Download or read book The Comfort Women written by C. Sarah Soh and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an era marked by atrocities perpetrated on a grand scale, the tragedy of the so-called comfort women—mostly Korean women forced into prostitution by the Japanese army—endures as one of the darkest events of World War II. These women have usually been labeled victims of a war crime, a simplistic view that makes it easy to pin blame on the policies of imperial Japan and therefore easier to consign the episode to a war-torn past. In this revelatory study, C. Sarah Soh provocatively disputes this master narrative. Soh reveals that the forces of Japanese colonialism and Korean patriarchy together shaped the fate of Korean comfort women—a double bind made strikingly apparent in the cases of women cast into sexual slavery after fleeing abuse at home. Other victims were press-ganged into prostitution, sometimes with the help of Korean procurers. Drawing on historical research and interviews with survivors, Soh tells the stories of these women from girlhood through their subjugation and beyond to their efforts to overcome the traumas of their past. Finally, Soh examines the array of factors— from South Korean nationalist politics to the aims of the international women’s human rights movement—that have contributed to the incomplete view of the tragedy that still dominates today.

Download or read book Japanese Public Sentiment on South Korea written by Tetsuro Kobayashi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors to this book demonstrate empirically how Japanese public opinion is formed amid strained Japan–South Korea relations. Studying public opinion in Japan and South Korea is critically important for exploring the causes and consequences of the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries. Japan–South Korea relations are at their worst level since World War II. Faced with North Korea’s nuclear threat and China’s regional and global advances, Japan and South Korea are each allied with the US and function as key stabilizers within the Asia–Pacific "Pax Americana." These relations play a decisive role in East Asia’s international security. The contributors explore a variety of social scientific methodologies—both conventional quantitative surveys and experiments, as well as quantitative text analyses of published books and computational analyses of social media data—to disentangle the dynamic relationship between Japanese public opinion and Japan–South Korea relations. An invaluable resource for scholars of East Asian regional security issues.

Download or read book Diaspora without Homeland written by Sonia Ryang and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009-04-27 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than one-half million people of Korean descent reside in Japan today—the largest ethnic minority in a country often assumed to be homogeneous. This timely, interdisciplinary volume blends original empirical research with the vibrant field of diaspora studies to understand the complicated history, identity, and status of the Korean minority in Japan. An international group of scholars explores commonalities and contradictions in the Korean diasporic experience, touching on such issues as citizenship and belonging, the personal and the political, and homeland and hostland.

Download or read book Low Fertility in Japan South Korea and Singapore written by Shigeki Matsuda and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-18 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the low fertility status in three developed Asian countries—Japan, South Korea, and Singapore—and outlines countermeasures for their declining birthrates. Based on the characteristics of each society, the authors discuss why their fertility rates have not yet recovered. Low fertility is a demographic phenomenon that first occurred in Europe and subsequently spread across other countries. Currently, the fertility rates in Europe are relatively stable, while those in developed Asian economies are the lowest worldwide. This may cause labor shortages and weaken their social security systems, undermining Asia’s social and economic sustainability despite its remarkable economic development. In response to low fertility, some Asian countries have implemented countermeasures: Japan has introduced measures based on childcare facilities and work–life balance. Similarly, since the mid-2000s South Korea has established countermeasures to promote a balance between work and child rearing, as well as expanded childcare services. Singapore began introducing countermeasures before the other two countries, including various advanced measures. Yet none of these countries has seen a full recovery in fertility rates. Based on a statistical analysis of survey results from the three countries, this book makes several important points. The first is that the policy has been ineffective in Japan due to a discrepancy between the needs of parents raising children and those who are the targets of the countermeasures. Second, the work–life balance and child-rearing support measures that have been promoted in Japan and South Korea have not affected the number of children that women want to have. Third, Singaporean values tend to place individual emphasis on competition with oneself (education and career status) rather than on married life. This intense competition has lowered fertility rates. To restore these rates, each country must promote policies that better address its specific issues.

