17th Annual International Conference on Japanese Studies

Japan: 

Age in a Time of Precariousness

CALL FOR PAPERS

Asian Center, University of the Philippines, Diliman

International Studies Department, De La Salle University

Japanese Studies Program, Ateneo de Manila University

In Cooperation with the

Gender and Development Program

University of the Philippines, Visayas

DATES: 1-2 February, 2019

VENUE: Casa Real de Iloilo, Iloilo City (Tentative) 

OVERVIEW:

Population ageing  is a phenomenon that has been affected developed countries and started

affecting other parts of the world..  The phenomenon exists through several reasons such as

availability of the efficient food distribution to materialize better nutrient supplies and advance

medical technology.,  It causes the decrease of workforce, a delay in social services, and the

social security burden on the working population, and, therefore, brings about the stagnation

of the national economy and a loss of vitality of culture and society   It is an increasingly

researched topic by scholars around the world.

Japan is a focal point in ageing studies. It is labeled as a “super-ageing society” because of not

only its high ratio of the aged population and low fertility rates but also its fast pace of aging.

Shoshi Koreika ( 少子高齢化) is a term used by most scholars to describe this phenomenon in

Japan.  The studies have been made to investigate the reasons for how this phenomenon occurred

as well as how the related issues could be addressed. Predicting the aging problems, the

Japanese government officially started the implementation of the foreign labor import in the 1970s.

Nonetheless, Japan is now facing the new phase of society with the decreasing national population,

which extensively affects areas of society, economy and polity.

The phenomenon has wide ranging effects not only limited to Japan but also the international relationships. In the Philippines, Japan’s need for healthcare workers has been affected the industry, the politics and society. Triggered by the Japan-Philippines Economic Agreement that included the item of healthcare workers, nursing and care-giving schools with Japanese languages courses mushroomed in the 1990s, and housekeepers and services have recently being launched.  Many workplaces in Japan, however, are not ready to accept, or even neglect, those foreign workers who are supposed to take care of Japanese in a precarious state. Such precarity in Japan, associated with various forms of insecurity, risk, ambivalence and vulnerability on one hand, may also give impetus for introducing significant changes in structures, policies and experiences on the other.  

Furthermore, this conference examines the politics of age as Japan faces economic challenges that have transformed social, political, economic, and cultural dynamics in Japan. Since the collapse of the economy in the 1990s, Japanese, across all ages and genders, adapt to lifestyles that attempt to overcome states of vulnerability. Japan’s decreasing birth rates and growing aging population spark questions surrounding a demographic that can uplift Japan from its precarity. These questions also raise the contributions of indigenous, migrant, and divergent population who is changing the social fabric of Japan as they tackle precariousness in diverse ways. Thus this conference invites scholars to consider age as a critical lens in the analysis of different issues surrounding Japan’s precarious state.

For this conference, we encourage Japanese Studies scholars to consider age and precarity as they address any of the following issues and themes:

• Gender
• Media
• Politics 
• Health
• Adolescence 
• Ageing 
• Migration
• Tourism 
• Labor 
• Education

Other related topics are also welcome. Please submit the abstracts to this link on or before 30 October 2018. All submissions will be refereed. 

Note: As this conference has no external support, there may not be travel grants for the attendance of this conference

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM

The conference will consist of sessions with 20 min. for each paper 

(+ sufficient Q&A time)

Abstracts and bios should be in English. Please include a title, your name, affiliation, contact details (mailing address, email) and an abstract of your paper (maximum of 500 words). 

Please direct any inquiries (jspadmu@gmail.com),