Project Description
In this winter term project, I will gather various viewpoints on the relationship between ordinary Japanese people and new religions in light of the recent assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In Japan, talking about religion has been taboo, even though in some cases, such as the Tokyo subway sarin attack, radical religious groups greatly impacted Japanese society. After the assassination of Shinzo Abe on July 8, 2022, people have begun to speak out because the suspect said he shot Shinzo Abe on account of his deep connections to the Unification Church, a new religion with origins in Korea.
His mother is a devoted member of the Unification Church, so she has “donated” almost all of her family’s assets, which might lead the suspect to shoot Shinzo Abe. After his assassination, Japanese media outlets focused on the tie between the ruling party and the Unification Church, and they documented many forms of connection.
I will write daily journal entries, including a summary of my readings or conversations with specialists in this field. I will talk to a lawyer, a board member of social welfare service corporation concerning spiritually abused children, and graduate students researching new religious problems and conspiracy theories.
If possible, I would like to talk to a professor who has led research on mind control and religion in Japan or a pastor who has worked to help those who want to leave one of the new religions in Japan, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church, etc.
Learning Goals
- Learn various perspectives on the relationship between new religions and politics in Japan
- Explore what makes religion a taboo subject in Japan
- Get an idea about how Shinzo Abe’s assassination affected the way that Japanese people perceive religion as a whole
Project Agenda
- Collect, read and organize news articles, TV shows’ archives, Social Networking service posts, and interviewing.
- Write some computer code to filter certain posts from Twitter (because Twitter is insanely popular in Japan)
- Every day, I will meet people or investigate materials.
- My Academic Advisor, group home’s lawyer, board member, graduate students, professor
- Eventually, I want to study how new religions or religious environments affect child development, especially in Japan, because there are few studies in this area. Completing this winter term project will lay the groundwork for me to begin to study what I want to study or am interested in. It would affect my course selection for next year or major declaration by clarifying the problem in the Japanese religious situation.
Project Artifacts
- Daily journal entries, documenting my activities with my reflections on those activities
- satouchida.hithub.io
Reflective Practice and Self-Assessment Plans
- Read through my full set of journal entries at the end of my winter term, and I will see that I have gained a new perspective or come to a surprising point. That would be a success.
- Write down how I feel about my academic interest or simply what is in my mind.