Japanese scandals and their ritualization

On the theoretical level, this article aims to connect the theory of ritual and performance to the social phenomenon of media scandal. While focusing on the Japanese mediascape, this article aims to illuminate the ritualized means of scandal resolution, and the cultural realities of public shaming. This is important because most scandal denouements in Japan do not get by without a secular ritual of emotional confession, temporary exclusion, and eventual reintegration. While drawing from the methods of neofunctionalism, it is illustrated how the sociocultural act of confession, apology and exclusion is turned into an orchestrated pseudo-event with a high degree of ritualization.