Area studies Asian studies

As Japanese society increasingly gets global, a new study finds that its education system has not kept pace. Students with foreign roots face cultural and linguistic hurdles in schools that still operate on assumptions of homogeneity. Findings suggest a lack of teacher training on multiculturalism is contributing to isolation and missed learning opportunities for these students.

Moved by how Hiroshima’s memorials transformed unspeakable loss into a global call for peace, a Hiroshima University historian turns his gaze to Southeast Asia—unpacking what stories their war monuments enshrine, what they leave out, and what that means for peace and justice, as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing this year.

Fifteen years after Japan initiated efforts to attract younger people to rural areas, researchers assess its impact and the lessons it offers for global rural revitalization policies.

Susanne Klien is an associate professor at Hokkaido University’s Modern Japanese Studies Program (MJSP). Having explored intangible cultural heritage across Japan, Klien has been expanding her research in area studies and anthropology on rural Japan. During her previous work for a research institute in Tokyo, she observed a unique migration pattern that has been taking place in Japan: more young people are relocating from big cities to rural areas, for example to the Tohoku area, the northeastern portion of Japan’s main island of Honshu.