Download or read book Koizumi Diplomacy written by Tomohito Shinoda and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan's policymaking strategy in foreign and defense affairs changed dramatically in 2001 after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took the helm of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Following a series of bland and short-lived prime ministers, Koizumi's infusion of fresh energy into a tired and opaque party has been compared with Tony Blair's successful revamping of New Labour in the U.K. Koizumi, however, had a weak power base in the party and limited diplomatic experience. How, then, was he able to exercise leadership? Tomohito Shinoda analyzes the prime minister's role in policymaking, focusing on the assistance he receives from the Kantei, or Cabinet Secretariat, the Japanese equivalent of the American president's White House cabinet. Since 2001, the Japanese government's center of gravity for foreign policy has shifted from the traditionally dominant Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Kantei, which allowed Koizumi to exercise a top-down style of decision-making. Through case studies and personal interviews with former prime ministers and cabinet secretaries, Shinoda looks at how Koizumi's new system operates on a practical level - how, for example, major post-2001 anti-terrorism legislation has been initiated and prepared by the Kantei-and compares its successes and failures with those of the U.S. system. With frank and engaging commentary by former officials, this book makes a unique contribution to the understanding of contemporary Japanese political affairs.
Download or read book Japan s Foreign Policy Making written by Karol Zakowski and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-28 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book evaluates the impact of the 2001 central government reforms on effective foreign policy making in Japan. It puts a special focus on the evolution of the domestic institutional factors and decision-making processes behind Japan’s foreign policy, while also analyzing the development of Japan’s external relations with various other countries, such as the US, China and North Korea. Adhering to the neoclassical realist approach, the authors show that, thanks to a more independent Kantei-based form of diplomacy, Japan’s prime ministers were able to strategically respond to international developments, and to pursue their own diplomatic endeavors more boldly. At the same time, they demonstrate that the effectiveness of this proactive posture was still heavily dependent on the decision-makers’ ability to form cohesive coalitions and select suitable institutional tools, which enabled them to influence domestic and international affairs.
Download or read book Koizumi and Japanese Politics written by Yu Uchiyama and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-04-05 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An empirical and theoretical study of the Koizumi administration. Uchiyama looks at the policy making process; institutional arenas such as the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy; Koizumi’s populist strategy; foreign policy; and neoliberal convictions to find explanations for his wide public support, and the historical significance of his administration.
Download or read book Japanese Diplomacy written by H. D. P. Envall and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2015-02-17 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Groundbreaking study demonstrating how Japans leaders play an important role in diplomacy. A political leader is most often a nations most high-profile foreign policy figure, its chief diplomat. But how do individual leadership styles, personalities, perceptions, or beliefs shape diplomacy? In Japanese Diplomacy, the question of what role leadership plays in diplomacy is applied to Japan, a country where the individual is often viewed as being at the mercy of the group and where prime ministers have been largely thought of as reactive and weak. In challenging earlier, simplified ideas of Japanese political leadership, H. D. P. Envall argues that Japans leaders, from early Cold War figures such as Yoshida Shigeru to the charismatic and innovative Koizumi Junichir? to the present leadership of Abe Shinz?, have pursued leadership strategies of varying coherence and rationality, often independent of their political environment. He also finds that different Japanese leaders have shaped Japanese diplomacy in some important and underappreciated ways. In certain environments, individual difference has played a significant role in determining Japans diplomacy, both in terms of the countrys strategic identity and summit diplomacy. What emerges from Japanese Diplomacy, therefore, is a more nuanced overall picture of Japanese leadership in foreign affairs.
