Coming to Grips With Benign Prostate Enlargement or Prostate Cancer in Contemporary Japan: Readings From a Cancer-Self.

This article explores how a group of 35 Japanese men comprehend and verbalize the somatic experience embedded in dealing with benign prostate enlargement, or disquiet/discomfort of developing prostate cancer. Grounded in an adaptation of the sexual scripts theorizing, a set of in-depth, semistructured individual interviews were conducted through a LINE-app videocall from 2021 to 2023. Outcomes of interview were analyzed through a conversational approach, and presented by using three axes: the body, gender, and sexuality.

Banal nationalisms in medicine and prostate onco-practice in Japan: A urological viewpoint.

Cancer has the highest mortality and morbidity rates, and kills more men than women in Japan. Culturally and medically constructed as a 'lifestyle-related disease', prostate cancer incidence is directly proportional to the 'Westernisation of eating habits', and societal ageing. Nevertheless, campaigns to advocate routine testing for prostate cancer remain non-existent.

Cultural Scripts Underpinning Prostate Cancer-Literacy in Japan.

In a country where cancer has been dubbed a "national disease" () that mostly affects Japanese men, this article presents a reading of the cultural scripts underneath prostate cancer-one of the "Western type of cancers" (). The reading is grounded in an adaptation of the "sexual scripting theory," the construct of cancer-literacy, and the analysis of 3,092 newspaper reports published from 2005 to 2020, in three Japanese newspapers with the largest circulation in the country. The analysis is presented in line with three axes: cancer-self, cancer-biopedagogy, and cancer-economics to indicate that a cancer-self largely entails the subjectivity of a , married, heterosexual man who undergoes andropause, needs to understand what is, and depends on his family and the feminization of care to cope with cancer.

Ethno-essentialisms of the self: A critique of the cultural scripting of obesity in Japan.

In challenging the 'validity' of the body mass index (BMI), the construct of metabolic syndrome has been used to comprehend how obesity affects Japanese people. This article is grounded in an adaptation of the 'sexual scripting theory' (Gagnon and Simon, 2005) and proposes the concept of 'ethno-essentialisms of the self' to explore the cultural scripts underpinning the development of metabolic syndrome. Ethno-essentialisms of the self indicate a dialectical relationship between a Japanese healthy self and a non-Japanese unhealthy Other, where ethno-racial susceptibilities might make a Japanese self prone to develop metabolic-related diseases.

A Healthy, Chubby Japanese Man ( genki na debu chan).

In light of official reports indicating a still prevalent tendency to masculinized obesity and overweight in Japan (Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, 2015), this article explores the experiences of 28 Japanese men grappling with bodyweight control. Aged between 24 and 67, 3 of the men were postgraduate or undergraduate students, 7 self-employed, 17 company workers and 1 retired. Fourteen hold a university degree, 1 completed senior high school and 10 finished 3-year junior college.

Late-in-life childbearing (kōrei shussan) in contemporary Japan.

This paper draws on interviews with a group of 27 Japanese women who were classified as late-in-life-childbearing mothers, or kōrei shussan--women who had had their first delivery at 35 years of age or over. In making sense of the significance, symbolism and consequences of late-life motherhood, the paper utilises a symbolic interactionist perspective to shed light on the cultural, structural, interpersonal and intrapsychic dimensions underpinning the experiences of this group of mothers. The paper highlights the relevance of social interaction and everyday life that make pregnancy an 'obligation' for these women.

Shotgun weddings (dekichatta kekkon) in contemporary Japan.

The accelerated greying of its population along with birth rates plummeting below replacement levels synergise into one of the most acute social issues in contemporary Japan. Although singleness, childlessness, delayed marriage and late-in-life-childbirth have become endemic, official records nevertheless reveal an increase in childbirth among women aged 15-19 in 2013. Furthermore, official statistics for 2010 show that 50% of Japanese women aged 25 or younger who married were expecting a baby.

Paediatric male circumcision and penile hygiene: a Japanese mothers' view.

This paper analyses the views of 20 Japanese mothers concerning paediatric male circumcision and penile hygiene. In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.

Gender, pride and medical circumcision in contemporary Japan.

The outcome of interviews with 26 Japanese men is analysed to identify their views concerning male circumcision and their implications in terms of embodiment, gender and sexuality. Data were collected as part of a larger ethnographic investigation of circumcision, masculinity, sexual behaviour and health matters for Japanese men. Participants in the investigation offered their views in relation to male circumcision by deploying arguments that commodify male genitalia and stress masculinity and sexual prowess.

A Service Or a Right: Informed Consent for HIV-Positive Latin American Men in Japan.

Since April 1996, Japanese health care providers who practise informed consent have been financially rewarded. Although there is no precedent for this financial gain, there are no detailed studies. Focused on a group of Latin American men living with HIV/AIDS, this paper clarifies the actual practices of informed consent at Japanese medical facilities.