2022 New Orleans

Minutes

Japan-U.S. Communication Association (JUCA)

Annual Business Meeting 2022 (VIRTUAL)

Minutes

Chair: Akira Miyahara, President

Records: Rebecca K. Britt, Secretary

Place: Virtual (Zoom)
Date: 11/6 (Sun) 9am (Japan Time)
11/5 (Sat) 7pm (EST) 6pm (CST) 4pm (PST)

Call to Order (Miyahara) 

1.     Welcome by Miyahara

OLD BUSINESS (all in favor, no nay or abstain)

1.     Approval of the 2021 Business Meeting Minutes

2.     Activity Report

NEW BUSINESS

1.     Top Papers: 

a.     Top Student Paper: “Derailing the Neoliberal Capitalist Engine: Mugen Train as Liberation from Necropolitics in Japan and Abroad”, Fielding Montgomery, Megu Itoh, & Taylor Hourigan (University of Maryland) 

b.     Top Faculty Paper: “Trust in a Multinational Corporation: Meaning of Trust in the Workplace and Effects of Trust on Communication among Expatriates and Local Employees”, Mizuki Wyant & Ioana Cionea  (University of Oklahoma)

2.     Executive Committee Continuation and Replacement (Election) (all in favor)

a.     President: Akira Miyahara (Seinan Gakuin University)

b.     NEW Vice President: Rebecca K. Britt (University of Alabama)

c.     NEW Secretary: Katharina Barkley (Seinan Gakuin University)

d.     Treasurer: Joshua Nelson-Ichido (Central Washington University)

e.     Web Page Director: Tatsuya Imai (Nanzan University)

f.      Members at large: Rose Campbell (Butler University), Hiroko Okuda (Kanto Gakuin University)

g.     NEW Graduate Student Representative: Megu Itoh, University of Maryland

h.     Conference Co-Planner: Koji Fuse (University of North Texas)

3.     Report from 2022 Conference (Omori)

a.     Number of submissions : 12 papers & 1 panel

b.     Accepted: 8 papers (2 papers: Scholar to Scholar) 

c.     Rejected: 2 papers & 1 panel

d.     Number of sessions: 2 JUCA sessions

4.     Special Thanks to the Reviewers: Katharina Barkley, Rose G. Campbell, Koji Fuse, Megu Itoh, Akira Miyahara, Joshua Nelson-Ichido, Jiro Takai, Hiroko Okuda, Norihito Taniguchi, Mizuki Hamazawa Wyant, Yusaku Yajima

5.     Budget Report by Joshua Nelson-Ichido:

a.     Assets:

                                               i.     Carry-over: $1148.58

                                             ii.     Donations: $0.00

                                            iii.     Total inflow: $1148.58

b.     Disbursments:

                                               i.     Award given: $50.00

                                             ii.     Food & drinks: $0.00

                                            iii.     Total outflow: $0.00

c.     Current Available Balance: $1098.58

6.     Plan for 2023 Conference 

a.     National Harbor, Maryland 

b.     Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

c.     Thursday, November 16 - Sunday, November 19, 2023*

JUCA sessions

2022 11/18 (Fri)

Japanese Cultural Characteristics in

Business Communication and Self-Presentation

Sponsor: Japan-U.S. Communication Association

Fri, 11/18: 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM CST

Sheraton

Room: Napoleon Ballroom A2 - 3rd Floor

This session explores Japanese cultural characteristics in business communication and self-presentation.

Chair

Yusaku Yajima, University of Louisiana Monroe - Contact Me Respondent

Koji Fuse, University of North Texas - Contact Me Sponsor/Co-Sponsors

Japan-U.S. Communication Association

Presentations

Does CEO Nationality Matter? – Examining the Impact of CEO Characteristics on Crisis Communication in Japan 

This study examined the impact of CEO nationality on perceptions of source credibility and corporate reputation outcomes in the context of Japanese corporate crisis communication. The stereotypes audience members hold about a particular nationality can act as a perceptual filter that can potentially affect crisis response message effectiveness in terms of reputational outcomes for the organization. In a preliminary study, we confirmed the existence of significant distinctions in the social perception of different nationalities. We then employed a 2 (crisis response: matched, unmatched) × 5 (CEO nationality: Japan, China, USA, UK, Philippines) experimental study design to examine whether a foreign CEO's nationality would undermine or boost their crisis communication effectiveness. Results showed that while CEO nationality did have an impact on both source credibility and company reputation outcomes, none of the foreign CEO condition differed significantly from the Japanese CEO in terms of the total effect of nationality on company reputation. Negative direct effects of nationality were offset by positive indirect effects on company reputation through higher perceptions of trustworthiness and competence. We conclude that both foreign and domestic organizations may not have to worry about having a foreign CEO representing their company during a corporate crisis in Japan.

Author

Katharina Barkley, Seinan Gakuin University - Contact Me

The Effect of Relational Mobility, Self-Construal and Cultural Tightness on Self-Presentation Motives: A Japan-U.S. Comparison 

Studies have proven that self-presentation differs across cultures, mainly through the individualism-collectivism dimension (IC).This study goes beyond IC, probing into the effects of relatively new cross-cultural theories, that of relational mobility and cultural looseness/tightness, comparing their effects on self-presentation motives, namely self-consciousness and self-regulatory focus. Current study used survey method, and collected 1036 samples from U.S. and Japan. The results indicate significant differences between Japanese and Americans in their self- presentation motives and suggested multiple mediators could produce a stronger explanatory power to those motives. Some mixed results also noted alternative variables needed to be explored. The role of relational mobility, self-construal, tightness and looseness as new explanatory framework for cross-cultural comparisons is discussed.

Author

Xuechen Hu, Nagoya University - Contact Me Co-Author(s)

Xingjian Gao, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Lina Wang, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Anqi Hu, Ibaraki University - Contact Me

Norihito Taniguchi, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Peter S. Lee, California State University Fullerton - Contact Me Jiro Takai, Nagoya University US - Contact Me

Open Dialogue Among Japanese Business Professionals Fosters Creativity 

The global presence of Japanese companies, once the epitome of innovation, has diminished (Schumpeter, 2017). We argue that openness in the task-oriented dialogue that occurs within a business is necessary for a company to be a creative venue for innovation. The current research analyzes communication in Japanese businesses based on the concept of Open Dialogue developed in Finland for psychotherapy. In order to analyze dialogue, the current research has adapted Open Dialogue to develop a new dialogic analysis method called Trigger Dialogue to study communication that might thwart innovation. As a result of this analysis, which utilized a grounded theory approach, the study identified three dialogic abilities necessary to communicate openly and, ultimately, to foster a creative space in Japanese business communication. First, the subject of the sentence, which represents the responsible person, should be present. Second, fewer ambiguous expressions and fillers should be used. Third, repetition of key words by the current speaker that have been said by the previous speaker can foster open communication by demonstrating awareness and understanding of the prior speaker's messages. The study discusses how the resultant dialogic openness creates a dynamic dialogic space (Nakahara & Nagaoka, 2012) that produces a polyphony effect (Bakhtin, 2013), thereby, fostering creativity. Results also suggest that the developed method of dialogic analysis can be used to make consistent evaluations regardless of who analyzes the data.

Author

Hiroshi Tatewaki, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me Co-Author(s)

Junko Sato, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me Nobutake Matsushita, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me Yasuhiro Yoriki, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me

Yui Koike, Waseda University - Contact Me

Yuko Kai, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me

Masaya Adachis, SBI Business Innovator - Contact Me Anastacia Kurylo, Brooklyn College, CUNY - Contact Me

Sugar and Spice (and Everything Nice?): Japan’s Ambition Behind Lolita’s Kawaii Aesthetics 

Lolita fashions, as a global media and marketing phenomenon, have charmed many in Japan and beyond to adopt the kawaii (cute) aesthetics. Studies have suggested that the "cute" Lolita fashions allow one to perform non-conforming femininity playfully. This study extends from this argument and uses an intersectional, transnational approach to understand how the kawaii aesthetics constructs not just gender but also race transnationally.

This study investigates important media texts beyond the mainstream media, including the retail catalogs of Lolita brands and fan publications. Findings reveal that within Japan, there is an artful appropriation of whiteness in Lolita marketing through the kawaii aesthetics, which renders whiteness/Westernness less threatening and covers up Japan's ambition to surpass the West with a spectacular, playful, and innocent mask. Yet when Lolita fashions are repackaged for the Western market, the over-representation of whiteness is replaced by a fantasy of cross- racial sisterhood, which also subtly celebrates the superiority of the East Asian race in front of the West through kawaii aesthetics.

The case study shows that kawaii aesthetics embodies important gender, racial, and national ideologies. I call for an awareness of the appropriation of whiteness in other countries outside of the United States and a more nuanced, intersectional reading of "postfeminist" glamor.

Author

Natalie Ngai, University of Michigan - Contact Me

2022 11/19 (Sat)

Top Papers in Japan-U.S. Communication

Association

Sponsor: Japan-U.S. Communication Association

Sat, 11/19: 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM CST

Sheraton

Room: Napoleon Ballroom D3 - 3rd Floor

This is the JUCA top paper session. The session investigates Japanese and American cultural impacts on communication processes.

Chair

Joshua C. Nelson-Ichido, Central Washington University - Contact Me Respondent

Akira Miyahara, Seinan Gakuin University - Contact Me Sponsor/Co-Sponsors

Japan-U.S. Communication Association

Presentations

Trust in a Multinational Corporation: Meaning of Trust in the Workplace and Effects of Trust on Communication among Expatriates and Local Employees

This study examined how U.S. American local employees and Japanese expatriates conceptualized trust in the workplace as well as how trust affected their daily communication. A total of 32 participants (16 U.S. Americans and 16 Japanese) working in a multinational manufacturing company participated in semi-structured, individual interviews. The analysis revealed that both groups of participants identified competence and skills, teamwork and collaboration, and open/honest communication as important aspects of trust in the workplace, although there were some culturally nuanced expressions used by Japanese expatriates in describing trust. Specifically, Japanese expatriates emphasized the importance of collective behavior in organizations, likely derived from their collectivistic cultural values, more than their U.S American counterparts when discussing teamwork and collaboration, and open/honest communication. Competence and skills seemed to be the most critical aspect of trust in the workplace, regardless of participants' cultural background. Further, trust between U.S. American local employees and Japanese expatriates affected their communication, such as information flow and mentoring communication. In other words, without trust, both parties could not receive information necessary to complete their tasks or projects, and U.S. Americans could not receive support and advice necessary to succeed in the company from Japanese expatriates. This study contributes to literature on relationships between expatriates and local employees by providing a culturally nuanced understanding of trust in the workplace. Additionally, findings from this study offer practical recommendations for multinational corporations for how to socialize and train their employees to enhance their work experience with one another.

Author

Mizuki Hamazawa Wyant, Illinois College - Contact Me Co-Author

Ioana A. Cionea, University of Oklahoma - Contact Me

The Effect of Relational Mobility and Self-Construals on Interpersonal Communication Directness/Indirectness: A Japan- U.S. Comparison 

Japanese and Americans were compared on their usage of direct and indirect communication strategies across situational contexts varied by face threats, and relational contexts varied by intimacy and power discrepancy. Relational mobility and self-construals were investigated to see if they affect directness/indirectness. A total of 1036 participants recruited from internet crowd-sourcing sites responded to an online questionnaire. Results showed that Japanese differentiated their direct and indirect strategies more toward relational targets and across face threat situations than Americans. Relational mobility, as well as self-construals, affected the use of strategies, and mediated the effect of culture on this usage. Discussion on the use of relational mobility as an explanatory framework for communication behavior was raised.