Download or read book Japan s Civil Military Diplomacy written by Dennis T. Yasutomo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-09 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the early 1990s, there has been a clear evolution in the military dimension of Japanese diplomacy. From Gulf War I in 1991 to the present day, an incremental but unmistakable acceptance of, and resort to, military dispatches has taken place, and yet crucially, Japan has not morphed into a traditional military power. Exploring Japan’s involvement in both Afghanistan and Iraq, this book examines the evolution and nature of the new civil-military dimension in Japanese foreign policy. It shows how foreign aid, Japan’s traditional non-military diplomatic tool, was merged with the operations of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in Iraq and the activities of NATO-ISAF forces in Afghanistan, and emphasises the centrality of civilian power to Japanese foreign policy and diplomacy. However, Dennis Yasutomo argues that while a new civil-military security culture is replacing the old merchant state culture of pacifism and anti-militarism, Japan does not yet qualify as a military "normal nation". Further, the book’s exploration of the increased utilization of military power within the context of civilian objectives and non-military diplomatic instruments, sheds light on the current build-up of Japanese military power in East and Southeast Asia amid territorial disputes and nuclear threats, and highlights the impact that Japan’s new civil-military diplomacy may have on wider international affairs in the 21st Century. Drawing on interviews with key actors in Tokyo, as well as with practitioners who have served on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, this book will have broad appeal to students and scholars working on Japanese politics and diplomacy, military and security studies and international relations.
Download or read book Japan s Civil Military Diplomacy written by Dennis T. Yasutomo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-09 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the early 1990s, there has been a clear evolution in the military dimension of Japanese diplomacy. From Gulf War I in 1991 to the present day, an incremental but unmistakable acceptance of, and resort to, military dispatches has taken place, and yet crucially, Japan has not morphed into a traditional military power. Exploring Japan’s involvement in both Afghanistan and Iraq, this book examines the evolution and nature of the new civil-military dimension in Japanese foreign policy. It shows how foreign aid, Japan’s traditional non-military diplomatic tool, was merged with the operations of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in Iraq and the activities of NATO-ISAF forces in Afghanistan, and emphasises the centrality of civilian power to Japanese foreign policy and diplomacy. However, Dennis Yasutomo argues that while a new civil-military security culture is replacing the old merchant state culture of pacifism and anti-militarism, Japan does not yet qualify as a military "normal nation". Further, the book’s exploration of the increased utilization of military power within the context of civilian objectives and non-military diplomatic instruments, sheds light on the current build-up of Japanese military power in East and Southeast Asia amid territorial disputes and nuclear threats, and highlights the impact that Japan’s new civil-military diplomacy may have on wider international affairs in the 21st Century. Drawing on interviews with key actors in Tokyo, as well as with practitioners who have served on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, this book will have broad appeal to students and scholars working on Japanese politics and diplomacy, military and security studies and international relations.
Download or read book Political Survival and Yasukuni in Japan s Relations with China written by Mong Cheung and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-06-17 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What role does the political survival of prime ministers play in Japan’s relations with China over the Yasukuni issue? Three Japanese prime ministers, including Nakasone Yasuhiro, Hashimoto Ryutaro and Abe Shinzo, complied with China’s demands and stopped visiting the controversial Shrine in 1986, 1997 and 2007, respectively. By contrast, the Yasukuni controversy intensified between 2001 and 2006 when a popular Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro was determined to pay regular homage to the Yasukuni Shrine annually. Prime Minister Abe, who previously demonstrated restraint over the issue in his first term between 2006 and 2007, visited the Yasukuni unexpectedly in 2013 but not in 2014 or 2015. To explain this variation, this book presents an alternative interpretation of Japan’s official responses toward China’s pressure over the Yasukuni issue between 1985 and 2015 by applying a political survival approach that highlights the domestic political legitimacy of the Japanese prime minister or the ruling party. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of Sino-Japanese relations, Japan’s foreign policy and international relations.
Download or read book Sino Japanese Relations in a Trilateral Context written by Yun Zhang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-24 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the increasingly turbulent Sino–Japanese relations since the 2000s by innovatively investigating the formation mechanism of mutual misperception deeply rooted in China-Japan-U.S. trilateral structural dynamics. The political and security relationship has been increasingly deteriorating against the high interdependency between the world’s second and third largest economies. More ironically, both sides have also shown the intent and made efforts to improve bilateral ties. The author systematically conducts a focused comparison of the evolution of the Sino-Japanese mutual perceptions and policies toward one another during the past decade and a half. Empirically, Yun Zhang closely examines five case studies that provide insights to IR students and scholars and policy makers on how misperception and mistrust have formed, replicated, and intensified.
