This study aims to explore and compare the experiences of international academics in government-funded research institutes in Korea and Japan and focuses on their integration through primary roles and contributions, reasons to stay, and the challenges they face in their academic and daily lives. Although international academics are critical human…

Public teachers in Japan are subjected to a compulsory rotation system where the prefectural board of education governs their entire career paths. Past research has written of the macro- and micro-level impacts of rotation systems, including Japanese teacher rotation, but this paper, based on years of working in and observing Japanese schools, is…

While the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to better learning are now widely acknowledged, a widespread and accessible provision for these services also helps support gender equality in the workforce. In particular, the availability, intensity, reliability and affordability of ECEC play an important role in engaging…

This study explores the processual identity formation of six Japanese women who gave up a job, turned to higher education, and became university EFL teachers in Japan. My research questions include: (1) How did they change their careers and become university EFL teachers? (2) Since they entered the university EFL teaching profession, how have they…

In the prestige economy of higher education, research productivity is highly prized. Previous research indicates, however, a gender gap with respect to research output. This gap is often explained by reference to familial status and responsibilities. In this article, we examine the research productivity gender gap from an international perspective…

This article argues that strong interrelations between methodological and theoretical advances exist. Progress in, especially comparative, methods may have important impacts on theory evaluation. By using the example of the "Varieties of Capitalism" approach and an international comparison of higher education systems, it can be shown…

The esteem historically attributed to the teaching profession in Japan is eroding, and some Japanese teachers who identify with the ideal of being a "life educator" are becoming disillusioned with teaching. While the stress and anxiety associated with teacher disillusionment have been researched from a Western perspective, little is…

Stimulated by studies on South Korean students' early and later-on study abroad and Japanese companies' practice of hiring monolingual college students, the present literature-based discussion advances the knowledge of commonalities and distinctiveness between the two nations that manifest in either a textbook-case or a non-linear relationship…

The United States does not guarantee families a wide range of supportive workplace policies such as paid maternity and paternity leave or paid leave to care for sick children. Proposals to provide such benefits are invariably met with the complaint that the costs would reduce employment and undermine the international competitiveness of American…

This study examines the ways in which Japanese corporate transnationalism affects husbands' involvement in family life and marital relationships primarily from a perspective of wives. It is based on interviews with 22 Japanese wives and 4 husbands. Studies of Japanese corporate transnationalism treat men as mere supervisors to local workers or…

This study introduces data from a new random sample of Japanese adults. Findings show that reporting of distress symptoms are: (1. positively associated with a religious coping index (i.e., beliefs that religion or supernatural beings provide comfort, support or protection), (2. associated in different directions with ownership of different…

Examined opinions of diverse parents, teachers, and academics regarding Japanese society, its infant/toddler care system, labor force, and family. Found evidence of a difficult transition in the culture of child rearing, including increased caregiver responsibility for child rearing and increased anxiety about parenting among young mothers.…

This book answers fundamental questions about the nature of work in modern life based on the research from an innovative, cross-national project of the Work Importance Study (WIS). Part 1 presents the background for WIS. "Studies of the Meaning of Work" (Branimir Sverko, Vlasta Vizek-Vidovic) reviews the current state of understanding of…

Within the last 50 years, the work-family-household arrangements upon which social policy systems in industrial nations were formulated have disappeared. This briefing paper examines how social policies of the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and France have responded. The paper is presented in two major sections. The first section describes…

Career development has taken on global significance as individuals prepare for work that increasingly crosses borders. Internationally, individuals and career practitioners helping them are grappling with such issues as development of cultural competencies for cross-cultural work. Issues vary in different sociopolitical contexts. As Eastern Europe…