The Law in Translation – Bonnie Dixon

When Bonnie Dixon joined Atsumi & Sakai in 2005, she became the first non-Japanese attorney to make partner at a Japanese law firm since the Occupation. Ms. Dixon holds both a B.A. in Japanese and Political Science and a law degree from the University of Michigan. She has now worked in Tokyo for over ten years and has extensive experience in international transactions, cross border labor and employment, structured finance, banking transactions, and investment funds. She also works as a translator and commentator for the National Theater of Japan and the Kabuki-za Theater, among others. In this episode, Ms. Dixon talks with Brad about her education at UM, her career in Japan, and working in a multicultural environment.

1983 U.S. Japan Auto Conference – Paul McCracken, Keichi Oshima, Robert Perkins

Credit: Washington Post

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In 1981, the U-M Center for Japanese Studies launched the U.S.-Japan Automotive Conference (USJAC). Held annually until 1989, the USJAC facilitated reasoned dialogue between U.S. and Japanese business, political, and labor leaders against a backdrop of increasingly heated competition between the two countries’ auto industries.

In this episode, we bring you the opening panel of the 1983 U.S.-Japan Auto Conference, featuring Paul W. McCracken (University of Michigan), Keichi Oshima (University of Tokyo), and Robert Perkins (Chrysler).

Complement this episode with the printed proceedings of the 1983 conference: Automobiles and the Future: Competition, Cooperation, and Change.

Early Japanese Studies at Michigan – Gary Saxonhouse on Masakazu Toyama and Eijiro Ono

Credit: Bentley Historical Library

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Continuing our commemoration of CJS’s 70th anniversary, we’re sharing a special minisode about Japanese Studies at Michigan before the founding of CJS in 1947. This lecture was delivered at CJS’s 50th anniversary symposium in 1997 by Gary Saxonhouse, a Professor of Economics at U-M.

To learn more about CJS’s history, see the history page on our website.

Gary Saxonhouse

“The Only Woman in the Room” – Beate Sirota Gordon and the Making of Japan’s Postwar Constitution

(Credit: Japan Subculture Research Center)

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2017 marks the 70th anniversary of the U-M Center for Japanese Studies. Throughout the year, the Japanese Studies Radio Hour will share special recordings from the CJS archives, starting with this special address by Beate Sirota Gordon, given on the occasion of CJS’s 50th anniversary in 1997.

Complement this recording with Sirota Gordon’s The Only Woman in the Room: A Memoir of Japan, Human Rights, and the Arts.

(Credit: ABC)

“Staged Seduction: Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club” – Akiko Takeyama & Allison Alexy

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Brad and Prof. Allison Alexy (University of Michigan) sit down with Prof. Akiko Takeyama (University of Kansas) to talk about her new book Staged Seduction: Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club. Stay tuned after the ending theme for a podcast extra!

Prof. Akiko Takeyama
   Prof. Allison Alexy

Sustaining and Diversifying Japanese Studies – Dyron Dabney, Patricia Maclachlan, and Leonard Schoppa

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Sustaining and Diversifying Japanese Studies

A discussion at the 2016 Association for Asian Studies conference with Prof. Dyron Dabney (Albion College), Prof. Patricia Maclachlan (University of Texas, Austin), and Prof. Leonard Schoppa (University of Virginia) about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the field of Japanese Studies. Thanks to the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission for organizing the panel that inspired this podcast!

Professor Dyron Dabney Political Science Albion College
Prof Dyron Dabney
Political Science
Albion College
Prof Patricia Maclachlan Asian Studies University of Texas at Austin
Prof Patricia Maclachlan
Asian Studies
University of Texas at Austin
Prof Leonard Schoppa Social Sciences University of Virginia
Prof Leonard Schoppa
Social Sciences
University of Virginia

 

Yamakiya Taiko – Interview with Genki Endo, Keisuke Suzuki, Erik Santos, Toko Shiiki

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Yamakiya Taiko

Fukushima’s Yamakiya Taiko Ensemble is one of Japan’s leading taiko performance groups, having played such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. The leaders of Yamakiya Taiko (Genki Endo and Keisuke Suzuki) sat down with JSRH ahead of two Ann Arbor performances organized by local filmmaker Toko Shiiki and Prof. Erik Santos (U-M SMTD). We discuss the history of their troupe, their connection to Michigan, and what taiko drumming signifies for them as they negotiate the difficulties of life in Fukushima after the nuclear disaster.

Reflecting on the 3/11 Disasters – Mieko Yoshihama & Satsuki Takahashi

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Reflecting on the 3/11 Disasters

 

Mieko Yoshihama Professor of Social Work School of Social Work
Mieko Yoshihama
Professor of Social Work
School of Social Work
Satsuki Takahashi Assistant Professor, Anthropology UM-CJS Toyota Visiting Professor
Satsuki Takahashi
Toyota Visiting Professor
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
George Mason University

This episode features a discussion with Prof. Mieko Yoshihama (University of Michigan School of Social Work) and Prof. Satsuki Takahashi (U-M CJS Toyota Visiting Professor / George Mason University Dept of Sociology and Anthropology)about their on-going research projects in northeastern Japan, which was devastated by a massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster five years ago this month.

The photos described in the interview can be viewed below:

These photos are taken from the book PhotoVoice Japan.  To check out the this book from the U-M library, please see this link: mirlyn.lib.umich.edu/Record/013660947