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131. 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

132. 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

133. China and the Global Political Economy

Author:
Yoshifumi Nakai
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This book by a British scholar is a welcome addition to the study of con-temporary China. There is no question that Professor Breslin knows the field pretty well. He describes concisely what the issues are in China now and those who are working on those issues both in China and elsewhere. Those readers, who are interested in China but ‘who do not have a detailed knowledge of the Chinese case’ (p. 7), will learn a lot by reading this book. The author escorts the readers, like an experienced tour guide, to the wild and uncharted terrain of China studies. China is huge and is full of rough tracks. To travel such a place, you need an experienced navigator or a good guide map, hopefully both. This book provides both and shows us more. The author describes not only the political landscape of today’s China but also the locations of hidden pitfalls and landmines.
Political Geography:
China

134. Russian perceptions and policies in a multipolar East Asia under Yeltsin and Putin

Author:
Paradorn Rangsimaporn
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
While the desire to counterbalance US unilateralism informed Russian perceptions and advocacy of multipolarity globally, the complex and fluid balance of power in a multipolar East Asia complicates Russian perceptions and policies of multipolarity regionally and counterbalancing US power became not the sole goal. Russia's aim in East Asia was to reassert its influence while ensuring a stable regional environment in order for Russia to restore itself as a great power. However, the relatively stabilizing US regional role, the rise of neighboring China, the prospects of Japanese remilitarization and strengthened US–Japanese military alliance, and the lack of a Northeast Asian security structure are factors that pose both challenges and opportunities for Russian policymakers in pursuing Russian interests and great-power aims. Such factors have served to make Russian perceptions and policy in East Asia somewhat contradictory. While Russia's great-power aspiration was relatively clear, the policies to achieve this remained vague and inconclusive.
Topic:
Military Strategy
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, and Asia

135. Historical beliefs and the perception of threat in Northeast Asia: colonialism, the tributary system, and China–Japan–Korea relations in the twenty-first century

Author:
Peter Hays Gries, Qingmin Zhang, Yasuki Masui, and Yong Wook Lee
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Historical controversies continue to plague northeast Asian politicstoday, with Chinese and Koreans protesting Japanese history textbooksand Japanese politicians\' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and Koreans protestingChinese claims that the ancient Kingdom of Goguryo was Chinese,not Korean. Yet, there is little empirical research exploring what, if any,impact historical beliefs have on threat perception and foreign policypreferences in northeast Asia today. On the basis of surveys of Chinese,Japanese, and South Korean university students, this paper explores the relationships among beliefs about the past, perceived threat in thepresent, and foreign policy preferences for the future. Results and theirimplications for northeast Asian security are discussed.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Korea

136. Ocean frontier expansion and the Kalayaan Islands Group claim: Philippines\' postwar pragmatism in the South China Sea

Author:
Ulises Granados
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
In 1946, the Philippines raised claims in the South China Sea over an area already known as Spratly Islands. This claim advanced through peculiar stages, starting when Thomas Cloma allegedly discovered islands in 1946, later named as Freedomland, and maturing to some extent in 1978 by the government\'s claim over the so-called Kalayaan Island Group. Considered as an oceanic expansion of its frontiers, this paper reviews the basis of the claim, first over the nature of Cloma\'s activities, and secondly over the measures the Philippine government took as a reaction of Cloma\'s claim of discovery of an area already known in western cartography as the Spratlys. Eventually, what is the nature of the link between the 1978 Kalayaan Islands Group\'s official claim and 1956 Cloma\'s private one?
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
China, Philippines, and Island

137. News coverage and Japanese foreign disaster aid: a comparative example of bureaucratic responsiveness to the news media

Author:
David M. Potter and Douglas Van Belle
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This paper examines news coverage of overseas natural disasters in Japan and the United States and assesses the extent to which that coverage affects amounts and types of emergency assistance provided by each country's ODA program. The comparison between the two cases allows for the examination of the different effects of media on foreign policy as well as the different ways in which those effects are filtered through institutional arrangements within the aid policy-making apparatus in each country. Following up comparative work on media impact on development aid programs in five countries, this paper argues that the organization of emergency assistance programs is a key determinant in explaining media impact on aid policy.
Topic:
Mass Media
Political Geography:
United States and Japan

138. Investigating Japanese government's perceptions of the postwar world as revealed in prime ministers' Diet addresses: focussing on East- West and North-South issues

Author:
Takafumi Suzuki
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This study applies content analysis to Japanese prime ministers' Diet addresses in order to examine the Japanese government's perception of the world after World War II. Since the end of the Cold War, many scholars have revealed more strategic and proactive aspects of Japanese foreign policy by investigating broader issues or longer time periods. Methodologically, these studies as well as conventional studies derive the character of Japanese foreign policy mainly from an examination of documentary sources or case studies, thus further empirical evidence can help these discussions. By investigating the long-term perception focussing on North-South issues as well as East-West issues, we show that there are aspects of Japanese foreign policy with an individual character. We conclude that this method provides empirical evidence and helps to construct a multidimensional perspective for characterizing Japanese foreign policy, and thus contributes to the recent lively discussions on this topic
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Japan

139. Contemporary conservative thoughts in Japan: conservative views on morality, history, and social issues

Author:
Hiroshi Kaihara
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This article discusses the political thoughts of conservatives. What makes their thoughts distinctive is their understanding of the state of the nation: the Japanese people are degenerating. Especially they worry about the youth. Horrendous juvenile crimes, bad manners, school bullying, and declining academic capabilities force them to paint Japan's future gloomily. Conservatives believe that the taproot of these social problems is a lack of morality: they have lost the will to tell what is right or wrong. They believe that morality is possible only when people embrace tradition and history. However, the Japanese cannot have pride in their history and country because of public discourse propagated by America's occupation policies and leftist ideologies. They also believe that public schools must concern not only on students' knowledge but also on their moral characters, such as the will to live. To raise pupils and students with moral characters, family must get involved along with schools.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Japan and America

140. Money Orders: Ambiguous Economics, and Ubiquitous Politics

Author:
Saori N. Katada
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This collection of works on international monetary and financial affairs starts and ends with the assertion that 'where there is money, there is money politics' (p. 280). The volume is not, however, talking about corrupt politicians and their money politics. Instead, it covers a variety of issues such as Central Bank Independence (CBI), choice of exchange regime, and international use of currency, all of which are often considered relatively apolitical. The fundamental theme of the book runs consistently across chapters: sharp politics, as opposed to the ambiguous economics, drives macroeconomic policy (p. 19). In explaining how such politics work, Kirshner, in the introduction chapter, groups those political factors into three major categories: ideas, conflict, and power. Beliefs, ideologies, and norms lead to the world where ideas shape policies. Political conflict focuses on differences among political forces within society, and power puts emphasis on the relations between states.
Topic:
International Relations