Download or read book The Languages of Japan and Korea written by Nicolas Tranter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Languages of Japan and Korea provides detailed descriptions of the major varieties of languages in the region, both modern and pre-modern, within a common format, producing a long-needed introductory reference source. Korean, Japanese, Ainu, and representative members of the main groupings of the Ryukyuan chain are discussed for the first time in great detail in a single work. The volume is divided into language sketches, the majority of which are broken down into sections on phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax and lexicon. Specific emphasis is placed on aspects of syntactic interest, including speech levels, honorifics and classifiers. Each language variety is represented in Roman-based transcription, although its own script (where there is such orthography) and IPA transcriptions are used sparingly where appropriate. The dialects of both the modern and oldest forms of the languages are given extensive treatment, with a primary focus on the differences from the standard language. These synchronic snapshots are complemented by a discussion of both the genetic and areal relationships between languages in the region. With contributions from a variety of scholars of the highest reputation, The Language of Japan and Korea is a much needed and highly useful tool for professionals and students in linguistics, as well as area studies specialists.

Download or read book Re Evaluating Education in Japan and Korea written by Hyunjoon Park and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International comparisons of student achievement in mathematics, science, and reading have consistently shown that Japanese and Korean students outperform their peers in other parts of world. Understandably, this has attracted many policymakers and researchers seeking to emulate this success, but it has also attracted strong criticism and a range of misconceptions of the Japanese and Korean education system. Directly challenging these misconceptions, which are prevalent in both academic and public discourses, this book seeks to provide a more nuanced view of the Japanese and Korean education systems. This includes the idea that the highly standardized means of education makes outstanding students mediocre; that the emphasis on memorization leads to a lack of creativity and independent thinking; that students’ successes are a result of private supplementary education; and that the Japanese and Korean education systems are homogenous to the point of being one single system. Using empirical data Hyunjoon Park re-evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the existing education systems in Japan and Korea and reveals whether the issues detailed above are real or unfounded and misinformed. Offering a balanced view of the evolving and complex nature of academic achievement among Japanese and Korean students, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Asian, international and comparative education, as well as those interested in Asian society more broadly.

Download or read book Oceanic Histories written by David Armitage and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Freshly presents world history through its oceans and seas in uniquely wide-ranging, original chapters by leading experts in their fields.

Download or read book Good Government written by Sören Holmberg and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Everyone wants good government, but how do we know when we have it? The path-breaking Quality of Government Institute cuts through the tiresome ideological debate with theoretically grounded empirical analyses of the components, measures, and outcomes of good government. The book's contributors demonstrate the relevance of political science, and they do so with arguments and evidence that should improve policy and, ultimately, peoples' lives.' – Margaret Levi, University of Washington, US 'All too often today research in political science is irrelevant and uninspiring, shying away from the "big" questions that actually matter in people's lives. Good Government shows that this does not have to be the case. Tackling some of the "biggest" questions of the contemporary era – What is good government? Where does it come from? How can it be measured and how does it matter? – this book will prove invaluable to academics and policy makes alike.' – Sheri Berman, Barnard College, US 'What is "Good Government?" Few doubt that it is better to have a "good government" than a "bad" one, but few of us have thought carefully about what makes for good government vs. bad. Sören Holmberg and Bo Rothstein's excellent volume helps fill in this gap. Though the book is more than this, the focus on corruption is particularly fascinating. We know that corruption is "bad" but where does it come from? Why are some legislatures more corrupt than others? Why does the media sometimes collude? Why are women less easily corrupted than men? These are just a few of the many fascinating questions this volume explores. By bridging democratic theory, public policy and institutional analysis, it is one of the first to give us some practical insight into the obviously important question: what makes some governments "better" than others?' – Sven Steinmo, European University Institute, Italy In all societies, the quality of government institutions is of the utmost importance for the well-being of its citizens. Problems like high infant mortality, lack of access to safe water, unhappiness and poverty are not primarily caused by a lack of technical equipment, effective medicines or other types of knowledge generated by the natural or engineering sciences. Instead, the critical problem is that the majority of the world's population live in societies that have dysfunctional government institutions. Central issues discussed in the book include: how can good government be conceptualized and measured, what are the effects of 'bad government' and how can the quality of government be improved? Good Government will prove invaluable for students in political science, public policy and public administration. Researchers in political science and the social sciences, as well as policy analysts working in government, international and independent policy organizations will also find plenty to interest them in this resourceful compendium.

