<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The shrinking of Japan’s rural areas, caused partly by continuous out-migration of younger people to the major cities, is an amply discussed topic in Japanese society and popular media. Even though a certain trend of counter-urbanisation exists despite larger depopulation patterns, many of these migrants do not stay permanently and therefore cannot contribute to sustaining rural areas in the long term. Previous studies argue that considering each community’s characteristics is important in order to find possible ways to sustain rural areas and attract new residents. Therefore, this study focuses on the case of Aso City, aiming to clarify the criteria that makes migration to Aso City appealing or unappealing, and to identify the factors responsible for enabling (or complicating) the act of permanently settling there. In order to do so, the author conducted a survey in Aso City using semi-structured interviews. While the beauty of the natural surroundings, quality of life, and social connectedness are the main positive qualities of Aso City, its infrastructure, demographic development, and economic situation are assessed more negatively by its residents. Further, this study shows that the better a person’s local social connections upon arrival, the more likely they are to find a place to live and work, and stay on a long-term basis. In order to attract new residents to rural areas and support their permanent settlement, it is important to help them obtain the resources necessary for settling and assist their transition into the social structure of the community.</abstract>

The Role of Internal Migration in Sustaining Rural Communities in Japan: The Case of Aso City in Kumamoto

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Irrigated agriculture has the potential to ensure food security, contribute to sustainable management, and preserve freshwater resources. At the same time, it is connected to problems such as water scarcity, environmental degradation and pollution, and poverty. This so-called “wicked” nature is addressed by comparatively analysing the strategies used for water governance in irrigated agriculture. To highlight its cross-sectoral nature, the concept of cross-sectoral alignment is introduced based on three governance criteria. The Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia and Vietnam are used to compare strategies as their differing political systems may lead to varying strategies and can thus offer greater insight into regional water management practices. The analysis suggests that the governance strategies used for irrigated agriculture have many similarities but also distinct differences. In particular, the influence of ODA in Vietnam as well as the way farmers are included in water management stand out in regards to the differences. Similar, however, are organisational set-ups, sectoral fragmentation, and insufficient supply of participatory mechanisms as well as generally low alignment across all categories. In consideration of the global importance of water management practices, only the aligned management of freshwater resources can increase environmental health and food security in the long term.</abstract>

Irrigated Agriculture in Malaysia and Vietnam: A Comparative Analysis of Water Governance Strategies

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article comparatively analyses the Japanese and South Korean governments’ measures directed at embracing the economic opportunities held by a growing elderly population. As highlighted in the literature review, no overarching framework for creating a global ageing strategy has been formulated to date, despite a noteworthy set of activities aimed at capturing the potential of an ageing population. By examining the strategic action plans and policies of these two East Asian countries through a general set of criteria (actors and plans, contributors and factors, actions and content), a possible universal approach is evaluated. The analysis concludes that the respective governmental measures are characterised by great similarity, reflecting the intervention possibilities of similarly structured democracies in related fields. Most notable similarities include the targeting of the small and medium enterprise sector for innovation in newly emerging industries and markets, an improvement of the research and development environment, and the evaluation of social transformations for the development of strategic solutions. The sectorial focus lies on information and communication technology solutions, artificial intelligence and robotics, and additionally focuses on health and medical care devices, as well as on devices facilitating independent living and mobility.</abstract>

Silver Economy Strategies: A Comparative Study of Japanese and South Korean Governmental Measures

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Both China and Korea face different stages of national income inequality as well as distinctive structures in their income distribution. However, not only do levels and structures of income inequality differ in China and Korea, but their measures to tackle income inequality inherently differ. This article investigates how the Chinese and Korean governments respond to income inequality in their countries by analysing fiscal policy on both the expenditure and taxation fronts. The findings show that both China and Korea have increased their redistributive efforts in the recent past; however, Korea’s commitment to tackling income inequality is stronger than that of China. Moreover, this article finds evidence for distinctive strategies for reducing income inequality in China and Korea. Responding to large income disparities at the bottom of the income distribution spectrum, the Chinese government tackles income inequality by supporting low income earners and reducing the tax burden for low income brackets. In contrast, given Korean income inequality can be largely explained by relatively large top income shares, the redistributive policy incorporates newly introduced social benefits excluding top income earners as well as income taxes aimed at the top of the income spectrum.</abstract>

East Asian Strategies for Combating Income Inequality: A Comparative Analysis of Redistributive Fiscal Policy Efforts in China and Korea

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article expounds and compares two representative contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches which grew out of the Buddhist cultural heritage of Japan and have proved successful in dealing with mental disorders in both Eastern and Western countries. Morita and Naikan therapies are regularly discussed and evaluated together as their compatibility and belongingness are unquestionable facts, even though they appeared at different times and in different milieus. One emerged from the clinical practice of a psychiatric department at a Tōkyō hospital where patients with neurasthenia were being treated, while the other appeared in rural Nara as a transformed version of an ancient ascetic tradition which aimed to assist devoted Buddhists attaining enlightenment. The article investigates the similarities and differences that form the foundations of the metaphysical, ethical, and therapeutic presuppositions of both therapies, pointing out the degree of their compatibility, and the possibility of conceiving a unified ethical framework for them.</abstract>

