open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/82416

A Study on the Discursive Formation of Territoriality : An analysis of high school students' speech contest on the Northern Territories issues

日本語

2021-04-22

Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, Hokkaido University

The Journal of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies

32

43-59

Currently, Japan has territorial disputes with neighboring nations over the Takeshima Islands, the Senkaku Islands and the Northern Territories. The territorial disputes over these islands are influenced by various factors such as historical background and different interpretations of territorial rights. This paper focuses on discursive elements found in the discourse surrounding the Northern Territories dispute. The Northern Territories issue is a dispute between Japan and Russia over the sovereignty of Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu and Habomai islands. There are Russian residents on those islands, and visa-free exchange programs are established to enable the Japanese to visit the islands, as well as allow the Russian residents of the islands to visit Japan. The visa-free programs are designed to provide opportunities to change the understanding of territory through face-to-face exchange. There are many educational activities held by the Japanese government and government-affiliated organizations to increase awareness of the dispute. Among such activities there is an annual speech contest held for high school students in Hokkaido. Participants' recognition of the territorial dispute is strongly manifested in the contents of their speeches presented at the contest. Through the text mining analysis of the discoursive space of the speech contest, this paper aims to clarify the differences in understanding of territory between participants in visa-free exchange programs and those with no such experience. The analysis of 173 speeches indicates that visa-free programs provide a chance to the students to be aware that Northern Territories are the homeland for the residents and to gain relative understanding of territoriality.

紀要論文

Version of Record

AA1224631X