This open access book explores Japanese involvement in Asian development through selected development ideas and lexemes that are widely regarded in Japan as ‘untranslatable’ into other languages. Each chapter traces the genealogy of locally nuanced development ideas and lexemes in Japan and the process by which they have spread across Asia and beyond through Japan’s development cooperation. The Semantics of Development in Asia critically examines the diverse (Western and non-Western) roots of Japanese development ideas and lexemes and their shifting semantics, shaped by the ever-changing national/international political economies and dominant development thinking of different eras. The volume contributes to a more pluriversal approach to knowledge production in development studies through its in-depth examination of vernacular Japanese ideas. This book is useful to researchers, students and teachers in the fields of Asian studies, development studies and international relations. It is also of value to policymakers and practitioners whose professional interests include development cooperation by, and with, Asian countries.
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| Introduction: Development: Which Ideas Now? | Jin Sato | |
| 1 | Doboku: Changes in the Social Evaluation of Infrastructure Development in Japan | Ryosuke Kuramoto |
| 2 | Kaizen: Why is It so Difficult to Understand? | Go Shimada |
| 3 | Genba-Shugi: Understanding Through a Hands-On Approach | Naoki Matsubara |
| 4 | Asianism: Continuity and Divergence in Japan’s Foreign and International Cooperation Policy | Lauren Nakasato and Kazuo Kuroda |
| 5 | Hito-zukuri: It is Not Just Human Resources Development | Noriyuki Hashimoto |
| 6 | Endogenous Development: Situating Kazuko Tsurumi’s Work in International Development | Kanako Omi |
| 7 | Yōsei-Shugi: The Mystery of the Japanese Request-Based Aid | Jin Sato |
| 8 | Jijodoryoku: The Spirit of Self-Help in Development Cooperation | Yu Oliver Maemura |
| 9 | Ōnā Shippu: A Vestige of Japan’s Ambition to Lead International Aid | Kenichi Doi |
| 10 | Kokusai Kōken: Changing Perceptions of Japan’s Status in the International Society | Takatoshi Oyama |
| 11 | From Goa to Angola: Exploring Ideas and Mechanisms in Japan’s Kaihatsu-Yunyū | Soyeun Kim |
| 12 | Yen Loans: Between Norms and Heterodoxy | Hiroaki Shiga |
| 13 | The Trinity of Aid, Trade, and Investment: The Reemergence of a Japanese-Style Development Term as China Rises | Muyun Wang |
| 14 | Conclusion: Imagining Pluriversal Development Knowledge Production Via Japan as Method | Soyeun Kim and Muyun Wang |
Jin Sato and Soyeun Kim (eds.)
The Semantics of Development in Asia : Exploring ‘Untranslatable’ Ideas Through Japan (The University of Tokyo Studies on Asia)
Springer Nature, 243 pages, 2024.6, ISBN: 978-981-97-1214-4