Human rights education in Japan: An historical account, characteristics and suggestions for a better-balanced approach

Although human rights are often expressed as universal tenets, the concept was conceived in a particular socio-political and historical context. Conceptualisations and practice of human rights vary across societies, and face numerous challenges. After providing an historical account of the conceptualisation of human rights in Japanese society, this paper examines human rights education in Japan, focusing on implementation of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. Whilst the Decade’s Action Plan advocates a comprehensive approach, Japanese human rights education focuses far less attention on imparting knowledge and developing learners’ attitudes, placing strong emphasis on aspects of responsibility and harmonious human relations understood in the historical context of Japanese moral education. Pedagogical proposals are made to promote a comprehensive approach, including focus on the role of empowering learners, enabling them to protect themselves by invoking human rights

How 'universal' is the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review process? An examination of the discussions held on polygamy

In 2006, United Nations Human Rights Council was tasked to establish a new human rights monitoring mechanism: Universal Periodic Review process. The primary aim of this process is to promote and protect the universality of all human rights issues and concerns via a dialogical peer review process. The aim of this investigation isto ask the following question: has this claim of promoting and protecting the universality of the human rights been met, or challenged, during state reviews in the UPR process? The issue of polygamy has been selected as the focus for this investigation to be used, primarily, as a tool to undertake an in-depth analysis of the discussions held during state reviews in the review process. In addition, this paper will employ scholarly debates between universalism and cultural relativism, as well as the sophisticated and nuanced approaches that fall in between the polarised opposites, to analyse the discussions held on human rights during state reviews. Ultimately, the findings and discussion of this investigation will provide a unique and valuable insight to the work and operation of the UPR process, so far

Human rights education in Japan: An historical account, characteristics and suggestions for a better-balanced approach

Although human rights are often expressed as universal tenets, the concept was conceived in a particular socio-political and historical context. Conceptualisations and practice of human rights vary across societies, and face numerous challenges. After providing an historical account of the conceptualisation of human rights in Japanese society, this paper examines human rights education in Japan, focusing on implementation of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. Whilst the Decade’s Action Plan advocates a comprehensive approach, Japanese human rights education focuses far less attention on imparting knowledge and developing learners’ attitudes, placing strong emphasis on aspects of responsibility and harmonious human relations understood in the historical context of Japanese moral education. Pedagogical proposals are made to promote a comprehensive approach, including focus on the role of empowering learners, enabling them to protect themselves by invoking human rights

Queering religious texts: An exploration of British non-heterosexual Christians’ and Muslims’ strategy of constructing sexuality-affirming hermeneutics.

Religious authority figures often use religious texts as the primary basis for censuring homosexuality. In recent years, however, non-heterosexual Christians and Muslims have begun to contest the discursively produced boundary of sexual morality.Drawing upon two research projects on non-heterosexual Christians and Muslims, this article explores the three approaches embedded in this strategy.While acknowledging that homosexuality is indeed portrayed negatively in some parts of religious texts, the participants critique traditional hermeneutics by highlighting its inaccuracy and socio-cultural specificity, and arguing for a contextualized and culturally relevant interpretation. They also critique the credibility of institutional interpretive authority by highlighting its inadequacy and ideology, and relocating authentic interpretive authority to personal experience. Finally, they recast religious texts to construct resources for their spiritual nourishment.This strategy generally reflects the contemporary western religious landscape that prioritizes the authority of the self over that of religious institution