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41. Uneasy Warriors: Gender, Memory, and Popular Culture in the Japanese Army

Author:
Alessio Patalano
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This monograph examines the socio-cultural realm of the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) charting the contradictions and uneasiness of the modern military profession within the country. Across five chapters, Sabine provocatively points out how in many ways the JSDF prefigured the 'post-modern' character of present military organizations through their practice of 'carefully constraining and recasting their potential for violent acts in the name of the Japanese state' (p. 7). In post-war Japan, normative constraints enshrined in Article 9 of the constitution, memories of the violent behavior of the imperial armed forces, post-war popular culture, and social models, have in fact contributed to make the transition towards 'new modes of militarized gender' a permanent factor shaping the JSDF's identity.
Political Geography:
Japan

42. Normalizing Japan: Politics, Identity, and the Evolution of Security Practice

Author:
Seung Hyok Lee
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Scholars of international relations (IR) generally agree that at present Japan is not sufficiently 'normal' in its national security principles and behavior, as symbolized by the nation's 'peace constitution' and the restraints imposed on national power projections. Scholarly experts offer, however, dichotomous views on Japan's future trajectory. 'Realists' emphasizing materialistic power distribution in international politics assert that Japan is already close to discarding its post World War II pacifist identity in order to become a muscle-flexing military giant more commensurate with its international status and changing external environment. 'Constructivists' focusing on the resilience of social identity, on the other hand, counter that despite drastic shifts in international power dynamics, Japan is likely to maintain the core of its antimilitaristic security institutions, as a prudent Japanese society and domestic politics remain at the core of security policy-making.
Political Geography:
Japan

43. Regional cooperation in Northeast Asia: searching for the mode of governance

Author:
Hidetaka Yoshimatsu
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Since the late 1990s, China, Japan, and South Korea – the core states in Northeast Asia – have gradually engaged in various initiatives and institutions for regional cooperation. Such initiatives extend from summitry to functional cooperation in finance, environmental protection, logistics, and other areas. Furthermore, the three countries have shown their willingness to vitalize cross-border economic activities by concluding commercial arrangements. Given these evolutions, this article seeks to address the following questions: what features are found in trilateral cooperative initiatives and how these features are evaluated in terms of 'regional governance'? The paper advances two propositions. First, regional cooperation in Northeast Asia can be characterized as weak neoliberal orientation and intensive business involvements in cooperative projects in state-directed policy networks. Second, regional governance in Northeast Asia has gradually intensified the nature of regulatory governance in which the governments of the three countries sought to harmonize standards and regulatory systems through trilateral cooperation.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, South Korea, and Northeast Asia

44. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the softest of them all? Evaluating Japanese and Chinese strategies in the 'soft' power competition era

Author:
Yee-Kuang Heng
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
As states jostle to attract and entice others by deploying a range of innovative strategies, a 'soft' power competition era looms possibly in the Asia-Pacific. This paper argues that reflecting on this period of competitive policy innovation provides a valuable opportunity to re-assess the theory and practice of Joseph Nye's 'soft' power, given its conceptual and empirical frailties: how theoretically precise are the policies commonly described as projecting 'soft' power? To do so, it undertakes a comparative evaluation of Japan's and China's 'soft' power strategies. By paying close attention to the theory–practice linkage, it illuminates the disparities in their understanding of Nye's 'soft' power. Rather than a one-size-fits-all concept, 'soft' power strategies with distinctively Japanese and Chinese characteristics are emerging, bringing different advantages and weaknesses. The proverbial magic mirror would conclude that by more closely matching Nye's formulations and displaying a less competitive streak, Japan appears the 'softer' power.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia-Pacific

45. Balancing Okinawa's return with American expectations: Japan and the Vietnam War 1965–75

Author:
James Llewelyn
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The Vietnam War greatly destabilized Southeast Asia and led to almost a decade of fighting by America and its Asian allies. It was fought on the principle that if communism was unchecked it would overrun the region, with the Southeast Asian countries falling under communist control like 'dominoes'. While countries such as Thailand, South Korea, and Australia provided military support to assist American strategic objectives, Japan, however, was constrained by its peace constitution and thus unable to provide direct military assistance. Nonetheless, under the leadership of the avid anti-communist conservative leadership of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, Japan still managed to play a role in the Vietnam War. Although Japan initially entertained the notion of facilitating mediation, with Okinawa's reversion hanging in the balance after 1967, Japan's leadership took a more hawkish approach on Vietnam in order to ensure that Washington would agree to reverting Okinawa to Japanese administrative control.
Political Geography:
Japan, America, Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and Thailand

