Papers by Yoshihide Sakurai
Globalizing Asian Religions, 2019
This paper considers social exclusion in modern society through the lens of child poverty, arguin... more This paper considers social exclusion in modern society through the lens of child poverty, arguing that exclusion should be addressed through provision of mental support as well as livelihood security. In particular, the practice of active listening, which aims to respond to modern people’s needs for recognition and self-esteem, is examined. The case studies considered here show that self-recognition and recognition by others are important elements of care. Moreover, clinical religion guided by religious scholars and Buddhist monks should not be limited to unidirectional active listening between care-givers and care receivers, but should be the basis for constructing reciprocal relations in community. This point is illustrated through the case of a Buddhist priest in Fujisato-cho, Akita prefecture, who became the key person in creating collaboration between the local administration and social welfare providers
Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, 2016
Globalizing Asian Religions, 2019
This book brings together the insights of theories of management and marketing to give an origina... more This book brings together the insights of theories of management and marketing to give an original view of the organizational dynamics of globalizing Asian New Religious Movements (NRMs) and established religions. Seventeen authors in this collection have recast their data on individual Asian religions and social movements to focus on the way these organizations are managed in an overseas or global context, by examining the structure, organizational culture, management style, leadership principles and marketing strategies of the religious movements they had hitherto studied from the perspective of the sociology of religion, or religious studies. The book examines strategies for global proselytization and outcomes in a variety of local ethnographic contexts, thus contributing to the scholarly work on the ‘glocalization’ of religions.
Globalization, Development, and Human Security in the Asia-Pacific Region, Thammasat's Learni... more Globalization, Development, and Human Security in the Asia-Pacific Region, Thammasat's Learning Resort, Pattaya Campus, Chonburi, Thailand, 18-20 October 2006
As Japanese social policy has oriented to post welfare society due to the stagnated economy and i... more As Japanese social policy has oriented to post welfare society due to the stagnated economy and its consequence, the drop of tax revenue for last twenty years, the government stressed the plural actors for social works in a community and the importance of social capital in regions as its facilitating potential. However, Japan has not focus on varieties of religious engagement in public sphere, in contrast with other countries where religious groups and their faith based organizations are regarded as social organizers and/or catalysts. This research studies the recent social works by traditional and new religions, and then illustrates the dispute over whether a religion should be engaged in society among the press, academician, and religious denominations. In conclusion, the author first suggests that both the public and religious denominations should not continue to adhere to the legacy of modernization in which Japanese Meiji government controlled religions and forced them to suppo...
The content of this paper was originally presented under the title of ‘Fragmented Society and the... more The content of this paper was originally presented under the title of ‘Fragmented Society and the Popularity of Spiritualism in Japan 1990-2000,’as a presenter at the Meeting of International Society for the Sociology of Religion, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, July 25-31, 2009. Then I was invited to deliver special lecture under the title of “Spirituality Boom and Declining of Religious Order,”at the Research Institute of Humanity and Social Sciences,Sofia, Bulgaria, October 19, 2009. This research examines the relation between spiritualism and contemporary society fragmented by globalized capitalism and neo-liberal reform in Japan. Since the end of 1990s the spiritualism movement has changed from the subculture of‘Spiritualism Otaku’to the mainstream culture represented by the extensive exposure of some fortune-teller and healer in the prime time TV programs. The cyber space as well as shelves in bookstores are occupied by various schools of thoughts and practices of spiritualism ...
Although sexual harassment by superiors in schools,offices,and molestation on streets and trains ... more Although sexual harassment by superiors in schools,offices,and molestation on streets and trains have been appearing in every morning paper in Japan, such news in religious institutions are rarely reported except for scandals by controversial new religions. In orthodox Christianity, sexual abuse has been a taboo. However, on April 25th, 2005 a pastor, 61 years of age,was arrested for allegedly raping seven junior high school girls and molesting other women in his church, "Seishin Tchuo Kyokai (Sacred Central Church)." On February 21st, 2006, he received a sentence of 20 years imprisonment. This pastor studied theology with Pentecostal church in Korea and founded his independent church in 1986, then expanded his mission to include 22 branch churches, 57 vice pastors, and approximately 1,300 believers. Since this incident, most of the embarrassed members have defected, yet a few branches still hold faith with him. Japanese orthodox Christianity could not expand its missionar...
