ABSTRACT Life insurance established itself in Japan as a domestic industry by the end of the Meiji period. A unique feature of the early years of the industry was the emergence of Buddhist-related life insurance companies from 1894 onwards. However, by 1914, these companies had either gone out of business or restructured and ceased their affiliation with Buddhism. Japanese research explains the entry of Buddhist sects into life insurance with reference to their financial needs, while their disappearance 20 years later is attributed to lack of technical expertise and weak corporate governance. This paper further adds to the understanding of the 20-year episode in two ways. Pointing to the wider socio-cultural and political context, it shows how the decision to engage with life insurance fit the overall strategies of Buddhist sects at the time to position themselves as an institution aligned with and contributing to the country’s modernization goals. By analyzing the marketing challenges that life insurance companies confronted, the paper also clarifies how the affiliation with Buddhism could constitute a competitive advantage during the early years of the industry, and why this advantage diminished as the industry developed. The analysis explains both the appearance and disappearance of Buddhist life insurance companies. It also sheds light on the role and shifting sources of trust in the evolution of markets.

ABSTRACT The Takarazuka Revue is commonly differentiated from other Japanese theatres based on their gendered stage performances and distinct relations between the performers and their patrons. So far, little research has been conducted on Takarazuka’s fan culture beyond the prism of a theatre performance and performer/fan relationships, especially when it comes to issues such as locality, fan tourism, or fans’ consumer practices that are not limited to the activities of fan clubs. Looking at Takarazuka from the perspective of the imagined core of Takarazuka fan culture offers us a glimpse into the reasons for the unprecedented popularity of this establishment: the fantasy beyond the stage. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in Takarazuka City and interview data with Takarazuka fans, this article examines Takarazuka fans’ perceptions of Takarazuka Revue’s birthplace, the core of Takarazuka City, and the landscape surrounding its home-theatre, the Takarazuka Grand Theatre. I explore how past memories, lived experiences, and personal encounters of individual fans transform an urban neighbourhood into a shared fantasy surpassing the theatre stage; an embodied space characterised by movement, liminality, and affect, which is hidden behind the idea of the “Takarazuka space”. I argue that Takarazuka fans’ awareness of the ubiquitous Takarazuka space on both communal and personal levels signifies a multi-layered fantasy which exceeds the expectations of theatregoing practices, and provides us insight into the way local theatres within urban landscapes have the potential to shape individual fan identities and promote the creation of fan networks.

ABSTRACT This essay considers how performances by Takayama Akira (founder of Port B) are made to explore experiences of mobility and migration among people who traverse geographical and geopolitical spaces in Japan and elsewhere. In making works that uncover hidden sites that are connected to diasporic and migratory passage, Takayama invites reflections on questions of borders, zones, regions, and the passages between them. Our paper will discuss how Takayama’s work is a form of place-making. His tour performances and mobile ideas of theatre create complexities around the meaning of place in terms of re-spatialized institutional strata and civic designations. We aim to explore how civic institutions and designations such as “rural” and “city” are being broken and/or made liminal. Our paper will outline how this spatial dramaturgy has ramifications for the “global countryside” (Woods) as something both institutionalized and yet to be.

ABSTRACT Akiya or vacant houses are often perceived as threats to their neighborhood, as socio-political problems for local communities, and as objects of difficult decisions for their owners. However, recently there has been a reappraisal of their forgotten qualities and a revival in interest in such houses, especially when considered as sites of a special character suited to different types of cultural events. This article explores the implications of the use of akiya in rural communities in Japan, tracing the trajectory of change from irritating nuisance to local (touristic) attraction and art site. Furthermore, it analyzes how this shift has the potential to lead to their reassessment as valuable resources not only for the revitalization of local communities but also for private choices in everyday life. The article analyzes three specific art installations created within the framework of recurring art festivals and staged within the walls of old vacant dwellings, and the artists’ thoughts behind them, which hint at incentives for akiya use inspired by the sites. The artworks offer opportunities for interactions between residents, artists, and visitors, influencing insider and outsider perceptions of the local community, and they function as innovative playgrounds for local citizens’ and newcomers’ individual choices. Examples from the field show that the artist’s role as yosomono (outsider) ultimately has the potential to pave the way towards a more diverse and creative view of these community assets, changing the perception of the vacant house from being a bothersome and useless legacy into a resource.

ABSTRACT The aim of this commentary is to shed some light on the sex abuse scandal of Johnny Kitagawa and his talent agency Johnny & Associates (hereafter “Johnny’s”). First, it looks at the role of the Japanese media during the scandal development. Here, the difference will be made between the “outside-media” (weeklies, foreign press) that were the first to expose the Johnny’s scandal, and the “inside-media” (dailies, TV broadcast) that were persistently ignoring the scandal. Largely owing to this, Kitagawa was able to sidestep allegations of abuse for decades. Next, the commentary touches upon the institutional power of the Johnny’s agency within the network of Japanese power circles. Importantly, this power-network becomes decisive in soft-pedaling the scandal, or fueling the hype. Further, it looks at the nature of structural exploitation at Johnny’s and the issue of whistleblowing in Japan. One section is dedicated to the issue of sexual abuse in Japan and the West. Next, the commentary offers a performance analysis of the Johnny’s press conference and points to the ritualized quality of televised confessions. Finally, it touches upon the issue of scandal consequences and offers two viewpoints on the aftermath of the Johnny’s scandal: optimistic (i.e. the scandal will change things for the better) and pessimistic (i.e. the scandal will not be much transformative).

ABSTRACT As a country with few natural resources, Japan has to maintain a varied energy supply to ensure its energy security. However, since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, nuclear power generation, which was promoted as a national policy in the past, has been facing decommission. This study analyzed newspaper reports on Japan’s nuclear policy following World War II, as well as the mutual relationship between the media and policymaking to investigate the development of the country’s post-war nuclear policy and citizens’ safety concerns surrounding nuclear power. The findings demonstrated that by conducting a pro-nuclear power media campaign and using its chairman’s political connections, the newspaper Yomiuri succeeded in swaying public opinion in favor of nuclear power development in Japan. The emphasis on the benefits of the peaceful use of nuclear power by newspaper reports during this period consequently hindered the debate on the development of nuclear power.