46. Civilization and Empire: China and Japan's Encounter with European International Society

Author:
Tetsuya Sakai
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Situated in the twenty-first century world, the idea of an empire justified by the notion of 'civilization's mission' might seem anachronistic and indifferent to us. Contemporary International Society, however, cannot be totally free from the lineage of civilization and empire descending from the European International Society of the late nineteenth century. The problem of 'failed states' and states that abuse human rights, which has surfaced after the demise of the Cold War, often calls into question whether or not it is necessary for Contemporary International Society to utilize its 'civilizing' mode of interaction and intervene in such states. While such arguments are often inspired by a genuine desire to bring about a more humane international life, it cannot be denied that they have uncomfortable similarities with the late nineteenth century (pp. 182–183). International Society still has a dualistic mode: coexistence among 'civilized' states and 'civilizing' backward states.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Europe

47. Domestic sources of Japanese foreign policy activism: loss avoidance and demand coherence

Author:
Mireya Solís and Saori N. Katada
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The conventional view in the field of international political economy – that greater economic interdependence creates an incentive for active foreign policy engagement – is hard to reconcile with Japan's foreign economic policy. To explain this counterintuitive outcome, we develop a new model of domestic demand for policy activism that integrates strands of prospect theory, collective action, and interest aggregation. We argue that both the rationale for mobilization and lobbying capacity are essential elements in understanding the domestic demand for significant foreign policy departures. We apply this conceptual framework to Japanese foreign economic policy in two issue areas: finance (Japan's response to the 1980s Latin American debt crisis and the late 1990s Asian Financial Crisis), and trade (Japan's Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Mexico and South Korea).
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, South Korea, Latin America, and Mexico

48. Not just global rhetoric: Japan's substantive actualization of its human security foreign policy

Author:
Tan Hsien-Li
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
While there is much theoretical and academic discussion of human security, as well as regional expressions of human security by the Organization of American States, African Union, and the European Union, little of this is translated into substance except for Japan, which has incorporated human security into foreign policy. This paper examines Japan's definition and aspiration for human security, especially its plans to expand development aid through this modality in Southeast Asia. This scrutiny will encompass Japanese human security foreign policy and its substantive action through the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the UN Trust Fund for Human Security. Thus, the potential for Japanese human security cooperation with Southeast Asian partners will be reviewed in light of Japan's projected trajectory. The paper concludes by positing that bilateral engagement might be expected for the considerable future and suggests policy consolidation before regional engagement can be effected.
Political Geography:
Africa, Japan, America, Europe, and Southeast Asia

49. Norms, Interests, and Power in Japanese Foreign Policy

Author:
Hiro Katsumata
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
By examining the role of norms in Japanese foreign policy in a wide range of issue areas, this edited volume makes contributions that are both empirical and theoretical. On the empirical side, this volume contains nine case study chapters, each of which can be read individually for a thorough understanding of Japanese foreign policy in the given issue area. The first four case study chapters focus on security issues: the emergence of the norm of antimilitarism, the adoption of the international anti-landmine norm, the consolidation of the norm associated with the 'four islands return' claim in the territorial disputes with the Soviet Union / Russia, and the pursuit of the collective defense norm concerning the dispatch of the Self Defense Forces overseas. The next three chapters concentrate on economic issues: the limited influence of humanitarian norms on official development assistance (ODA) policies, the prioritization of the domestic ODA norm of reciprocity or mutual benefits over the international norm of aid conditionality, and the compliance with the international norm concerning the management of the Latin American debt crisis. The remaining two chapters focus on environ- mental issues: the rejection of the anti-whaling norm, and the influence of the domestic norm which calls for international leadership in dealing with non-military challenges such as global warming.
Political Geography:
Russia, Japan, America, and Soviet Union

50. Japan's Aggressive Legalism: Law and Foreign Trade Politics beyond the WTO

Author:
Leonard J. Schoppa
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Japan has been trying hard, for at least 20 years, to shed its image as a 'reactive state'. Kent Calder assigned this label to Japanese foreign economic policy in the late 1980s after watching the nation struggle with international pressure to liberalize its market. Japan was not able to act proactively to liberalize on its own, and even when faced with complaints, it delayed action until the gaiatsu built up to the point where it was on the verge of facing sanctions. Then it would dutifully concede just enough to avoid punishment. When Calder assigned this label, Japan focused exclusively on defending its own trade policies and almost never went on the offense. Worried that any effort to pursue its own complaints in the General Agreements on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) system would just add to the scrutiny Japan's own policies were facing, Japanese trade officials refrained from pursuing GATT trade remedy cases of their own.
Political Geography:
Japan