Japan Society for the Promotion of Science:Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
Date (from‐to) : 2001 -2002
Author : KUNIHIRO Yoko; KIWAKI Nachiko; KATO Chie; MOROI Hisae
This study investigates the process of social construction of men's aggression in general and men's violence against women in particular. The research of the study consists of two types of interview: life-history interviews with men over 60 years of age and interviews with researchers and practitioners.
The life-history interviews were conducted with 11 men from 61 to 84 years of age, living in Hokkaido, Kyushu, and the Tokyo area. The primary focus of the interviews was on the men's experiences of aggression that they received, initiated or observed in their different life-stages including the war time. The interviewees showed negative attitudes towards aggression as a whole, but at the same time provided a variety of reasons to justify some kinds of aggression under certain circumstances. In particular, they demonstrated a somewhat positive attitude towards the aggression they experienced in the army. They regarded even a beating up as acceptable, if it was carried out by a senior officer who intended to discipline or educate his juniors. Likewise, they did not mind being inconsiderate to their wives as a form of discipline. Generally speaking, they tended to be tolerant of aggression and their concept of what is unacceptable aggression was very narrow.
Through the interviews with researchers and practitioners, we learn that there are many problems concerning domestic violence in Japan that need to be further examined. Because of an urgent call for a batterer's program, researchers and practitioners have been trying to develop such a program and put it into practice. However, there are several different viewpoints about what a batterer's program should be like, and no cooperative network has yet been organized to establish integrated measures for coping with perpetrators of domestic violence.