Download or read book The Dokdo Takeshima Dispute written by Paul Huth and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-04-12 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Dokdo/Takeshima Dispute, Paul Huth, Sunwoong Kim, and Terence Roehrig have assembled top scholars from Japan, South Korea, and the United States to provide a balanced and comprehensive look from multiple perspectives of this long-running island dispute.

Download or read book Government at a Glance 2017 written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-13 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government at a Glance 2017 provides the latest available data on public administrations in OECD countries. Where possible, it also reports data for Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, and South Africa.

Download or read book The Koreas between China and Japan written by Lee Guen and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-24 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most discussions pertaining to the nuclear proliferation and reunification issues on the Korean Peninsula privilege the position and role played by the United States. In the first volume of its kind, this collection of essays presents the challenges faced by the Koreas against the context of the changing relations between China and Japan. Strategically nestled between these political giants, the Korean Peninsula has traditionally been “seen” as a sphere of influence by Tokyo and Beijing. Regardless of the escalating difficulties in recent Sino-Japanese relations, this volume argues that avoiding all-out conflict and ensuring a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula are certainly strategic goals that both China and Japan still share. Neither China nor Japan wishes to be dragged into a war started by North Korean belligerence, South Korean aspirations or American adventurism. However, despite alternating between political pressure and diplomatic efforts, Japan and China have found it extremely difficult to guide the tone and direction of politics in intra-Korea affairs. Conversely, both South and North Korea have been extremely adept at fending off any perceived attempts to influence their domestic and foreign policies. Pyongyang and Seoul have shown remarkable political gumption and diplomatic skill, not only resisting Great Power influences but even managing to advance their political agendas in this very tempestuous neighbourhood. One fundamental question this volume addresses is whether the developments on the Korean Peninsula could and should be considered independently from developments in Sino-Japanese relations. Through addressing different dimensions of the interaction between the Koreas, China and Japan in the 21st Century, this volume makes a valuable contribution to study of the international relations of Northeast Asia.

Download or read book Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace written by Michael Krepon and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive guide to the history of nuclear arms control by a wise eavesdropper and masterful storyteller, Michael Krepon. The greatest unacknowledged diplomatic achievement of the Cold War was the absence of mushroom clouds. Deterrence alone was too dangerous to succeed; it needed arms control to prevent nuclear warfare. So, U.S. and Soviet leaders ventured into the unknown to devise guardrails for nuclear arms control and to treat the Bomb differently than other weapons. Against the odds, they succeeded. Nuclear weapons have not been used in warfare for three quarters of a century. This book is the first in-depth history of how the nuclear peace was won by complementing deterrence with reassurance, and then jeopardized by discarding arms control after the Cold War ended. Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace tells a remarkable story of high-wire acts of diplomacy, close calls, dogged persistence, and extraordinary success. Michael Krepon brings to life the pitched battles between arms controllers and advocates of nuclear deterrence, the ironic twists and unexpected outcomes from Truman to Trump. What began with a ban on atmospheric testing and a nonproliferation treaty reached its apogee with treaties that mandated deep cuts and corralled "loose nukes" after the Soviet Union imploded. After the Cold War ended, much of this diplomatic accomplishment was cast aside in favor of freedom of action. The nuclear peace is now imperiled by no less than four nuclear-armed rivalries. Arms control needs to be revived and reimagined for Russia and China to prevent nuclear warfare. New guardrails have to be erected. Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace is an engaging account of how the practice of arms control was built from scratch, how it was torn down, and how it can be rebuilt.

