Vol.75 No.2 (2023)
Contents
Article
KOJIMA Chika
Experiencing “Displacement” Through Gentrification:
The Case of a Novel Set in Berlin (119)
Research Notes
WADA Takashi
Can International Sporting Events Stimulate Civic Sports Activities?:
A Case Study of the 12th Asian Games Hiroshima 1994 (143)
GOTO Takuya
Agglomeration of Companies Entering into Agriculture and Regional Issues:
A Case Study of Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture (165)
Book Reviews (188)
Meeting Reports (198)
Miscellany (205)
Notices (208)
Abstract
Experiencing “Displacement” Through Gentrification:
The Case of a Novel Set in Berlin
KOJIMA Chika
Graduate Student, School of Arts and Letters, Meiji University
English research on gentrification, specifically, qualitative research, including interviews, increasingly discusses the experiences of residents regarding harm from loss of place. It examines the relational manifestations of suffering associated with displacement through an analysis of literary representations. Specifically, this study analyzes a first-person novel by Jan Brandt entitled “A dwelling in the city (Eine Wohnung in der Stadt)”, which depicts gentrification in Berlin, by portraying the displacement of the protagonist and other characters. The study finds that displacement of the protagonist was portrayed not as a temporary event, but as a long-term, emotionally painful process. In contrast, considering the pain caused by the displacement experienced by former East Berlin residents and residents with a Turkish background, the protagonist was not only unaware of the sorrow caused by the displacement but also played the role of a perpetrator who understood it as a romanticized experience. Moreover, the novel convincingly conveys the pain of being deprived of one’s home by gentrification in the form of a personal narrative, which depicts the ambivalence contained in an individual’s experience. However, a narrative that classifies the experiences of displacement entails a problem in orientating the imagination about gentrification, which is, indeed, occurring and can lead to social division among the individuals who are displaced.
Key words: gentrification, displacement, literature, qualitative research, relational analysis, Berlin
Can International Sporting Events Stimulate Civic Sports Activities?:
A Case Study of the 12th Asian Games Hiroshima 1994
WADA Takashi
Faculty of Regional Development, Prefectural University of Hiroshima
This study aimed to track long-term changes in civic sports activities after an international sporting event, focusing on the sports policies of local governments hosting the event, through a case study of the 12th Asian Games Hiroshima 1994. Based upon the analysis fidings, I identified three points for activating civic sports activities through holding of international sports events. The first is that holding an event does not directly activate civic sports activities. Continuous implementation of sports measures by local governments is necessary to activate such activities. The second is that the local government should establish a citizen sports promotion policy based upon relevant domestic and foreign policy trends, regional issues, and requests from citizens, and position international sports events within that policy. The third is that local governments should flexibly update their systems and mechanisms to promote civic sports activities in response to changes in social and regional conditions in order to secure and sustain the legacy. In conclusion, continuous implementation of measures by local governments is essential to make international sporting events stimulate the promotion of civic sporting activities, and the measures should be appropriately established and updated in accordance with regional issues and requests from citizens.
Key words: sports, event, residents, policy, Hiroshima
Agglomeration of Companies Entering into Agriculture and Regional Issues:
A Case Study of Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture
GOTO Takuya
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University
This study aims to determine the mechanisms of agglomeration of companies entering into agriculture and examine the regional issues raised by such agglomeration in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture. In recent years, numerous companies from outside the prefecture have entered into agriculture, resulting in the drastic agglomeration of such companies in Hokuto City. Despite the absence of a territorial connection, these companies could secure farmland and labor by acquiring abandoned farmland through an intermediary and employing unskilled labor from neighboring municipalities. As the majority of these companies cultivate vegetables, they do not compete with the local agricultural cooperative that produces rice and livestock products. Therefore, economic relations between the companies and the local agricultural cooperative in Hokuto City are generally poor. On the other hand, the companies have constructed an inter-company network to solve their management issues collectively, which has facilitated their smooth settlement in the city. However, the agglomeration of such companies has led to the production area deformation, which has recently induced several regional issues. For example, in the Akeno Area where plant factories are densely located, some companies have faced a serious labor shortage, thus employing foreign technical intern trainees. Moreover, as a result of the agglomeration of vegetable-producing companies, their production systems have diverged from those of the local agricultural cooperative. As this divergence has gradually eroded the cohesion of regional agriculture, it is also a serious regional issue in Hokuto City.
Key words: company entering into agriculture, plant factory, inter-company network, foreign technical intern trainee, production area deformation, Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture