The fifty-sixth session of the Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS) took place on September 3, 2025. Phillip Y. Lipscy (University of Toronto) chaired the seminar and moderated the Q&A session.
Jacques Hymans (University of Southern California) presented his paper utilizing surveys to examine the effect of official discourse on individual views. His paper puzzles over how official and collective memory are often thought to be equivalent and sets out to understand the impact of official discourse on people’s views using surveys fielded before and after the release of new Japanese bank notes in July 2024. The results show increases in knowledge of the featured historical figures following circulation of the new notes, but no change in sense of appreciation toward the figures. Overall levels of appreciation revealed significant variation by factors such as sex, LDP support, and trust in the Bank of Japan, which suggests possible heterogeneity in dispositions toward official narratives.
Charles Crabtree (Dartmouth College) and Yoshikuni Ono (Waseda University) offered insightful comments on the explanatory variable, ways to model the relationship, and the reporting of survey design. During the Q&A, participants offered suggestions on relevant literature and alternative questions to explore.
The organizers would like to thank the presenters, discussants, and participants, as well as the staff at the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, who provided administrative support. We look forward to seeing you at the next session of JPOSS: https://jposs.org/.