Impact of Globalization on Japanese Language and Culture

1. Impact of Globalization on Japanese Language and Culture Crossroads in Cultural Studies 2002 Norio Ota York University

2. Impact on Culture and Society • Judicial system reform • Empowerment, accountability, informed consent • Psychological analysis: ‘healing’, ‘co-dependency’ • Aging, fixed contribution pension, portability of pension and tax reform • Japan as a multi-cultural and multi-racial nation • Impact on education • Later marriage, fewer children and divorce • Political correctness • Restructuring, salary reduction, unemployment and homeless • Asian Free Trade Zone – China, Korea and ASEAN ?

3. Impact on LanguageSociolinguistic and pragmatic changes • Confrontational and aggressive approach • From agreement-seeking to agreement-demanding • Other changes in communication strategies: more • Direct, Assertive • Argumentative, Provocative, Challenging, Competitive • Egalitarian [gender equal, rank equal] • Self-righteous, Non-apologetic

4. Impact on LanguageNew usage in idiomaticity • iken o suri-awaseru‘rub opinions together’ • mongon‘statement’ • hanzai ga okonawareta‘a crime was committed’ • denchuu to gekitotsu ‘crash with an electric pole (lit.)’ • boosoo-zoku ga tsudou chuusha-joo‘a parking lot where mortorcycle gangs get together’ • shashin o totta mikka-mae ni Osore-san ni itta.‘He went to Mt. Osore three days before the photo was taken. • saikin toku ni ninki ni natte ‘it has become popular recently’

5. Impact on LanguageLoan words • fuurigan-taisaku ‘(anti-)hooligan measures • seegi no hiiroo ‘champion (hero) of justice’ • koosoku-dooro-dai-kurasshu ‘a big crash on a freeway’ • honne-tooku ‘heart-to-heart talk’ • riiku-suru ‘to leak’ • happii-raifu ‘happy life’ • akushidento ‘accident’ • doggu-fuudo ‘dog food’ • bureeku-suru ‘to get a break’ • rajio  reidio ‘radio’ • enerugii  enajii ‘energy’ • hoomuresu ‘homeless’ • reipu ‘rape’ • sutoriito-chirudoren ‘street children’

6. Japan as an agent of globalization • East Asia and Southeast Asia: ‘Doraemon’ , ‘Hello Kitty’, ‘Tare-Panda’, ‘Pokemon’ • North America and West: ‘Sailor Moon’ , ‘Pokemon’, ‘Nomo, ‘Ichiro’

7. References • 岩淵功一 ｢グローバリゼーションの中の日本文化の匂い｣ 世界 1998年4月号 69－81 岩波書店 • Iwabuchi, Koichi (2001) “Japan, Globalization, and Cultural Imperialism”, paper presented at ICAS2 • Conference, Berlin. • Leung, Lisa (2001) “Gendering Transnationalism: Cultural politics of intra-East Asian media • consumption, paper presented at ICAS2 Conference, Berlin. • Ota, Norio (1995) 'Cross-Cultural Communication through Japanese: Communicating with Japan • through high school education', in D.J. Dicks (ed.) Communicating with Japan: Images Past, Present and Future - An Interdisciplinary Anthology, Montreal: Concordia University, 1995, 108-130. • __________ (1999)‘Culture in Language Context’, JSAC web publication, 12th Annual Conference of the Japan Studies Association of Canada, McGill University, Montreal. • __________ (2000)‘Coping with sociolinguistic and pragmatic changes in TJFL’, 13th Annual • Conference of the Japan Studies Association of Canada, University of British Columbia. • 山脇啓造・近藤敦・柏崎千佳子「多民族国家・日本の構想」世界 2001年７月号 141－160　 岩波書店