase the population or recover past growth. While governments may obsess over policies to overcome the anxieties associated with population decline or demand sacrifices from certain groups, others engage in creative solidarity efforts to ensure a smooth transition into the shrinking society or to find new ways of living. Of course, discord and trial and error are inevitable in this process. This research will explore Japan’s trajectory toward a shrinking society, focusing on the different perspectives and responses that are more uneven and clunky than smooth. The research will start with the demographic "changes" as a point of departure and aim to capture the various changes in Japanese society that follow in a diachronic and empirical manner. Specifically, this study will address population politics linked to eugenics in modern Japan, topics such as childbirth, child-rearing, immigration and xenophobia, urban and rural dynamics, AI and labor, care and welfare, lifestyle issues related to food, clothing, and housing, as well as changes in production, consumption, and national defense strategy. Artistic (cultural and literary) approaches that reflect on these changes or those related to the SDGs will also be explored. While the subject matter of the research can vary, the study does not aim to find reasons for optimism or pessimism regarding the future of a shrinking society, nor does it intend to propose concrete solutions. The primary objective is to gain a multifaceted understanding of shrinking Japanese society, and through this process, to gain meaningful insights into similar issues facing Korean society. This is why this theme has been chosen for collaborative research in the final phase of the HK+ project. |
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| Lead Researcher | Lee, Eun-gyong (SNU GSIS) | Japan’s Population Policy and Women: Historical Changes and Issues in Abortion |
| Researchers | Kim, Hyojin (SNU GSIS) | Representation of LGBTQ+ in Japanese Mainstream Media: Focusing on BL Dramas |
| Jo, Gwanja(SNU GSIS) | Sustainable Well-Being in Disaster-Prone and Depopulating Societies | |
| Jung, Sinhyeok (SNU GSIS) | Development, Conservation, and 'Survival': Natural Conservation Policies and Local Responses in Iriomote Island after the Reversion of Okinawa (1972) | |
| Park, Wan (Sookmyung Women's University) | The Issue of Japan's Self-Defense Force Personnel and the Conscription Debate in Light of Low Birth Rates | |
| Park, Jeehwan (SNU GSIS) | Educational Inclusion of Youth with Migration Backgrounds in a Multiracializing Japanese Society | |
| Lee,HoSang (Incheon National University) | A Study on the Problem of Infrastructure Aging in Japan during the Population Decline Era | |
| Research Assistant |
Hong, Yujin (Ph.D. Candidate, Program in History and Philosophy of Science, SNU) |
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| Cluster | Counter-Practices in Japan’s High-Risk Society: Contemporary Studies | |
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| Research Outline | This study aims to uncover and introduce various examples of counter-practices in Japanese society, which is currently facing internal and external structural crises. By doing so, it seeks to critically reconstruct Japan’s image, which has been predominantly framed by narratives of “crisis.” This research defines these counter-practices as responses to crisis, encompassing not only social movements but also intellectual, cultural, and academic practices that advocate for alternatives, thereby revealing the diverse dynamics within Japanese society. | |
| Lead Researcher | Seo, Dong Ju (Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University) | Discursive Practices on Conceptualizing "Post-War" after 3.11 |
| Co-Researchers | Jung, Ji Hee (Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University) | Japan as a High-Risk Society, Public Broadcasting in Crisis: Normalization of Disaster and NHK’s Reestablishment of Public Responsibility |
| Nam, Kijeong (Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University) | The Russia-Ukraine War and Three Paths of Post-War Pacifism: "Anti-Fascism," "Anti-Invasion," and "Anti-War" Dialectics | |
| Kim, Taejin (Department of Japanese Studies, Dongguk University) | Japan’s New Left and the Climate Crisis: Focusing on the Saito Kohei Phenomenon | |
| Oh, Eunjung (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Kangwon National University) | Fukushima, Building a Region without Nuclear Dependence: The Possibilities or Failures of Resistance | |
| Cho, Hyunjung (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, KAIST) | Japanese Wooden Architecture as a Survival Strategy in the Anthropocene and Post-Capitalism | |
| Choi, Jongmin (Senior Researcher, Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University) | The Structure of Regional Inequality Surrounding Spent Nuclear Fuel in Japan: Focusing on Aomori Prefecture | |
| Kim, Wook (Senior Researcher, Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University) | Counter-Practices Born from the Illusion of Pre-Disaster: Focusing on Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore | |
| Research Assistant |
Do, Chaehyeon (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Seoul National University) |
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