Download or read book Contemporary Japanese Politics written by Tomohito Shinoda and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decentralized policymaking power in Japan had developed under the reign of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), yet in the1990s, institutional changes fundamentally altered Japan's political landscape. Tomohito Shinoda tracks these developments in the operation of and tensions between Japan's political parties and the public's behavior in elections, as well as in the government's ability to coordinate diverse policy preferences and respond to political crises. The selection of Junichiro Koizumi, an anti-mainstream politician, as prime minister in 2001 initiated a power shift to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and ended LDP rule. Shinoda details these events and Prime Minister Koizumi's use of them to practice strong policymaking leadership. He also outlines the institutional initiatives introduced by the DPJ government and their impact on policymaking, illustrating the importance of balanced centralized institutions and bureaucratic support.
Download or read book Changing Power Relations in Northeast Asia written by Marie Soderberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-03-07 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the Japanese-South Korean relationship from various angles including politics, security, economics, culture and immigration. In a sense the two countries are natural partners. Both are democratic societies, they are economically strong and are the only two Asian countries that are members of the OECD. Both have security treaties with the USA, they share security concerns when it comes to the North Korean nuclear threat as well as the rise of China, which at the same time has become the largest trading partner for both. Japan and South Korea also share similar values, customs, cultures and languages. All this would make it logical for them to have a strong cooperative bilateral relationship. Yet this is still not the case. The contributors to this book examine how the relationship is affected by the changing power relations in Northeast Asia and find a most complex situation. Understanding how Japan and Korea interact is central for anyone that wants to understand the politics of East Asia. This volume will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, as well as those interested in political science and peace and conflict resolution more generally. Marie Söderberg is Professor and Director of the European Institute of Japanese Studies, Sweden.
Download or read book The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan written by Makoto Iokibe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the prestigious Yoshida Shigeru Prize 1999 for the best book in public history when it was published in its original Japanese, this book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Japan’s international relations from the end of the Pacific War to the present. Written by leading Japanese authorities on the subject, it makes extensive use of the most recently declassified Japanese documents, memoirs, and diaries. It introduces the personalities and approaches Japan’s postwar leaders and statesmen took in dealing with a rapidly changing world and the challenges they faced. Importantly, the book also discusses the evolution of Japan’s presence on the international stage and the important – if underappreciated role – Japan has played. The book examines the many issues which Japan has had to confront in this important period: from the occupation authorities in the latter half 1940s, to the crisis-filled 1970s; from the post-Cold War decade to the contemporary war on terrorism. The book examines the effect of the changing international climate and domestic scene on Japan’s foreign policy; and the way its foreign policy has been conducted. It discusses how the aims of Japan’s foreign relations, and how its relationships with its neighbours, allies and other major world powers have developed, and assesses how far Japan has succeeded in realising its aims. It concludes by discussing the current state of Japanese foreign policy and likely future developments.
Download or read book Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective written by Ryan K. Beasley and published by CQ Press. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Widely regarded as the most comprehensive comparative foreign policy text, Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective has been completely updated in this much-anticipated second edition. Exploring the foreign policies of thirteen nations—both major and emerging players, and representing all regions of the world—chapter authors link the study of international relations to domestic politics, while treating each nation according to individual histories and contemporary dilemmas. The book's accessible theoretical framework is designed to enable comparative analysis, helping students discern patterns to understand why a state acts as it does in foreign affairs.
