I’ve narrowed my subject down to modern day relations. I do plan on briefly talking about World War II and the effects afterwards (about Japanese military force, USA military bases and how Japanese immigrants in the USA). From World War II I would like to talk about immigration to and from Japan and how politics started forming the future way relations between the USA and Japan would develope. This will only serve as a foundation for the modern relationship which is my focus.
The heart of the story I want to tell is about how the younger generation of Japanese citizens have a relationship with the USA. For example, mainstream culture, business relations, immigration and marriage. I want talk about how the younger generation of Americans has a relationship with Japan. These will also be the main characters in my story. It is still broad but through more research I may find a group within this that keeps popping up. I am interested in the how Japanese and American culture clash together in art and fashion.
It isn’t hard to find information on the war and the after effects but it might be difficult to understand Japanese law and politics. My main concern is, since the power between America and Japan isn’t really political and industrial (since both America and Japan have strong economies and are of the “First World”) I have to be more abstract about it. I like to look at how Japan and America influence each other, whether it is peaceful or not really important. I would like to know if this makes any sense and is okay to do.
Hi Denisse - It's fine to focus more on cultural aspects of exchange rather than military or economic (although of course the cultural has an economic element as movies, fashion etc from one country become big business and get translated into another context. . . I like the idea of focusing on youth as your 'characters' - you'll probably find some good sources using 'youth culture' as a search term. . . It might also be interesting to think about the war as prelude: how do two countries go from all out warfare, including the one historical instance of atomic warfare, to cultural fascination in a relatively short period of time? It's also interesting to think about cultural exchange that, as you outline, seems to go both ways: it makes for a more nuanced story about American power that you'll want to tell.
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