Japanese Studies Centre Monographs
Is Japan really remilitarising? The politics of norm formation and change
Yasuo Takao 2008, $36.95. ISBN 978 1 876924 60 7
Is Japan really remilitarising? According to the mass media, Japanese nationalism is on the rise. Tokyo’s stance on national security is becoming uncharacteristically assertive. This book explores the prospect of Japan’s remilitarisation and challenges the preconceived approaches taken by existing theories to Japan’s national security. The book examines Japan’s pacifism since the Second World War, developments in Japanese military build-up since the late 1960s, and Japan’s responses to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Controversies between realism and social constructivism continue to dominate Japan’s national security debates but neither is fully able to make point predictions. This study, an attempt to bridge the gap between these two rigid approaches, helps us understand this vital aspect of national security.
Narrating the other: Australian literary perceptions of Japan
Megumi Kato, 2008, $37.95, ISBN 978 1 876924 59 1
The first extensive study of Japan in Australian literary consciousness, Narrating the other provides a broad chronological exploration of Australian writers’ representations of the Japanese from the late 19th to the 21st century. A comprehensive examination of Australian novels, stories and memoirs reveals the powerful and continuing influence of depictions of Japan and its people. Images of ‘Madame Butterfly’, ‘the stranger’, ‘the enemy’ and later ‘the ally’ or ‘partner’ vary according to authors, situations and wider international relations. Narrating the other attempts to identify the patterns that Australian authors have used to portray and evaluate the Japanese, the changing nature of these patterns, their contextual relationship and their contribution to the formation of wider Australian views on Japan and the Japanese.
Unexpected encounters: neglected histories behind the Australia-Japan relationship
edited by Michael Ackland and Pam Oliver 2007, $34.95 ISBN 978 1 876924 50 8
Telling the personal stories of Australians in Japan and Japanese in Australia, this book explores issues of race, identity and ambition in times of war and peace. The essays collected here illuminate a variety of fascinating lives and individual achievements, from trade to literature and the arts, the media and the justice system.
Changing histories: Australia and Japan
Edited by Paul Jones and Pam Oliver, 2001, $29.95, ISBN 0 7926 1196 2
The history of contact between Japan and Australia is rich in literature, business, romance and war. Challenging the notion that these two nations have long been culturally isolated, this volume brings out the diversity of their relationship. The topics covered in detail include Japanese business interests in Sydney from the 19th century, the broken ideals of Australian literary figures who chose to live in Japan, the role of Australian forces in post-war Occupation, and rapidly changing countries assessing one another in a serious and respectful manner.