Cult and Mind-Control Controversy in Japan There has been very little sociological research on th... more Cult and Mind-Control Controversy in Japan There has been very little sociological research on the financing and marketing tactics of new religious cult such as the Unification Church in Japan, except for anti-cult movement literature accumulated by journalists, lawyers, and theologians, who have been deeply involved with the victims of the activities of the Unification Church. Academic researchers have been reluctant to study the Unification Church despite its socially controversial nature-its "mind-control" of adherents and fraudulent fund-raising-, because the Unification Church has kept secret its financial and political lobbing information and has above all, refused to be investigated. Dr. Eileen Barker made an excellent research model for the Unification Church study in the west [Barker 1984]. However, this could not be applied in the case of Japan. The Making of A Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing has been acknowledged as a textbook of the sociology of religion, which researched the British Unification Church in the 1970s. As I formerly introduced this excellent research in another paper [Sakurai Y oshihide 1999], I will just briefly discuss it here. 193-This book has a long concluding chapter, because, as Dr. Barker mentioned, she could not find determinate factors which made ordinary young people convert to become members of the Unification Church, so that she had to explain various factors that should be considered. She rightly conducted random sampling, borrowing a members' list from the Unification Church, and collected questionnaires from three broken down groups according to duration of membership (members, former members, and those who experienced seminar but did not join) and from a control group consisting of non-members with the same social background as members. She cross-checked the four groups by personal character (suggestibility and susceptibility), motivation, and circumstances on entering the Unification Church, so as to find the reason for conversion. Moreover, she conducted participant observation in seminars and camps, where she could collect personal information from in-depth interviews. But findings are important but few. First, the seeker model can be applied to the Unification Church members, because the group of the longest duration of membership had significantly high score with the statement, 'searching for something but did not know what,' and the Unification Church joiners were inclined to point out their happier days of childhood and unsatisfying days in early adulthood. Second, the Unification Church welcomed new comers, recruited by various means in public places, with hospitality named 'love-bombing,' which made them unguarded and motivated to continue relationships with members. Religious groups usually use such kinds of inducement so that Dr. Barker could not presume this technique to be mind-control. Third, the fact that members continuing the Unification Church activities for several years are just 4 percent of those participating in a 2 days seminar of the Unification Church, contradicts anti-cult discourse saying that cults practice strong mind-control and members cannot escape from cults 194-Cult Controversy and Anti-Cult Movement in Japan since 1995: Case Study of a New Religious Cult, the Tenchi-Seikyo, Affiliated with the Unification Church without exit-counseling. She concluded that youths, disappointed with British society at the end of 1960s and seeking for alternatives, happened to be recruited by the Unification Church, and then a few who were contented continued their commitments to the Unification Church. Though this book has been referred to as a classic among western scholars of new religious movement, Japanese scholars have rarely cited it. Formerly, I considered it to be due to Japanese ignorance of western research. But now I suppose they did not highly regard this sociologically perfect research. Dr. Barker was offered research opportunity by the Unification Church in fact, not the reverse, and built good relationships with the Unification Church to the extent that she could borrow a members list of the British Unification Church. At that time, as the Unification Church was controversial, other scholars researched the Unification Church from outside. What kind of relationship is there
This paper studies the recent cult controversy exemplified by the lawsuits filed by self-proclaim... more This paper studies the recent cult controversy exemplified by the lawsuits filed by self-proclaimed "victims" damaged by the Unification Church and in reverse by so-called "cult" members who were also proclaimed "sufferers" whose personal right of religious freedom had been violated in deprogramming. To consider the contents of these rulings demonstrates the Japanese religious consciousness in reference to the recent cult controversy, because judges tend to consider in controversial cases of religious troubles the extent to which they deviate from socially accepted norms. In this paper I first will briefly explain the history of the Unification Church of Japan and introduce legal trials against this religion. Second, I will consider the lawsuits charging the Unification Church with illegal missionary activities, especially the ruling of the Sapporo District Court. And last, I will look at recent lawsuits against deprogrammers filed by ex-members of so-called "cults". This paper's research methodology is based on 1) document analysis of the referenced cases; 2) interviews with ex-members, the plaintiffs of these lawsuits, and parents and pastors accused by "cult" members; and 3) observation in the Sapporo District courtroom over a period of three years. I must add that I did not have the opportunity to talk with the referenced "cult" members of these lawsuits; rather I carefully read preparatory pleadings written by their attorneys to understand their claims. Introduction: Cult Controversy and the Public Sphere in Japanese religious consciousness Cult problems in Japan have been much debated since the Aum Supreme Truth Cult carried out the sarin gas attack in 1995, an event that popularized the concepts of cult and mind control (Nishida, 1995). Since the 1980s and before the Aum incidents, several new religions such as the Unification Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses had been criticized for their activities and attitudes. The Unification Church had recruited new members without revealing the group's name and actual activities and raised vast sums of money through fraudulent sales of spiritual goods
Journal of the Graduate School of …, 2006
Higher education in Asia is at a turning point. It aims at quantitative expansion and qualitative... more Higher education in Asia is at a turning point. It aims at quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement of the university at the same time, which seems to be contradicted by the limited budget and short period of time. However, academics cannot afford to waste time on idealistic pedagogical discussions due to the rapid changes surrounding higher education described below: First, as the new middle class that secures its social position through educational achievement has expanded in the Asian economic boom, the number of higher education institutions has grown rapidly. Second, NICS in East Asia and Southeast Asia need quality assurance for graduates from higher education institutions, because those countries are entering into knowledge-intensive industrialization from labor-intensive industrialization. Third, Asian NICS have powerfully implemented educational policies to enhance the level of education and research in higher educational institutions. Fourth, state universities in these countries have become incorporated to raise education and research funds by themselves under neo-liberal economic reforms, which have been strengthened since the economic crisis of 1997. Fifth, as a result, higher education has been changing its role to play a part in the accumulation of knowledge and skill in industry. To meet social demands (managerial stability and industrial creation), collaboration with the industrial world appears to be natural. As the student applicant market has become borderless, and higher educational institutions in English-speaking countries have provided specially arranged courses in home countries and/or branch schools in host countries for foreign students as highly valued additional commodities. Sixth, recent higher education is not independent in its educational and research ideas, but contingent on social demands such as those of industry and the community. This paper introduces the higher education policy of Thailand, the leader of the Mekong region countries, and then considers the tasks for higher education development in Asia. As a case study, first, the agenda of EDU-COM 2002 and 2004 (International Conference on Education and Communication for Sustainable Development of Higher Education) will be illustrated, then the collaboration between Australian universities and Khon Kaen University, the central university in northeastern Thailand. Those cases show how Thai university academics acknowledge the globalization of higher education and develop quality assurance and a financial foundation. Thai state universities, in some ways, seem to be more advanced than Japanese ones, because they are not bound to a conventional university system as the Japanese are. Therefore, this study contributes to consideration of the position of Hokkaido University within Asia and its possible strategy for sustainable development.
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Papers by Yoshihide Sakurai