Dr Alexander Brown1, Mr Atsushi Yamagata2, Ms Sonja Petrovic3, Ms Monica Flint4
1Japan Women’s University, Tokyo, Japan, 2University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 3University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 4University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Overview:
This panel highlights the work of early-career researchers from the journal New Voices in Japanese Studies. Each panellist considers the future shape of Japan and Japanese society, considering how ideas of cultural identity, local identity and community have been changing in recent times through case studies of asylum seeker intakes, disaster-related social media usage, and local political campaigns in Japan’s subtropical Okinawan islands. All three panellists analyse different aspects of the rapidly evolving media landscape, shedding light on the way that broad structural changes are reflected in media coverage and new media practices. Each paper contributes to the questioning of modern ‘traditions’ and challenges conceptions of an ideologically and culturally homogenous Japan. The panel will be chaired by the current New Voices in Japanese Studies Guest Editor, and the presenters’ attendance is supported by the journal’s New Voices Scholar program.