The Moral Compatibility of Two Japanese Psychotherapies: An Appraisal of the Ethical Principles of Morita and Naikan Methods

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article investigates the recent (2000–2019) mainland Chinese historiography on the Sinocentric tributary system of the Míng and Qīng periods (1368–1912). The theoretical approach of the article is based on Foucauldian discourse theory, as well as Chinese theoretical scholarship on the evolution of Chinese thought. Its methodology is primarily based on Reiner Keller’s sociological discourse research method. The main body of the article is structured upon the major fields of argumentation of the discourse, identified by the author as “the validity of the term ‘tributary system,’” “the tributary system and pre-modern Chinese culture,” “the tributary system and Míng-Qīng Chinese socio-economic history,” and “the tributary system and the regional political order.” The article argues that the ‘discursive struggle’ in recent historiography on the tributary system is primarily a result of its contested interpretation and evaluation under current dominant framings of an ideal international order—one centred around the principles of national sovereignty and “win-win” economic cooperation.</abstract>

A Discourse Analysis of Recent Mainland Chinese Historiography on the Sinocentric Tributary System of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1912)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article provides an overview of the major existing scholarship pertaining to childhood religion in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). More specifically, it examines lived childhood religion in a rural village in Gānsù province. This article challenges the commonly preconceived notion that children in the PRC do not regard religious belief as important and simply mirror the religious practices of their guardians. By utilising ethnographic data, I argue that children in the PRC are capable of constructing their own unique form of lived religion that is informed by, but crucially distinct from, the religious beliefs and practices of adults. The practices and beliefs of this lived religion can be extremely important to children and the evidence from fieldwork suggests that they tend to take both their practice and belief very seriously.</abstract>

Speaking to My Ancestors: An Ethnographic Study of Lived Childhood Religion in Rural Gansu

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This study challenges the common belief that the ‘Trump tariffs’ are protectionist or a deliberate attack on China, the USA’s economic rival. By focusing specifically on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and equating its use to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, this study instead demonstrates how the U.S. administration is actively repurposing protectionist laws to function as unilateral enforcement tools. Thus, this study argues that the tariffs enacted on steel and aluminium in 2018 under the guise of national security are not meant to protect the domestic market or to hurt the Chinese, but rather to ‘protect’ the ability of U.S. businesses to make profits abroad. By contrasting the justification for the tariffs to factual application, China is not identified as a target but rather as a convenient fig leaf. The article goes into further detail to demonstrate how the U.S. (ab)uses these tariffs during negotiations with South Korea, Japan, and other nations and finds multiple examples of how others have been affected significantly more than China. Here, the article describes how U.S. officials have mastered the art of simultaneously creating leverage, exchanging it for concessions, and keeping it.</abstract>

Trump vs. China? Tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 Revisited

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 14 (2022): Issue 1 (January 2022)

Volume 13 (2021): Issue 1 (December 2021)

Volume 12 (2020): Issue 1 (December 2020)

Volume 11 (2019): Issue 1 (December 2019)

Volume 10 (2018): Issue 1 (December 2018)

Volume 9 (2017): Issue 1 (December 2017)

Volume 8 (2016): Issue 1 (December 2016)

Volume 7 (2015): Issue 1 (December 2015)

Volume 6 (2014): Issue 1 (December 2014)

Volume 5 (2014): Issue 1 (June 2014)

Volume 4 (2013): Issue 1 (June 2013)

Volume 3 (2012): Issue 1 (March 2012)

Volume 2 (2011): Issue 1 (December 2011)

Volume 1 (2011): Issue 1 (March 2011)

Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies

 What commenced in 2009 with the chief aim to provide a platform to disseminate pioneering research especially by emerging scholars of the University of Vienna, over the years became an increasingly attractive venue for the scholarship of the international East Asianist community. With its move to De Gruyter Open starting with Volume 10, the Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies (VJEAS), while still embracing the early philosophy at its core, has internationalised its profile.  VJEAS addresses international scholars from the wider field of East Asian Studies focusing on issues past and/or present related to the Greater China region, the Koreas, Japan, and Vietnam. Submissions may draw on the full scale of methodologies, theories, and approaches found in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. In every issue of VJEAS readers will find a rich diversity of cutting-edge research by both emerging and established international scholars.  Editorial Policy  The Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies (VJEAS) publishes original research related to any subject in the field of East Asian Studies, involving Greater China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and Vietnam. Manuscript submissions must not be previously published or under consideration by another publisher or journal. The authors of the papers published in VJEAS are solely responsible for the contents of their papers. All manuscript submissions will undergo rigorous peer review conducted by appropriate specialists. VJEAS is published once every year in early October.  "Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies" is a double-blind peer reviewed journal. The journal does not have any article processing charges (APCs) or article submission charges.  Rejection Rate:   66%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 