Download or read book Nationalism and Power Politics in Japan s Relations with China written by Yew Meng Lai and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-08-22 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite flourishing economic interactions and deepening interdependence, the current political and diplomatic relationship between Japan and China remains lukewarm at best. Indeed, bilateral relations reached an unprecedented nadir during the spring of 2005, and again more recently in autumn 2012, as massive anti-Japanese demonstrations across Chinese cities elicited corresponding incidents of popular anti-Chinese reprisal in Japan. This book systematically explores the complex dynamics that shape contemporary Japanese-Chinese relations. In particular, it analyses the so-called ‘revival’ of nationalism in post-Cold War Japan, its causality in redefining Japan’s external policy orientations, and its impact on the atmosphere of the bilateral relationship. Further, by adopting a neoclassical realist model of state behaviour and preferences, Lai Yew Meng examines two highly visible bilateral case studies: the Japanese-Chinese debacle over prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and the multi-dimensional dispute in the East China Sea which comprises the Senkaku/Diaoyudao territorial row, alleged Chinese maritime incursions, and bilateral competition for energy resources. Through these examples, this book explores whether nationalism really matters; when, and under what circumstances nationalism becomes most salient; and the extent to which the emotional dimensions of nationalism manifest most profoundly in Japanese state-elites’ policy decision-making. This timely book will be of great interest to students and scholars of both Japanese and Chinese politics, as well as those interested in international relations, nationalism, foreign policy and security studies more broadly.
Download or read book Africa s Quest for Modernity written by Seifudein Adem and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-03-13 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph addresses the complexity of China-Africa and Japan-Africa relations from a comparative perspective. The volume is divided into five sections. Section I focuses on the divergent perspectives that are reflected in the discourse on China-Africa relations. Section II discusses Japan’s economic modernization and its potential lessons for Africa. Section III compares the foreign policies of Japan and China in Africa and analyzes their supposed rivalries on the continent. Section IV explores the relationship between Southeast Asia and China and its relevance to Africa-China relations. Section V provides an in-depth case study of Ethiopia-China relations over the last century. The book fills a major gap in the existing literature on the triad of Africa, China, and Japan. Under the guidance of the disciplines of African studies, international relations, political sociology, and international political economy, this volume elucidates and examines the complexities of the foreign policies of the two Asian powers toward Africa as well as their economic, political, and cultural underpinnings.
Download or read book Japanese Prime Ministers and Their Peace Philosophy written by Daisuke Akimoto and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-02-07 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the lives and peace philosophy of Japanese prime ministers from 1945 to the present, attempting to extract one consistent political philosophy, namely, the ‘peace philosophy’ that has consistently influenced Japan’s foreign and defense policy. Exploring the meta-narrative of international relations and politics, this book provides a new meta-analysis of the factors underpinning Japanese politics, providing a timely insight into one of Asia's most powerful yet enigmatic players in a time of transformation. This book will interest scholars of international relations, those watching Asia in transition, and journalists.
Download or read book Changing Politics in Japan written by Ikuo Kabashima and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changing Politics in Japan is a fresh and insightful account of the profound changes that have shaken up the Japanese political system and transformed it almost beyond recognition in the last couple of decades. Ikuo Kabashima—a former professor who is now Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture—and Gill Steel outline the basic features of politics in postwar Japan in an accessible and engaging manner. They focus on the dynamic relationship between voters and elected or nonelected officials and describe the shifts that have occurred in how voters respond to or control political elites and how officials both respond to, and attempt to influence, voters. The authors return time and again to the theme of changes in representation and accountability. Kabashima and Steel set out to demolish the still prevalent myth that Japanese politics are a stagnant set of entrenched systems and interests that are fundamentally undemocratic. In its place, they reveal a lively and dynamic democracy, in which politicians and parties are increasingly listening to and responding to citizens' needs and interests and the media and other actors play a substantial role in keeping democratic accountability alive and healthy. Kabashima and Steel describe how all the political parties in Japan have adapted the ways in which they attempt to organize and channel votes and argue that contrary to many journalistic stereotypes the government is increasingly acting in the "the interests of citizens"—the median voter's preferences.
Download or read book Japan from Koizumi to Abe written by Ka Mei Samantha Ma and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-19 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies national security strategies introduced by the Koizumi administration (2001–2006) and the second Abe administration (2012–2020). Drawing on the common themes of ‘normalization’, constitutional revision, in particular Article 9, and the right of collective self-defence, the volume examines through the theory of neoclassical realism how and why the national security initiatives of the two administrations are different in their extent of normalization of Japan. It shows how the policies were influenced by the respective Prime Ministers who responded to the international environment surrounding Japan during their tenure and were also shaped by internal concerns. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of Asian studies, politics and international relations.
