The changing iconography of Japanese political geography

Our world is very fluid, very complex, constantly moving, made up of a great number of interdependent components. Therefore, the locus and the orbit of a particular area play an important role in geography and in politics. The purpose of this study is to examine the iconography of orbit and freedom of movement through an analysis of the transformation of the international politico-economic structure and its impact on Japan and to make clear the footsteps of Jean Gottmann on political geography. Due to its locus being on the crossroad of international power struggles, Japan had accepted different iconographies of orbits every time she faced great mutation in her history. This, in turn, accelerated the synchronism, synergism and synthesis of different iconographies that came to converge at the crossroad. The integration of imported cultures with the Japanese traditional culture promoted the transformation of Japanese society and community to emphasize the freedom of movements. The flexibility of Japanese society and the unifying iconography of Japanese community have enabled Japan to adapt and readapt to changing politico-economic phases. Interested in the relationship between freedom of movement and iconography, Jean Gottmann spent a considerable portion of his academic life inquiring into the changing dynamics of Japanese iconography on the global scene. After a quarter-century pursuit, he contributed to the establishment of political geography in Japan.     

Gottmann's Geographic Glossa

At a time when human geography–in its search for general and systemic laws–was often seduced by different kinds of determinism, Jean Gottmann developed his theoretical model in order to explain the political partitioning of geographical space. This model, shaped by the study of the classics in political philosophy, makes explicit reference to human psychology, and is based on a few fundamental concepts: cloisonnement (partitioning), circulation (movement), carrefour (crossroad) and iconographie (iconography). This paper presents the above mentioned concepts through a chronological analysis of their formulation in different chapters of Gottmann's bibliography, in order to reconstruct the genesis and evolution of his model. In the conclusions a few questions are presented, that suggest how Gottmann's model could still be usefully applied to contemporary human and political geography.     

Gottmann's Geographic Glossa

At a time when human geography–in its search for general and systemic laws–was often seduced by different kinds of determinism, Jean Gottmann developed his theoretical model in order to explain the political partitioning of geographical space. This model, shaped by the study of the classics in political philosophy, makes explicit reference to human psychology, and is based on a few fundamental concepts: cloisonnement (partitioning), circulation (movement), carrefour (crossroad) and iconographie (iconography). This paper presents the above mentioned concepts through a chronological analysis of their formulation in different chapters of Gottmann's bibliography, in order to reconstruct the genesis and evolution of his model. In the conclusions a few questions are presented, that suggest how Gottmann's model could still be usefully applied to contemporary human and political geography.     

From heartland to hegemony: Changing the world in political Geography

The heartland theory in political geography is compared with recent uses of the hegemony concept to order international relations. Both sets of ideas are described in terms of the basic content of their models, the context in which they were created, and the political contest that they prioritize. It is found that both models represent academic attempts to advise the political elites of declining major powers on how to cope with a changing world. In the final section a synthesis of the models is presented.     

The problems of the Italo-Croato-Slovene border delimitation in the Northern Adriatic

The Adriatic Sea, and its northern part in particular, is a highly illustrative example of the changing political geography of the sea. In the 1990's the changing political map was influenced by the break-up of Yugoslavia. As a consequence two successor states, Croatia and Slovenia, started delimitation of their common and new international border. In spite of the fact that a joint boundary commission managed to resolve disputes along almost the entire length of the land border, there are several disputed points remaining as well as unresolved issues of maritime delimitation. The authors analysed the existing claims of the two countries and suggested a possible solution. Regardless of existing problems, there are favourable conditions to develop intensive cross-border cooperation.     

