Translation and Meaning of: 動員 - douin

Explanation and Etymology - (動員) douin

The Japanese word 動員 (dōin) is composed of the characters 動 (dō) and 員 (in). The first character, 動, means "moving" or "act" while the second character, 員, means "member" or "employee". Together, the characters form the term 動員, which can be translated as "mobilization" or "call". The word 動員 has its origin in the Chinese language, where the characters 動 and 員 are also used to form words with similar meanings. In Japan, the term began to be used in the early twentieth century during World War II, when the Japanese government convened civilians and workers to work on factories and other industries in support of the war effort. Nowadays, the word 動員 is still used in Japan to refer to mass mobilizations of people or resources in emergency situations or natural disasters, for example.