Semantics of Development in Asia : Exploring Untranslatable Ideas Through Japan

This open access book explores Japanese involvement in Asian development through selected development ideas and lexemes that are widely regarded in Japan as 'untranslatable' into other languages. Each chapter traces the genealogy of locally nuanced development ideas and lexemes in Japan and the process by which they have spread across Asia and beyond through Japan's development cooperation. The Semantics of Development in Asia critically examines the diverse (Western and non-Western) roots of Japanese development ideas and lexemes and their shifting semantics, shaped by the ever-changing national/international political economies and dominant development thinking of different eras. The volume contributes to a more pluriversal approach to knowledge production in development studies through its in-depth examination of vernacular Japanese ideas. This book is useful to researchers, students and teachers in the fields of Asian studies, development studies and international relations. It is also of value to policymakers and practitioners whose professional interests include development cooperation by, and with, Asian countries.

Jin Sato is a Professor of the Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia, at the University of Tokyo. He specializes in development studies with a specific focus on the politics of natural resources and foreign aid in the context of Southeast Asia. He served as a visiting professor at the School of Public Policy at Princeton University from 2016 to 2020 and a visiting professor at Columbia University Climate School in 2024. He also served as a policy advisor (JICA expert) to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Royal Thai government (2004–2005) and the President of the Japan Society for International Development (2020–2023). Sato holds an MPP from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Tokyo.

キム・ソヤン Soyeun Kim is Professor at the Institute of East Asian Studies and Chair of the Graduate Programme in Southeast Asian Studies at Sogang University, Korea. Her research interests lie broadly in the political ecology and political economy of development cooperation, with a particular geographical focus on East and Southeast Asia. She is an associate editor of the journal TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia (2015 to date) and served as a civilian non-standing board member of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (2019 - 2020). She has published in Geoforum, Global Environmental Politics, Globalizations, Journal of International Development, The European Journal of Development Research, Third World Quarterly, World Development, and others.