日本联合国教科文组织世界地质公园建设特点及其借鉴意义

截至2022年1月，日本共有9家联合国教科文组织世界地质公园，其“自下而上”的社区参与对于当地社会经济的可持续发展起着非常积极的作用。笔者等梳理了日本世界地质公园的发展历程、基本情况、管理体系；从经费来源、基础设施建设、地质遗迹保护角度概述了日本世界地质公园建设情况；以科普、旅游和社区发展的视角，探索了日本世界地质公园可持续发展活动的开展。了解日本世界地质公园的发展模式对我国世界地质公园增强社区参与、推动地质公园产品开发、加强地质公园科研工作和科普活动的开展具有启示意义。     

日本世界地质公园建设特点及其借鉴意义

截至2022年1月，日本共有9家联合国教科文组织世界地质公园，其“自下而上”的社区参与对于当地社会经济的可持续发展起着非常积极的作用。笔者等梳理了日本世界地质公园的发展历程、基本情况、管理体系；从经费来源、基础设施建设、地质遗迹保护角度概述了日本世界地质公园建设情况；以科普、旅游和社区发展的视角，探索了日本世界地质公园可持续发展活动的开展。了解日本世界地质公园的发展模式对我国世界地质公园增强社区参与、推动地质公园产品开发、加强地质公园科研工作和科普活动的开展具有启示意义。     

Multi-national iconographies in Macedonia

The authority of Marshall Tito and his newly crafted iconography of `brotherhood and unity' temporarily marginalized the ethnic deographies of the peoples in the Yugoslav Federation. In the 1990s this Yugoslavia was run over by time. The Republic of Macedonia was among the newly emerging states. In Macedonia the multi-ethnic mosaic was complicated by the confusion of old and new iconographic impulses. In 2001 the Macedonian crisis developed as a result of the spread of the new regional Albanian identity spread by the domino effect to the areas with mixed population in the Balkans after the events in Kosovo. Differences between Macedonians and Albanians are analyzed in terms of family structure, religion and ethnic and national affiliation. The politics based on these cleavages and their ensuing, contested iconographies are set out.     

Japan's traditional view of nature and interpretation of landscape

Recently a few Japanese geographers became aware that the concept of nature in modern geography differs from that of traditional Japanese thought. As modern geography in Japan was formed by the influence of European geography, most academic geographers in Japan have followed the occidental view that proposed an opposition between cultural and natural landscapes and that, due to the belief in man's power, sees the former as superior to the latter. From an economic view point, in fact, the European concept of nature which is opposed to culture has contributed to land exploitation that caused the destruction of Japan's natural landscape.The time has come to consider the traditional Japanese idea of nature as Kami (gods) in comparison with the binary opposition of nature/culture which derives from modern rationalism. Kami who represent elements of nature belonged to a Pantheon in ancient Japan. Some examples of the Kami's names and their English explanations are as follows: Amaterasuomikami (godess of sun), Oyamatsumi-no-kami (god of the mountain's spirit), Nozuchi-no-kami (god of the field's spirit). In ancient Japan people believed that natural landscapes were created and inhabited by these Kami, and that the will of these Kami controlled the cultural domain. However, people provided shrines for Kami to placate their reckless domination. In this context, culture is in the hands of nature. This idea of nature's superiority to culture can explain the Japanese geographical concept of landscape.     

Multi-national iconographies in Macedonia

The authority of Marshall Tito and his newly crafted iconography of `brotherhood and unity' temporarily marginalized the ethnic deographies of the peoples in the Yugoslav Federation. In the 1990s this Yugoslavia was run over by time. The Republic of Macedonia was among the newly emerging states. In Macedonia the multi-ethnic mosaic was complicated by the confusion of old and new iconographic impulses. In 2001 the Macedonian crisis developed as a result of the spread of the new regional Albanian identity spread by the domino effect to the areas with mixed population in the Balkans after the events in Kosovo. Differences between Macedonians and Albanians are analyzed in terms of family structure, religion and ethnic and national affiliation. The politics based on these cleavages and their ensuing, contested iconographies are set out.     

Creating a diversified community: Community safety activity in Musashino City,Japan

The recent development of the third sector and the government encouragement of it have attracted the attention of many researchers. In particular, geographical research has examined how the third sector has been affected or changed by government policies or guidelines in recent political economic contexts, especially neo-liberalism and also neo-communitarianism. While much research has demonstrated that the relationship between the government and the third sector is becoming closer, and has considered the problematic impact on the sector or the community, recent studies have described a much more complicated relationship and its consequence. In response, this paper attempts to explore alternative effects of government encouragement at the local community level, through utilising empirical data on recent voluntary activity regarding community safety by the Voluntary Organisations for Crime Prevention Patrol (VOCPP) in Musashino City, a suburb of Tokyo in Japan. Before focusing on the case study in Musashino, the paper briefly outlines key geographical literature on the third sector, and also examines recent expectations of Japan’s third sector using Japanese political documents. Finally, the paper argues that the encouragement of government in fact has the potential to work as a ‘catalyst’ leading to a more independent third sector, with a geographically and organisationally less hierarchical structure, and may also assist in developing a more diversified community.     

