Project description
Japan’s image in far-right imagination
Where is Japan in today’s far-right imagination? The EU-funded YTOPIA project will explore the origins and development of the political discourses amongst the European far right on Japan, called yamatology instead of Japanology, by performing comparative analysis on the discursive construction of Japan’s image in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. The project will analyse Nazi-fascist yamatological representations by considering them as the result of dialogical interaction between European and Japanese actors and a fundamental component of the Axis’ cultural policies. YTOPIA will also reveal the utopian dimension of yamatological representations in which Japan became the projection surface for the values and political aspirations of the European far right.
Objective
After his arrest for mass murder, the Norwegian terrorist Andres Breivik declared that a Japanese would understand him a lot better than any European would, because the Japanese understand the idea and values of honour. Shortly before committing suicide in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 21st May 2013, the French new right thinker Dominique Venner wrote a book in which he depicted himself as a samurai who fought in defence of European identity. These are just two of the many examples of the role played by a certain image of Japan in far-right imagination of our time.
This project investigates the origins and development of the political discourses on Japan something that can be called yamatology instead of japanology by focusing on the historical moment in which they reached its wider dissemination and became integral parts of far-right ideologies. The aim of this project is, therefore, to analyse comparatively the discursive construction of the image of Japan in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Instead of offering an overview on the European representations of Japan or focusing on a national case study, this project will carry out a detailed analysis of Nazi-Fascist yamatological representations, by considering them as result of a dialogical interaction between European and Japanese actors, as well as a constituent element of the Axis cultural policies closely related to many of the ideological features shared by both Fascism and Nazism. The projects ultimate goal is to highlight the utopian dimension of yamatological representations, in which Japan just like it did for Breivik or Venner became the projection surface for far-right values and political aspirations. In doing so, this project allows re-thinking of the nature of fascism, both stressing a substantial similarity between Nazism and Fascism, and revealing the influence of non-European models on ultra-nationalist and Eurocentric world views.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
30123 VENEZIA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.