Children in the Different World: Japanese Television and Development Discourses

This research explores the discourses of street children and developing countries in Japanese media representation. Through a thorough theoretical and technical analysis of an annual Japanese documentary TV program titled Sekai ga Moshi Hyaku Nin no Mura Dattara (If the World Were a Village of 100 People) featuring the lives of 3 streetchildren from 3 developing countries, I dissected the relationships of power and different existing discourses. The research shows that the TV programme represents street children as both agents and victims. Then, it discusses how the categories of Japan as ‘We’ and of developing countries as ‘They’ are constructed and maintained. These binary categories are derived and justified through recent Japanese discourses in development studies: the concepts of un-socialized and individualistic children and the idea of violent and powerless adults and institutions. The research also connects the notions of representation and power, uneven power relations between Japan and developing countries, and charity politics to reveal problems of Japanese media with respect to discourses in development studies.