Download or read book Zainichi Koreans in Japan written by John Lie and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008-11-17 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the origins and transformations of a people-the Zainichi, or Koreans “residing in Japan.” Using a wide range of arguments and evidence-historical and comparative, political and social, literary and pop-cultural-John Lie reveals the social and historical conditions that gave rise to Zainichi identity, while exploring its vicissitudes and complexity. In the process he sheds light on the vexing topics of diaspora, migration, identity, and group formation.

Download or read book Building a Heaven on Earth written by Albert L. Park and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2014-12-31 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why and how did Korean religious groups respond to growing rural poverty, social dislocation, and the corrosion of culture caused by forces of modernization under strict Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945)? Questions about religion's relationship and response to capitalism, industrialization, urbanization, and secularization lie at the heart of understanding the intersection between colonialism, religion, and modernity in Korea. Yet, getting answers to these questions has been a challenge because of narrow historical investigations that fail to study religious processes in relation to political, economic, social, and cultural developments. In Building a Heaven on Earth, Albert L. Park studies the progressive drives by religious groups to contest standard conceptions of modernity and forge a heavenly kingdom on the Korean peninsula to relieve people from fierce ruptures in their everyday lives. The results of his study will reconfigure the debates on colonial modernity, the origins of faith-based social activism in Korea, and the role of religion in a modern world. Building a Heaven on Earth, in particular, presents a compelling story about the determination of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), the Presbyterian Church, and the Ch'ŏndogyo to carry out large-scale rural movements to form a paradise on earth anchored in religion, agriculture, and a pastoral life. It is a transnational story of leaders from these three groups leaning on ideas and systems from countries, such as Denmark, France, Japan, and the United States, to help them reform political, economic, social, and cultural structures in colonial Korea. This book shows that these religious institutions provided discursive and material frameworks that allowed for an alternative form of modernity that featured new forms of agency, social organization, and the nation. In so doing, Building a Heaven on Earth repositions our understandings of modern Korean history.

Download or read book History of the New York Times 1851 1921 written by Elmer Holmes Davis and published by . This book was released on 1921 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History of the New York Times from 1851-1921

Download or read book China Korea Japan at War 1592 1598 written by J. Marshall Craig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The East Asian War of 1592 to 1598 was the only extended war before modern times to involve Japan, Korea, and China. It devastated huge swathes of Korea and led to large population movements across borders. This book draws on surviving letters and diaries to recount the personal experiences of five individuals from different backgrounds who lived through the war and experienced its devastating effects: a Chinese doctor who became a spy; a Japanese samurai on his first foreign expedition; a Korean gentleman turned refugee; a Korean scholar-diplomat; and a Japanese Buddhist monk involved in the atrocities of the invasion. The book outlines the context of the war so that readers can understand the background against which the writers' lives were lived, allows the individual voices of the five men and their reflections on events to come through, and casts much light on prevailing attitudes and conditions, including cultural interaction, identity, cross-border information networks, class conflict, the role of religion in society, and many others aspects of each writer's world.

Download or read book International Impact of Colonial Rule in Korea 1910 1945 written by Yong-Chool Ha and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2019-12-23 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, discussion of the colonial period in Korea has centered mostly on the degree of exploitation or development that took place domestically, while international aspects have been relatively neglected. Colonial discourse, such as characterization of Korea as a “hermit nation,” was promulgated around the world by Japan and haunts us today. The colonization of Korea also transformed Japan and has had long-term consequences for post–World War II Northeast Asia as a whole. Through sections that explore Japan’s images of Korea, colonial Koreans’ perceptions of foreign societies and foreign relations, and international perceptions of colonial Korea, the essays in this volume show the broad influence of Japanese colonialism not simply on the Korean peninsula, but on how the world understood Japan and how Japan understood itself. When initially incorporated into the Japanese empire, Korea seemed lost to Japan’s designs, yet Korean resistance to colonial rule, along with later international fear of Japanese expansion, led the world to rethink the importance of Korea as a future sovereign nation.