Quote:
Originally Posted by GoNative
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I think,
1.
"Wow, Japan is a very backward, barbaric country where women are oppressed, rapes are prevalent and the culprits are often not punished, if I take this paper at the face value".
2.
"I don't want to take these guys' classes. The quality of the paper is subpar to say the least".
There are many points I find inaccurate, irrational and sentimental. It'd take forever to cover them all, I'd end up writing a paper myself, so I'll just touch on some.
"In 1985, one of the directors general of the cultural affairs bureau of the Ministry of Education, Miura Shumon, wrote in more than one magazine, that ‘rape, although not gentlemanly conduct, was not so bad if practiced on modern young women whose moral standards has slipped anyhow’ (Wolferen 1993, p. 228)"
Isn't one of the first rules of writing a paper "avoid using second hand sources"? At least that's how I was taught in collage. And this one isn't even a second hand source. It's at least a 4th hand source, which isn't even a source anymore. It's a rumor. First of all, yes, Miura did write on "more than one magazine" which are two. I don't usually use "more than one" to specify 2 things. I wonder what the intention was. Secondly, the citation is wrong. He wrote something along the line with "It is impossible to exterminate rapes, so if the rapists have to do it, it is preferable they do it to morally corrupted women" 「強姦はなくならないのだから、強姦犯は、貞操観念の 少ない女性を強姦してくれればよい」. He never said "it is not so bad" in any instance. Miura is a Catholic writer and he later said he was even against prostitution. Yes, this is still an improper statement, and he resigned. But I don't think using a twisted citation of someone's gaffe for which he lost his job as a proof of Japanese society's toleration toward rape is by any means reasonable, not to mention on an academic paper.
Here is an excerpt of the minutes in which Miura is being grilled regarding the issue.
gokan
This is exactly what I have said. The things I read in English and things I read in Japanese are often very different. Young males casually "reipu" girls in Japan? Never heard of it. Have you?
It goes on and on and on about 武士道、村八分、恥、but never comes up with a hard number. According to a survey by a Japanese government agency, 14.8% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the authority.
$BJ?@.#1#8G/HG(B $BHH:aGr=q(B $BBh(B6$BJT(B/$BBh(B4$B>O(B/$BBh(B1$B@a(B/1
It seems one in the states shows 16%
Rape statistics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is just one survey and it must be very difficult to get an accurate number. There are also differences on the definition of a rape, so the numbers can vary dramatically. But even with that in mind, I think it is highly plausible that rape cases are much less common in Japan compared to many other countries. Of course, there is much to be desired about how police, in any country, handle rape cases, but that's a different discussion.