On asking the right questions: personal death vs. brain death in Japan

This article addresses methodological concerns encountered during the author's recent fellowship tenure at the University of Tokyo's School for International Health. His research addressed matters relating to Japanese views of personal death within the context of the relationship between self and body. He was also interested in learning more about the extent to which these same views influence issues in medical ethics, particularly the ongoing debate over brain death and heart transplantation, which, until June 1997, was legally prohibited. One critical component in methodology involved interviews and discussions with prominent scholars representing various disciplines. The key feature in these meetings centered around specific core questions. The author describes how these questions underwent significant modifications, and discusses how these methodological adjustments in effect reveal notions that are substantive and relevant to the research design pertaining to Japanese views of death, self, and embodiment.