Geomorphology and GIS in Japan: Background and characteristics

Japanese geomorphology has historically adopted methods and concepts from research in western countries and applied them to landforms in Japan and the flow of information has, in the past, been very much unidirectional. This situation is becoming more balanced, with increasing activity of Japanese geomorphologists within the international research arena. Accordingly, many sub-fields of geomorphology in Japan are now making important contributions at the international scale. However, GIS applications in Japanese geomorphology have been more limited, at a time of rapid expansion of GIS in geomorphology within western countries. Although in some countries, technical and financial limitations might inhibit GIS popularisation; this explanation cannot be applied to Japan, given the high level of technological resources within the country. It is suggested here that there are certain historical and cultural aspects of Japanese society, which may have contributed to delayed GIS propagation within Japan. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Political geography in the time of cyberspaces: New agendas?

This review paper aims to offer a contribution to debates over theory and subject for political geography. Following a brief review of histories of political geography, the main (though not exclusive) focus is on the way that political geography may confront ‘globalization’ and the multiplicity of flows that constitute ‘cyberspaces’. Notwithstanding the consequences of the resulting transformations, the paper argues that a number of traditional subjects of political geography should remain central to the field. In particular, it is argued that a degree of state-centric focus continues to be a valuable critical project. However, such a focus needs to be supplemented by a stress on the dialectical relationships between the state, territory, culture and economy. The approach taken to this in World Systems-Theory is critiqued and some alternatives are explored. In these explorations the paper also argues for an increased engagement and cross-fertilization between political, economic, social and cultural geographies, and with critical work in political science and international relations.     

Population geography with GIS in Japan

Japanese geography studies are now being greatly affected by the rapid development of geographical information systems (GIS). Unfortunately, there has been little response from Japanese population geographers to this movement. Is GIS a welcome or an unwelcome guest? After discussing the significance of employing GIS, this article introduces some recent papers that used GIS in the field of population geography on such issues as mortality mapping, migration analysis, and household studies. Then, the two promising population-related topics of married one-person households and fertility are discussed. The ability of GIS to greatly facilitate analysis, which previously needed much time and energy, can be an encouraging stimulus of innovation in studies of current population geography. Therefore, GIS is clearly a welcome guest, although it is too wishful to think that its use would lead directly to a revitalization of contemporary population geography studies.     

国外地理学研究动态——《国际社会科学杂志》地理学专辑介绍

联合国教科文组织主办的《国际社会科学杂志》第150期（1996年12月）、第151期（1997年3月）出了两期地理学专辑,专辑反映了地理学的最新研究动态,对地理学的各主要分支学科的特点、现状和研究热点进行了评述。全球环境变化、环境灾害、社会—自然相互作用,社会经济活动的全球化、城市化和跨国公司等新的空间组织形式和新的区位选择过程、地理信息技术,这些都是目前地理学研究的主要课题,而且地理学的各个分支之间和地理学与其它学科之间的综合趋势正日益加强。     

Hunting for votes: the geography of free votes and electoral advantage in the British House of Commons

When viewed in an international context some democratic political systems bestow more individual freedom on elected representatives than others over how they vote, for instance that of the United States compared to the United Kingdom. However, occasional opportunities arise for ‘free votes’ even in the British House of Commons and the paper considers the case study of that on the banning of hunting in 1992. The paper outlines the nature of the geography and politics of public opinion on the hunting issue and relates this to the free-voting patterns of MPs from opposing parties and constituencies of differing electoral marginality, as well as to the outcome of the closely-following General Election. On balance, Conservative MPs in marginal seats who voted in favour of a ban on hunting gained no subsequent advantage in retaining their seats over those who did not. This generates some points for final discussion.     