Author

Lina Wang, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Co-Author(s)

Xuechen Hu, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Xingjian Gao, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Anqi Hu, Ibaraki University - Contact Me

Norihito Taniguchi, Nagoya University - Contact Me

Peter S. Lee, California State University Fullerton - Contact Me Jiro Takai, Nagoya University US - Contact Me

Nonverbal Synchrony in Technology-Mediated Interviews: A Cross-Cultural Study 

Technology-mediated communication changed the way we communicate, and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, this trend became even more pronounced. Media interviews are no exception. During the COVID-19 era, many talk shows have started using a mediated environment through videoconferencing software and subsequently publishing the interviews online. In this trend, studies on nonverbal behaviors, especially interactional or nonverbal synchrony during such mediated interviews, are still scarce. To fill the research gap, this study investigated synchronized patterns in the host's and guest's facial emotional displays during mediated interviews. In addition, given no studies seem to have directly investigated cross-cultural differences of synchrony using the same analysis method, we collected video data of mediated interviews recorded in the countries in Western culture (mainly the US, with the addition of the UK) online. The valence of facial displays was automatedly measured using FaceReader software, which was analyzed in terms of nonverbal synchrony. The interviews were categorized into information- or entertainment-driven interviews. As predicted, facial synchrony was more prevalent in information-driven interviews, supporting the motivational and strategic account of synchrony. In addition, the female-hosted interviews had a higher degree of synchrony, especially in information-driven interviews. The current study is the first evidence of synchrony in mediated interviews in which a host and a guest appear on split-screen to inform or entertain audiences. On the contrary, no cultural differences in synchrony were observed. Situational demands in front of the interactants and the goal-driven nature of communication seemed to play a more prominent role than cultural differences in nonverbal synchrony.

Author

Ken Fujiwara - Contact Me Co-Author(s)

Christopher D. Otmar, University of California, Santa Barbara - Contact Me Norah E. Dunbar, University of California, Santa Barbara - Contact Me Mohemmad Hansia, University of California, Santa Barbara - Contact Me

Derailing the Neoliberal Capitalist Engine: Mugen Train as Liberation from Necropolitics in Japan and Abroad 

As one of the most successful pieces of transnational popular culture in Japanese history, we analyze the strong critique of neoliberal capitalism in the recent horror/anime film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (2021). Using a feminist counterapocalyptic framework and informed by our understanding of Mbembe's conception of necropolitics, we argue that Mugen Train's demonic antagonists, coopted laborers, and heroic protagonists articulate a self-evident and consistent narrative that rejects neoliberal capitalist commodification and necropolitical dominance. For instance, the demons represent the inhuman, capitalist system through classic horror. They are pure monstrosity and have various connections to neoliberal capitalism, even becoming the titular train itself. The coopted humans represent the hegemonic nature of this economic system-framed through a conflicted horror lens-participating in their own domination in the hopes of a better dream-life. Finally, in place of this neoliberal, capitalist, necropolitical system, Mugen Train offers a relations of care grounded in PLACE that demonstrates how people who are stuck in an environment of socioeconomic subjugation can only be liberated by recognizing and advocating for human community grounded in such a relational ethic. The Demon Slayer protagonists do just that by emphasizing the shared vulnerability of humanity and building communal connections that deny the attempts of neoliberal capitalism to isolate those who are caught in its grasp. The success of this film in both Japan and the United States reveals the potential salience of such a critique to audiences living in both of these neoliberal, capitalist nations. As such, transnational popular culture provides a compelling narrative counter to transnational economic domination.

Author

Fielding E. Montgomery, University of Maryland - Contact Me Co-Author(s)

Megu Itoh, University of Maryland - Contact Me Taylor Hourigan, University of Maryland - Contact Me