Japan Focus

  From Japan Focus   Abstract: Over the past decade, the concept of the “uncanny valley” (bukimi no tani) coined by roboticist Mori Masahiro (b. 1927), has appeared in over ten thousand (English-language) articles and chapters, Briefly, the concept presumes that the scary surprise of realizing that, say, a flesh-and-blood human was actually a zombie will send one … [Read more...] about No Place for Robots: Reassessing the Bukimi no Tani (“Uncanny Valley”)

  From Japan Focus November 23, 2020 launch of China’s Chang'e-5 from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Abstract: With China’s Chang’e 5 rocket launch, which landed on the moon on December 1, the long US-Russian domination of space has a major challenger. The issues extend beyond national pride to a global leadership initiative in rocketry whose … [Read more...] about China Shoots the Moon

  From Japan Focus   Abstract: This article assesses the planning, management and repatriation of Japanese civilians in Shanghai between 1945 and 1948. It examines four interwoven dimensions of this history. The first is the removal of Japanese expatriates as the centerpiece of the Kuomintang and Allied Powers’ project to end Japanese colonialism once and for all. … [Read more...] about Homeward Bound: The Postwar Repatriation of Japanese Civilians in Shanghai, 1945-1948

  From Japan Focus       I first met Mori Masahiro in the spring of 1986, when interviewing scientists for my book Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia. Mori’s focus was on robots and Buddhism, which seemed a novel combination to me at the time. In researching robots Mori had found that he had to understand not only the human body’s … [Read more...] about The Metaphysical Can Opener

  From Japan Focus   Abstract: The Coronavirus hit Japan during our study-abroad semester in Kyoto. Here we present similarities in Japanese societal response to chemical pollutants throughout the long twentieth century and to COVID-19, as they became apparent to us through a chemistry course on Japanese industrial pollution.    Key Words: Study abroad, chemistry, … [Read more...] about Study-abroad in Japan under COVID-19: Emerging Parallels with a Course on Environmental Pollution