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Symbolic Politics and the Ascendance of Rhetoric: An inquiry into Political Symbols, their Usage and Role in Japan

Research Project

Project/Area Number 19K01462
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
Research InstitutionDoshisha University

Principal Investigator

Feldman Ofer  同志社大学, 政策学部, 教授 (50208906)

Project Period (FY) 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
Keywordspolitical interviews / political symbols / media interviews / political rhetoric / Japan / political communication / discourse analysis / Political Communication / Political interviews / Political Rhetoric / Symbolic interaction / Political symbols / Japanese politicians / political discourse / media effect / communication
Outline of Research at the Start

This research utilizes the Symbolic Politics Theory to detail the symbols used in the public sphere, and their function, within the broad framework of political behavior in Japan. The research aims (1) to distinguish and examine the characteristics, role, and the usage of political symbols in Japan; (2) to assess the way and the extent politicians, government bureaucrats, and the media employ these symbols to "speak" to public constituencies; and (3) to specify the part symbols play within Japanese political culture, and their affect, in a comparative, cross-cultural, cross-national context.

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examined the forms and functions of the symbols used in the public sphere in Japan within the broad framework of political behavior and communication. Data was collected during 2019-2020 from 125 live interviews with politicians and nonpoliticians on programs broadcast on Japanese television. The study identifies 2,458 questions that were posed during these interviews to various groups of interviewees, including members of the national Diet, local level politicians, and to subject matter experts. It also identifies the type of sources which interviewees used during interviews, specifies the reasons for using these sources, and indicates the relationship between these sources and the attributes of the interviewees, the manner in which questions were asked, and the issues and symbols used in the interviews. Analysis of the data reveals the effect of cultural aspects on the interviews, and the role played by the threat to “face” on the interviewees’ communication strategy.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

the study revealed it is not only the interview environment and the fashion in which questions are asked, but also the culture and political culture of a society that determine the types, use, and frequency of cited sources and symbols during political interviews, as they affect political behavior.

Report

(5 results)
  • 2022 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (12 results)

All 2022 2021 2020 2019

All Journal Article (3 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Peer Reviewed: 3 results,  Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (4 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results,  Invited: 2 results) Book (5 results)

  • [Journal Article] Introduction: Political Interviews An Analytical Model2022

    • Author(s)
      Feldman Ofer
    • Journal Title

      Adversarial Political Interviewing: Worldwide Perspectives During Polarized Times

      Volume: 1 Pages: 1-21

    • DOI

      10.1007/978-981-19-0576-6_1

    • ISBN
      9789811905759, 9789811905766
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Reference Statements and Quotes as Communication Strategy: Effects of Source Use During Japanese Televised Political Interviews2022

    • Author(s)
      Feldman Ofer、Kinoshita Ken
    • Journal Title

      Adversarial Political Interviewing: Worldwide Perspectives During Polarized Times

      Volume: 1 Pages: 245-270

    • DOI

      10.1007/978-981-19-0576-6_13

    • ISBN
      9789811905759, 9789811905766
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Journal Article] Ignoring Respect: The Effects of Threat to Face on Replies and the Ensuing Questions During Broadcast Political Interviews in Japan2019

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman & Ken Kinoshita
    • Journal Title

      Journal of Language and Social Psychology

      Volume: 38 Issue: 5-6 Pages: 1-21

    • DOI

      10.1177/0261927x19834326

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] “Citations, References, and Quotes as Communication Strategy During Political Interviews: The Effect of Culture on Political Discourse in Japan”2022

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman & Ken Kinoshita
    • Organizer
      International Society of Political Psychology
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] Discussant and Chair:2021

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman
    • Organizer
      Asia Network for Public Opinion Research
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Conducting Public Opinion Research in the COVID-19 Era2020

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman
    • Organizer
      ANPOR (Asia Network for Public Opinion Research) - APCA (Asia-Pacific Communication Alliance)
    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Figures of Speech in Japanese Politics: A Study on the Symbolic Usage of Metaphors in Japanese Newspapers2019

    • Author(s)
      Makiko Yamamoto & Ofer Feldman
    • Organizer
      Asian Network for Public Opinion Research (ANPOR)
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Book] 政治家のレトリック2022

    • Author(s)
      木下 健、オフェル・フェルドマン
    • Total Pages
      292
    • Publisher
      勁草書房
    • ISBN
      9784326351855
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] Adversarial Political Interviewing: Worldwide Perspectives During Polarized Times2022

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman (editor)
    • Total Pages
      475
    • Publisher
      Springer
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Book] When Politicians Talk: The Cultural Dynamics of Public Speaking2021

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman
    • Total Pages
      300
    • Publisher
      Springer
    • ISBN
      9789811635786
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
  • [Book] The Rhetoric of Political Leadership: Logic and Emotion in Public Discourse2020

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman
    • Total Pages
      250
    • Publisher
      Edward Elgar
    • ISBN
      9781789904574
    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
  • [Book] The Psychology of Political Communicators: How Politicians, Culture, and the Media Construct and Shape Public Discourse2019

    • Author(s)
      Ofer Feldman & Sonja Zmerli
    • Total Pages
      238
    • Publisher
      Routledge
    • ISBN
      9781138596184
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report

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Published: 2019-04-18   Modified: 2024-01-30  

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