Conflict studies and critical geopolitics — theoretical concepts and recent research in political geography

The political and economic upheavals during the past two decades have led to a new social and political organization of space on all levels of scale. To deal with the obvious changes, political geography had to rethink and to extend its traditional concepts. Transcending its long taken-for-granted radical approaches, the Anglo-American geography developed two conceptional paths, both of which are still relevant for political geography today:— a new awareness of regional differences in political action and culture— a new, constructionist awareness of the instrumentalization of geographical discourses for geopolitical purposes.With these theoretical concepts, political geography is examining a number of both traditional and new fields of research. Their heterogeneity is once again evidence of postmodern diversity and difference. They are characterized by both a new awareness of differentiation and a widening of the traditional viewpoint in three closely related respects transcending the traditional topics of political activity, the traditional political actors and the established levels of scale of politics. Based on the current literature it is possible to outline some major themes and perspectives of current political geography that are closely linked together, like knots in thematic networks:1. ecological politics and resource conflicts 2. territorial conflicts and boundaries 3. geopolitics and the politics of identity 4. globalization and new international relations 5. the symbolic representation of political power 6. regional conflicts and new social movements.     

The Upper Adriatic borderland: From conflict to harmony

The paper presents an overview of the Upper Adriatic as a contact area between different cultural, social, economic and political entities, producing potential conflicts in the last century. The first part of the 20th century represented a classic example of geopolitical conflict through two World Wars and their related Peace Conferences that deeply impacted the region. Conflicts arising from the mid-century solution of the Trieste question transformed the Upper Adriatic into a laboratory of contemporary political geographic transformation. Changing geopolitical patterns have also modified the political, social and ethnic construction of the Upper Adriatic. The process of creating new international boundaries in the region ended in 1991 with the independence of Slovenia and Croatia. Through these geopolitical transformations in the Upper Adriatic, new political geographic attitudes evolved. Early on, Ratzel's geopolitical principles of defining borders as power barometers between neighbors dominated. More recently, attitudes have reflected modern integrative ideas with a focus on looking for harmony and the elimination of international conflicts. Greater attention has thus been given to the political geography of `everyday life', inter-ethnic relations, and cross-border contacts. Hence, `new' borderlands of the Upper Adriatic are more receptive to integration because they seek to overcome conflicts caused by the division of traditionally homogeneous spaces as local level political and ideological hindrances disappear. The region divided among Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia is becoming a new and special type of European borderland in the new century.     

Ethnicity and geography in Jewish perspectives

It is said that the Jewish people has had a surfeit of history but not enough geography. Deprived of its independence, expelled from its homeland, and dispersed among other nations, Jewish communities internalized different socio-cultural manners and customs. Throughout history, Jewish leaders — political and rabbinical — expresssed various attitudes toward territoriality and political aspirations for Jewish independence. As Zionism and the return of Jews to the Land of Israel became a real movement, those different attitudes had to confront a new reality, in which Jewish history meets Jewish geography. This paper discusses the encounter of a Jewish culture that developed under Diaspora conditions with the new reality of Jewish territoriality and sovereignty.     

Beyond ‘backwater’ island to global city vision? Rethinking feminist geographies for Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew

Feminist scholars have emphasised the central import of bringing feminist approaches into political geography, so as not to reify the global or the totalizing ambitions of political geography. However, the reification of the global is perhaps a pragmatic strategy for small places in a big world. Singapore is touted as the Asian development miracle; a Tiger Economy that has survived in spite of its small size and lack of natural resources. This year the man credited with its transformation from a backwater island-state to a global city-state, passed away. This is also the year that marks the 50th year of Singapore’s independence. In writing this review I analyse the overlap and synergies between the developmental goals of a newly independent state and the goals of the feminist movements. In particular, I maintain that the government’s push to transform Singapore into a global city from the late 1980s onwards, and its strategic use of Asian Family Values as the panacea for the threat of Westernisation have resulted in a more divided movement. Looking past the legacy of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, I ask how we may begin to reclaim feminist politics to stitch together the divided spaces produced by Singaporean state biopolitics. Through this exercise, this intervention contributes to feminist articulations on the problem spaces of feminism; and challenges the reification of the global by talking across multiple worlds that feminist politics inhabit.