SSJ-Friends,

After a break for Tokyo 2020 and Obon, YCAPS' Getting to Know Japan webinar series has returned. While these are 101-level presentations that target newcomers to Japan, you'll recognize the speakers as the top researchers in their fields. Therefore, I'm finding them tremendously useful to refresh and hone my know across the Japan studies discipline. I believe others would have similar experiences. I also recommend them for your students and others looking to begin their Japan study tour. We alternate between Tues mornings and Thursday afternoons JST

Event series page:

https://www.ycaps.org/know-japan <https://www.ycaps.org/know-japan>

Upcoming events:

Roles of Kinship and Family in Japanese Society
August 31, 2021 10:00 (Japan)
Cultural Anthropologist Dr. Kathryn Goldfarb will lead an introductory webinar on kinship and family in Japan, focusing on how family affiliation influences individual well-being and connects to broader issues of Japanese national and cultural identity.

Japanese Minorities and Questions of Immigration
September 9, 2021 20:30 (Japan)
Dr. Michael Sharpe will provide an introductory overview of Japanese minority groups as well as discuss some of the issues and questions regarding foreign immigration to Japan. After his presentation, there will be an open Q&A.

Japan's Postwar Constitution & Government System
September 14, 2021 10:00 (Japan)
Japan will be going to the polls soon to elect members of the National Diet's Lower House, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party may decide to swap the current Prime Minister for a new leader ahead of the polls. In preparation for observing these political happenings, Dr. Mike Bosack will provide a primer on Japan's postwar constitution and system of governance, offering attendees the tools for making sense of it all.

Japan's Political Leaders
September 23, 2021 19:00 (Japan)
What are the significant characteristics of recent Japanese prime ministers and how has Japan changed under their respective administrations? Mr. Tobias Harris, author of "The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan", will shed some light on these questions as he gives an introductory overview of Japan's political leaders before opening the floor for Q&A.

Political Extremism in Japan
Getting to Know Japan Seminar (via Zoom)
September 28, 2021 10:00 (Japan)
What do anti-communist sound trucks, anti-imperial anarchists, anti-war teenagers, and anti-racist countermovements have in common? In this talk, Professor Smith will discuss the post-WWII history and contemporary status of several activist movements in Japan, based in part on his fieldwork since 2005 into the Japanese far right. As activist movements engage each other, lay society, the Japanese government, US-Japan relations, and Japan's relationship with Asian neighbors, they offer insight into the dynamism of political life in contemporary Japan.

Best regards,
John Bradford