Non-Smoking Movement and Cult of Mysticism

HUKADA, Yuko. "Arguments on non-Smoking movement"

1. IC card: taspo
・ An ID card with photo, which identifies age over 20.
・ Expect to issue 21,000,000 cards; 70% of smokers would purchase the card.
・ There are 620,000 cigarette vending machines in Japan.
・ About 50% of smokers buy cigarette from the machine.

2. Numerical goals made by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
M) 2004: 43.3% à 2010: 38.4%
W) 2004: 12.0% à 2010: 10.2%

3. Non-smoking movements
A. Non-smoking movement inside Japan
B. Non-smoking movement outside Japan
C. Manners
・Throwing away of finished cigarettes
・Smoking on streets and smoking while walking

4. Opposition to the movement
・ JT opposes to non-smoking movement

5. Conclusion -- Creating images to the act of smoking
・Cigarette smoke harms both smokers and non-smokers
・Bad manners
・Follow other developed nations. We are behind.
・Non-smoking treatment now can be applied as medical insurance. Recognize it as nicotine poisoning or nicotine addiction.


***Non-smoking movement is led by the government, rather than no-drinking, in year 2006. Smoking issue is not something new but it became an issue for reasons of these images. Why it becomes the issue of the government today?

Arguments on non-smoking movement

Summary of the class

After the presentation, we discussed on topic related on issues of smoking in Japan:
・ There are lists of “don’t” signs in Japan.
・ Social responsibility and freedom. To what extent can we say that it is freedom of one’s own, or is social responsibility.
・ Essentializes smokers as “bad manners” which lead exclusion of smoking people from society.
・ Manners are still understood as an order from top to down.
・ A tobacco company recommends manner. Manner should come from people. Are they both democracies.
・ Sells cigarettes in third countries while regulating it in domestically.


TANAKA,Masafumi. "the Cult of Mysticism: An Interpretation from the Concept of Dis/Re-Enchantment"

Introduction
Contemporary social theories discuss that people have developed their reflexivity because of their coming in the new stage of modernity. For example, Ulrich Beck describes the emerging “Sub-politics” organized by people who criticize and resist “official politics” in Europe[1]. In contrast, it is difficult for me to recognize the working of social reflexivity in contemporary Japan. Rather, the cult of mysticism, people’s anxiety for unscientific prophecy, has been seen. This presentation firstly introduces two popular TV programs as examples of cult of mysticism in present Japan. And, this presentation secondly interprets them from the view of dis/re-enchantment.

(1) Cult of Mysticism
First, this presentation introduces two popular TV programs as examples of cult of mysticism: Zubari-Iuwayo (I’ll Tell You Frankly) and Ohra-No-Izumi (Spring of Aura). First program of Zubari-Iuwayo is hosted by Hosogi, Kazuko who is a fortune-teller. In that program she gives guests cautions authoritatively. “You should…” That program has a lot of viewers despite of her discriminatory remarks. Second program of Ohra-No-Izumi is hosted by Ehara, Hiroyuki and Miwa, Akihiro (and Kokubun, Taichi). Ehara who is a psychic gives guests a diagnosis in the program. He emphasizes that it is very important to reflect one’s previous life to be happy. A lot of people like and watch that program. I do not want to say that viewers of these programs are stupid. But I want to know why these programs are popular in present Japan.

(2) Dis/Re-Enchantment
Second, this presentation explains the concept of dis/re-enchantment and interprets the cult of mysticism in present Japan. The concept of disenchantment was submitted by Weber in his discussion of the scientific process of rationalization/modernization. He describes that the twenties century Europe faced the ‘disenchant of the world[2].” It is generally said that Weber wanted to argue that people have autonomy because of the transition from traditional society based on unscientific superstition to modern society based on scientific knowledge[3]. However, there has appeared alternative understanding of Weber’s discussion of disenchantment. It says that Weber saw the complicated process of rationalization that re-enchantment happened at the same time disenchantment happened[4]. In other words, the process of rationalization/modernization has promoted, on the one side, the disenchantment of the world and, on the other side, the re-enchantment of the world. Therefore, we can see the cult of mysticism in present Japan having highly developed science.

Conclusion
This presentation gives an interpretation of the cult of mysticism in present Japan from the concept of dis/re-enchantment. It shows that we always have the ambiguous process of dis/re-enchantment. If there is that ambiguous process, it is very important to keep and develop the ‘unfinished project of modernity’ in Habermas’s sense. He defines that project as the appropriation of the expert culture from the perspective of lifeworld. The project of modernity gives citizens autonomy of knowledge and makes them have autonomy of life, and the collaboration among intellectuals and citizens is essential for that project[5]. We need the autonomy of knowledge rather than the cult of mysticism to have autonomy of life, don’t we?

Reference
Arakawa, Toshihiko. “Datsumajutsuka-To-Saimajutsuka: Sozo-To-Haijo-No-Politics (Dis-enchantment and Re-enchantment: Politics of Creation and Exclusion)”, Shakaishisoshikenkyu, No.26, 2002, 49-61.
Beck, Ulrich. “The Reinvention of Politics: Towards a Theory of Reflexive Modernization”. In Ulrich Beck, et al. Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994, 1-55.
Habermas, Jürgen. “Modernity: An Unfinished Project”, in Habermas and The Unfinished Project of Modernity: Critical Essays on The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Edition by P. d’Entreves and S. Benhabib), Cambridge: Policy Press, 1996, 38-55.
Weber, Max. “Science as a Vocation” in From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Edition and Translation by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills). New York: Oxford University Press, 1946, 129-156.
Yamanouchi, Yasushi. “Saimajutsuka-Suru-Sekai: ‘Global Sociology’-Kenkyu-Note (Re-enchanting World: Research Note of ‘Global Sociology’)”, Gendaisiso, vol.31(6), 2003, 134-141.

[1] Beck (1994), p.23. Both Giddens and Lash also argue the development of social reflexivity from their different perspective.
[2] Weber (1946), p.155.
[3] According to this approach, Weber recognized the linear transition from traditional society to modern society. Beck is a representative of this approach.
[4] Arakawa, Ritzer and Yamanouchi is represented from that alternative understanding.
[5] Habermas (1996), p.52.