Project/Area Number |
20K01486
|
Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Section | 一般 |
Review Section |
Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
|
Research Institution | Soka University |
Principal Investigator |
|
Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
|
Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
|
Budget Amount *help |
¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
|
Keywords | COVID-19 / Gender / Religion-politics / Soka Gakkai / Civil Society / Okinawa / Youth / SDGs / local governance / gender equity and SDGs / religion / civil society / responses to COVID-19 / historical memory / populist politics / local politics Okinawa / religion and politics / identity politics / Komeito-Okinawa / local-national politics / politics and livelihood / Nago local communities / Komeito-Soka Gakkai / SDG 16 |
Outline of Research at the Start |
Drawing upon micro level case studies in contested political arenas such the Futenma Airbase relocation to Henoko this research investigates how Komeito and Soka Gakkai represent a significant alternative to otherwise polarised politics. Although religion has typically been seen as the world of `moral absolutes` politics is increasingly expressed through a new `psychology of purity` (Robert Putnam), the research elucidates that while divisive politics dominate contested areas, the middle-ground of Komeito is significant to policy outcomes, sound local-national governance, peaceful relations.
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Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Three journal articles based on first hand fieldwork and in-depth ethnographic interviews with Soka Gakkai members in Okinawa and Tokyo, and with Komeito politicians and officials in Soka Gakkai were published. The situation of the COVID-19 Pandemic illuminated a different mode of being. The response was not populist but actively used digital media communication tools to provide the latest science-based WHO information to its membership and supporters, while also combatting the rapidly emerging social issues such as discrimination directly. The research also revealed a deeper generational transformation occurring in terms of gender, where both young women and men seek a less gendered lifestyle, using the SDGs framework to push for change. The third part of the research focused on the way historically, the discourse on religion has been socially productive, pointing to Soka Gakkai as providing a counter-episteme that is brought to bear on individual and collective action.
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Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
First hand fieldwork and in-depth ethnographic interviews show how Soka Gakkai approached the COVID-19 Pandemic, revealing a deeper generational transformation in terms of gender. The research also showed how the discourse on religion point brought to bear on individual and collective action.
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