Ethan Segal

Associate Professor Michigan State University

East Lansing MI

Japanese history, politics, foreign relations, society, social issues, earthquakes & tsunami, food, film and pop culture, women and gender.

Contact

Michigan State University
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Media

Biography

Ethan Segal is a scholar of East Asian Studies, especially Japanese history. Areas of his teaching and/or research include medieval studies, all aspects of Japanese history, pop culture (including film, anime, horror, and science fiction), the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, economic history, and foreign relations (in East Asia). In 2008-09, he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Pre-modern Japanese History at Harvard University. His first book, Coins, Trade, and the State: Economic Growth in Early Medieval Japan, re-examines money, trade, and evolving medieval political and social institutions; it is available from Harvard University Press.

Industry Expertise

Automotive

Areas of Expertise

Japan Constitution

Ancient History (Japan)

Tsunami Earthquakes

Japanese History

East Asia

Pop Culture (Japan)

Medieval History (Japan)

Foreign Relations

Education

Standford University

Ph.D.

East Asian History

University of Washington Seattle

M.A.

Japanese History

Affiliations

Association for Asian Studies
Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs

News

Obama likely to focus on future in Hiroshima visit

The Detroit News

2016-05-25

President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Hiroshima, although not without certain risks, is timely. Some might even see it as overdue. Obama will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki since those cities were obliterated by American atomic bombs in 1945. Both cities eventually rebuilt successfully, and many of their citizens and elected leaders have dedicated themselves to reminding the world of the horrors of war and advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons...

One Year After Fukushima, Why Has Progress Been So Slow in Japan?

The New Republic

2012-03-10

When a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit northeastern Japan one year ago, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed close to 20,000 lives and caused meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the government, relief agencies, and people around the world were quick to offer their support and aid. Many hoped for speedy rebuilding of the devastated region, while others saw the catastrophes as proof that Japan needed to rethink its energy policy. Yet despite pledges of financial assistance to the dispossessed and serious debate over the nation’s energy supply, the pace of reconstruction is slow and some of the most serious issues remain unresolved. Unfortunately, easy solutions are in short supply...