Research Reports
At this meeting, three invited researchers in the field of Japanese Language and Japanese Language Education Research and three in the field of Japanese Literature and Culture Research each gave a 15-minute research report. Although their period of stay was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in many cases they had to change or abandon their planned surveys and other activities, we were able to see steady progress in their research and results despite the various restrictions (a summary of each researcher’s project and their outlook for the future is given below).
Each researcher's presentation was followed by comments and a question-and-answer session with faculty members from their respective receiving organizations, sparking a lively exchange of questions and discussion about the details of each research report.
<Japanese Language and Japanese Language Education Research>
Associate Professor, The Australian National University (Australia)
“A Linguistic Study on Individual Differences Manifested in Writing Styles in Japanese: Focusing on Text Messages”
“With respect to the slow progress of forensic authorship identification in Japan, I was able to reaffirm the utility of feature variables highlighted by previous studies for authorship identification in Japanese. I also gained insight into how useful authorship identification can be in the field of forensic science. In terms of future outlook, I would like to pursue forensic research in Japanese using Bayes' theorem and likelihood ratios, which are more appropriate for forensic science. Furthermore, I feel that in order to achieve this, there is a lot of basic research and research for actual operation to be tackled, so there is plenty to do after I return home.”
Professor of Japanese Linguistics, University of Oregon (USA)
“Acoustic Factors Predicting Foreign Accent in Second Language Japanese and its Social and Affective Consequences”
“I believe that my residency in Japan helped me complete an important foundation for this research. Using a base program constructed for the perception experiment, I found that the way speaker information is given makes no difference in the listener's comprehension, but does make a difference in subjective perceptions, such as accent. Going forward, I will also consider whether the perception of accent changes depending on the speaker’s appearance. In the future, I would like to explore ways to mitigate the negative impact of foreign accents in specific situations, such as in the workplace.”
Deputy Director (Associate Professor) National University of Singapore, Centre for Language Studies (Singapore)
“Significance and Issues of Japanese Language Education for Fostering Highly-skilled Foreign Professionals: Analysis of Life-Story of Singaporean Japanese Language Learners”
“I conducted three semi-structured interviews with each of six graduates working in Japan,and integrated their TEM (Trajectory Equifinality Model) diagrams to analyze factors that promote/inhibit the acquisition of Japanese language. Some of the graduates are former students of mine, and it was good to have the opportunity to talk with them in depth face to face. Through this research, I was able to gain many insights into the process of Japanese language acquisition up to post-employment, as well as the significance and challenges of Japanese language education. In the future, I intend to carefully compile these results and apply them to a wide range of fields, including Japanese-language education, business, and government.”
<Japanese Literature and Japanese Culture Research>
Lecturer, University of Paris, IFRAE (The French Research Institute on East Asia) (France)
“Literary Exchange between Japanese Writers and their Asian and African Counterparts in the 1960s and Early 1970s, and the reception of Asian and African Literature in Japan during the Same Period”
“During my stay in Japan, I focused on a survey of documents relating to the Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference. This involved examining the participation of Japanese writers in the Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference, the role of Japanese writers in international conferences, and the state of translation of Asian and African literature. Asian and African literature from the 60s and 70s is a field that is also attracting interest in France, and I plan to present my work at a research group at the University of Paris and at international conferences. I would also like to further investigate and study its impact on the Japanese literary world and the role of Japanese writers.”
Honorary Professor, University of Victoria (Canada)
“The Social and Cultural Function of Urban and Regional Performing Arts Festivals”
“Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many theater festivals to be canceled or postponed, forcing me to change my research questions. The performing arts have rapidly moved online, but they cannot be replaced by streaming and recording. With the disappearance of international exchange and Japan's isolation, I am keeping a close eye on how art festivals will change in the future. There have been new developments such as a pair of Japanese art producers being named co-directors of Theater der Welt, and I am planning to conduct interviews and conference presentations in the future.”
Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
“The Localization of Chinese Folk Religions in Early Modern Japan”
*Due to the postponement of his visit to Japan, Professor Ng conducted his study in his country of residence.
Although I was not able to conduct research in Japan this time due to COVID-19, I conducted a literature survey on the localization of Chinese deities in early modern Japan and the characteristics of Chinese folk religion. Although it is traditionally acknowledged that Chinese religion spread during the Edo period, this study reveals that this process involved the localization of Chinese folk religion in Japan and its incorporation into the Japanese folk traditions and religious system. My future plans include visiting Japan to conduct fieldwork, conference presentations in English and Japanese, and publication of papers.”
Critique by the Evaluation Committee
Finally, the six members of the Evaluation Committee who participated online gave their critiques.
Committee Chairman Masaru Inoue started by saying, “Despite the short six-month period and the COVID-19 restrictions, these studies were highly meaningful in terms of the exchange between researchers in Japanese language education and Japanese culture. I am pleased that each researcher seems to have established a solid foothold for taking the next step forward.”
This was followed by remarks from the Evaluation Committee members.
“While my focus was on the Japanese language research, I was once again impressed by the breadth of applications presented (IJIMA Masahiro).”
“There have been suggestions that the impact of COVID-19 may cause researchers in Japanese studies to disengage, so I urge everyone to help energize Japanese studies and have a positive influence on young researchers (KOYANAGI Kaoru).”
“I was very impressed by the fact that something that started out in an alternative format born out of restrictions has produced meaning and value that is not simply a substitution (TANAKA Yukari).”
“I regret that I did not have the opportunity to speak with the invitees at a post-presentation reception on this occasion, but I am grateful to have learned so much from them (YAMANAKA Reiko).”
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, there were so many things that could be done, but you managed to devise ways to make things possible (FURUKAWA Takahisa).”
The online research report meeting came to a close with hopes for future exchanges between researchers and the further progress of research.
*Each researcher’s presentation, etc. have been summarized by the Fellowship Secretariat. As such, all responsibility for errors rests with the Secretariat.
