This is the second issue of New Voices, showcasing the work of recent honours graduates who completed their research at Australian Universities from 2005 —2007.
New Voices was launched in December 2006 with the aim of supporting early career researchers and postgraduate students in Japanese studies to share their research interests with as wide an audience as possible.
We are delighted with the support and enthusiasm that New Voices has received, and for this second issue we are pleased to present 11 articles of outstanding quality and diverse areas of research.
I hope that New Voices will contribute to encouraging emerging Japanese studies scholars to continue their research and interest in Japan, while also giving general readers access to the wide breadth and high quality of Japanese studies in Australian universities.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their assistance on this issue of New Voices: our Guest Editor, Dr Matthew Stavros for his invaluable support and advice throughout the entire publication process; members of the editorial advisory board, for kindly offering their time and expertise to review the articles; Susan Wake for editorial assistance; and finally the 11 contributors and their supervisors without whose interest and enthusiasm this project would not have been possible.
Wakao Koike
Acting Director
The Japan Foundation, Sydney
December 2008