1887
image of Beyond acceptable criticism
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This paper utilizes the concept of debasement to examine politicians’ rhetoric in Japan. It focuses on 3,233 questions posed by opposition party members to Cabinet ministers during the 2023 meetings of the Budget Committee in both houses of the National Diet. The analysis identifies debasement comments, examining the linkage between the use of such language and a list of socio-political variables, including ideological orientation, differences in electoral systems, and previous career occupation. From a cross-cultural perspective, abusive rhetoric in Japan might not seem to be an extreme phenomenon, but because of cultural factors even the use of “mild” invective language indicates a clear intention of politicians to debase the reputation of their counterparts in the parliament.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ld.00184.fel
2024-10-25
2025-04-24
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Baldi, Benedetta
    2023 “The strategic use of debasing and vulgar language in Italy’s contemporary politics: Beppe Grillo and Matteo Salvini.” InDebasing political rhetoric: Dissing opponents, journalists, and minorities in populist leadership communication, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0894‑3_10
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0894-3_10 [Google Scholar]
  2. Feldman, Ofer
    2004Talking politics in Japan today. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. 2020 “Introduction: Persuasive speaking and evoking political behavior.” InThe rhetoric of political leadership: Logic and emotion in public discourse, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 10.4337/9781789904581.00007
    https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789904581.00007 [Google Scholar]
  4. 2021 “Decoding Japanese politicians’ rhetoric: Socio-cultural features of public speaking.” InWhen politicians talk: The cultural dynamics of public speaking, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑16‑3579‑3_12
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3579-3_12 [Google Scholar]
  5. 2022 “Introduction: Political interviews — An analytical model.” InAdversarial political interviewing: Worldwide perspectives during polarized times, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑19‑0576‑6_1
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0576-6_1 [Google Scholar]
  6. 2023a “Assessing the politics of debasement: From impoliteness to demonization in political communication.” InPolitical debasement: Incivility, contempt, and humiliation in parliamentary and public discourse, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0467‑9_1
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0467-9_1 [Google Scholar]
  7. 2023b “Challenging etiquette: Insults, sarcasm, and irony in Japanese politicians’ discourse.” InPolitical debasement: Incivility, contempt, and humiliation in parliamentary and public discourse, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0467‑9_5
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0467-9_5 [Google Scholar]
  8. Feldman, Ofer and Ken Kinoshita
    2017 “Do important questions demand respectful replies? Analyzing televised political interviews in Japan.” Journal of Asian Pacific Communication(): –. 10.1075/japc.27.1.07fel
    https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.27.1.07fel [Google Scholar]
  9. 2019 “Ignoring respect: The effects of threat to face on replies and the ensuing questions during broadcast political interviews in Japan.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology(): –. 10.1177/0261927X19834326
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X19834326 [Google Scholar]
  10. Fukumoto, Kentaro
    2003 “Are the House of Councillors’ members more senior than members of the House of Representatives?” Nenpô seijigaku: – (in Japanese).
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Hirokawa, Randy Y.
    1987 “Communication within the Japanese business organization.” InCommunication theory: Eastern and western perspectives, ed. byD. Lawrence Kincaid, –. San Diego: Academic Press. 10.1016/B978‑0‑12‑407470‑5.50016‑5
    https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407470-5.50016-5 [Google Scholar]
  12. Johnson, Frank A.
    1993Dependency and Japanese socialization: Psychoanalytic and anthropological investigation into amae. New York: New York University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Kato, Junko
    2021Expert survey on policy positions of political parties. Junko Kato’s Lab (in Japanese). Available atwww.katoj.j.u-tokyo.ac.jp/HOME_files/HP_data_japanese2017revise.pdf
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Katriel, Tamar
    1986Talking straight: Dugri speech in Israeli Sabra culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Kinoshita, Ken
    2023 “Do members of the House of Representatives use more political rhetoric than members of the House of Councillors: The impact of the House of Councillor Budget Committee’s one way method.” (in Japanese) Kôkyô seisaku kenkyû: –.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Krasner, Michael Alan
    2021 “Donald Trump: Dividing America through new-culture speech.” InWhen politicians talk: The cultural dynamics of public speaking, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑16‑3579‑3_15
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3579-3_15 [Google Scholar]
  17. Lebra, Takie Sugiyama
    1992 “Self in Japanese culture.” InJapanese sense of self, ed. byN. R. Rosenberger, –. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Masuyama, Mikitaka
    2001 “Diet management and elections: A heterogeneous variance probit analysis of approval or disapproval of cabinet laws.” (in Japanese) Senkyo kenkyû: –.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Neshkovska, Silvana and Zorica Trajkova
    2023 “Debasement language as a subset of political Incivility: Characteristics and effects.” InDebasing political rhetoric: Dissing opponents, journalists, and minorities in populist leadership Communication, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0894‑3_2
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0894-3_2 [Google Scholar]
  20. Nakahara, Junki
    2023 “Well-mannered debasement? Examining Abe Shinzô’s discourse and its reliance on Japanese communication modes.” InDebasing political rhetoric: Dissing opponents, journalists, and minorities in populist leadership communication, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0894‑3_8
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0894-3_8 [Google Scholar]
  21. Stryker, Robin, Bethany Anne Conway, and J. Taylor Danielson
    2016 “What is political incivility?” Communication Monographs(): –. 10.1080/03637751.2016.1201207
    https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2016.1201207 [Google Scholar]
  22. Sengul, Kurt Adam
    2023 “The shameless normalization of debasement performance: A critical discourse analysis of Pauline Hanson’s Australian, far-right, populist communication.” InDebasing political rhetoric: Dissing opponents, journalists, and minorities in populist leadership communication, ed. byOfer Feldman, –. Singapore: Springer. 10.1007/978‑981‑99‑0894‑3_7
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0894-3_7 [Google Scholar]
  23. Tanaka, Lidia
    2021 “Japanese politicians’ questions in parliament: Being polite yet forceful?” InQuestioning and answering practices across contexts and cultures, ed. byCornelia Ilie, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/pbns.323.03tan
    https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.323.03tan [Google Scholar]
  24. Walter, Annemarie S.
    2021 “Introduction: The study of political incivility and its challenges.” InPolitical incivility in the parliamentary, electoral and media arena: Crossing boundaries, ed. byAnnemarie S. Walter, –. Abingdon: Routledge. 10.4324/9781003029205‑101
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003029205-101 [Google Scholar]
  25. Weigand, Edda
    2010Dialogue: The mixed game. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/ds.10
    https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.10 [Google Scholar]
  26. Yomiuri Shimbun
    Yomiuri Shimbun 2023 (February4). Prime Minister’s Secretary Katsuki Arai discriminates against sexual minorities, saying “I wouldn’t want to live next door to them” and “I wouldn’t even want to look at them” (in Japanese). Available athttps://www.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/20230204-OYT1T50009/
/content/journals/10.1075/ld.00184.fel
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ld.00184.fel
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: Japan ; rhetorical devices ; culture ; parliamentary discourse ; debasement
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error