The Paralympic Games are founded on ideals of inclusivity and diversity for people with a disability. Consequently, there is an emphasis on athlete empowerment within the Paralympic Movement. One consistent criticism of the idea of athlete empowerment is that it relies on the concept of the ‘supercrip’, narratives of overcoming the tragedy of one’s disability…
Auteur: Anoma van der Veere
The Technological Utopia: Mimamori Care and Family Separation in Japan
Japan is undergoing a significant demographic upheaval, and the Japanese government is formulating policies for stimulating technological advances based on the assumption that they will solve issues such as labour shortages and elder care. The government argues through policy initiatives that technology will decrease the care burden on Japan’s workers, families, and itself. Although the…
Wrestling with Gender: Coverage of the Olympic Games in Japanese Media
Current studies analysing gendered representations of athletes in the media focus primarily on Anglophone or European countries. This paper attempts to expand this scope by adding female athletes and media in Asia to the small body of work in English-language research. It does so by focusing on gendered depictions of athletes in Japanese media during…
‘Slaves to the System’ and Awareness of North Korean Forced Labour
Anoma P. van der Veere and Marte C.H. Boonen Almost two years have passed since the first report on North Korean forced labour in the European Union was released to the public. The effects have been felt in the chambers of the International Labour Organization, the European Parliament, national diets across the world, and most…
People for Profit – North Korean Forced Labour on a Global Scale
This is the follow-up project to the Slaves to the System project: Research DPRK Forced Labour in the EU. The international reactions to the research report have been very positive and encourage further research. The present project builds on the research results from the first project (as well as on the goodwill created through extensive…
Presenting Domestic Care Technology and Elderly Care in Japanese Newspapers
Japanese elderly care is in dire need of more workers, and it has been known for quite some time thatthe growing elderly population is placing an increasing burden on the economic mechanics of theJapanese welfare structure.1 Government initiatives are abundant, and technological development is central tenet of current Prime Minister Abe’s policy objectives, although technological…
Slaves of the system: Research on North Korean Forced Labour in the EU
Researching contemporary North Korea and North Koreans is fraught with danger. Not necessarily for the researchers themselves (although the DPRK regime has shown not to be above threats and intimidation aimed at academics), but also and primarily for North Koreans themselves. It does not take a great feat of imagination to picture what could happen…